The United Nations(UN)’s World Braille Day is annually observed across the globe on 4th January to create awareness about the importance of braille as a means of communication in the full realization of human rights for blind and partially sighted people across the globe.
- 4th January also marks the birth anniversary of 19th-century French educator, Louis Braille, who invented Braille, a universally accepted system of reading and writing used by and for blind persons.
4th January 2022 marks the observance of the 4th World Braille Day and the 213th birth anniversary of Louis Braille.
Background:
i.The United Nations General Assembly(UNGA) adopted the resolution A/RES/73/161 in November 2018 and proclaimed the 4th January of every year as World Braille Day.
ii.The first ever World Braille Day was observed on 4th January 2019.
About Louis Braille:
i.Louis Braille was born on 4th January 1809 in Coupvray, near Paris, France (died on 6th January 1852 in Paris, France).
ii.Blinded at the age of 3, Louis Braille invented the Braille system around the year 1824 and later published the system in 1829.
iii.He developed the braille code based on the French alphabet as an improvement on night writing.
What is Braille?
i.The Braille system, named after the inventor Louis Braille, is a tactile representation of alphabetic and numerical symbols using six dots to represent each letter and number.
Braille is also used to represent musical, mathematical and scientific symbols.
ii.It is used by visually impaired people to read the books and periodicals like those printed in visual fonts.
Key Points:
i.According to the World Health Organization(WHO), at least 2.2 billion people have a near vision or distance vision impairment and at least 1 billion people with vision impairment could have been prevented or have yet to be addressed.
ii.Uncorrected refractive errors and cataracts are the leading causes of vision impairment (blindness or Partially sighted).
