ABC Supports World Braille Day

The WIPO-led Accessible Books Consortium (ABC) celebrates January 4th as World Braille Day, which was designated as such for the first time in 2019 by the United Nations General Assembly to mark the importance of Braille.

Evidence demonstrates that persons who are blind or visually impaired, and who have had the opportunity to learn Braille, show improved educational outcomes and higher rates of employment. Nevertheless, there exists a Braille crisis in many parts of the world, with fewer and fewer children learning Braille literacy skills at school.

Braille and economic success

ABC recognizes the role of Braille as an important driver of educational and economic success for persons who are blind and visually impaired. We therefore support the teaching of Braille and the production of embossed and refreshable Braille, as well as promote the production of digitally accessible books that can be read with assistive technology.  It is important that people who are blind or visually impaired remain up-to-date with the latest technological developments, but this should not come at the expense of Braille literacy.

According to a 2017 World Health Organization estimate, approximately 253 million people are visually impaired world-wide. More than 90% of these are resident in developing countries, where the World Blind Union (WBU) estimates that people who are blind have only a one in ten chance of going to school or getting a job. A lack of accessible books remains a very real barrier to getting an education and leading an independent, productive life. The WBU estimates that less than 10% of all published materials can be read by blind or low-vision people.

How ABC supports Braille Literacy

ABC promotes Braille in all three of its primary activities:

• Capacity Building – ABC provides training or funding to organizations in developing countries for the publication of books in embossed Braille or in digitally accessible formats that can be read with the use of refreshable Braille displays.
• ABC Global Book Service – this global library catalogue of over 415,000 accessible-format titles contains over 71,000 Braille titles, including 5,000 Braille music scores, which can be downloaded by participating libraries serving the blind and printed on Braille embossers. The sharing of library catalogues between participating organizations prevents the duplication and high costs associated with converting print books into Braille when another library has already produced the title.
• Accessible Publishing – ABC encourages publishers to adopt “born accessible” practices, including the production of books in the accessible Epub3 format, so that their publications can be read by persons who are blind or visually impaired using assistive technology, including refreshable Braille displays. ABC sponsors the Charter for Accessible Publishing and the annual ABC International Excellence Award for Accessible Publishing which recognizes leadership and achievements in advancing the accessibility of digital publications.

About the Accessible Books Consortium

The Accessible Books Consortium is a public – private alliance led by WIPO; it includes the World Blind Union, the DAISY Consortium, the International Council for the Education of People with Visual Impairment the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, Sightsavers, Perkins, the International Authors Forum, the International Publishers Association, and the International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organizations. ABC aims to increase the number of books worldwide in accessible formats and to make them available to people who are blind, have low vision or are otherwise print disabled.

Find out more

For further information, please visit our website at www.AccesssibleBooksConsortium.org or e-mail us at: accessible.books@wipo.int.