Latest News
- Braille and Beer After Sight Village Central, Monday 7 July at 4:30 PM
Hosted by Bristol Braille Technology:
Location: Sacks of Potatoes, 10 Gosta Green, Birmingham B4 7ER (just a 4-minute walk from the Sight Village venue)
This informal gathering is the perfect way to unwind after the first day of the exhibition. You’ll have the chance to meet fellow Braille users, connect with innovators in the field, and experience the joy of Braille in a fun and relaxed atmosphere over your favourite drink.
And we have two subjects in particular that we want to have a discussion about, so we especially hope you can join us if they interest you: the future of tactile maps, and creative writing using Braille. These are both areas that Bristol Braille is going to be running projects within and we welcome inventive minds to share their experiences.
If you can’t make it to Braille and Beer, but would like to discuss your ideas with Ed or Steph during Sight Village, you can book a one-to-one session here.
We very much look forward to seeing you at Braille and Beer and sharing everything new from Bristol Braille Technology!
- RNIB Personal Transcription Consultation Now Open
From RNIB.
Be part of the conversation, share your ideas…
We’re reaching out to invite you to be part of an important conversation about the future of our personal transcription service. Personal transcription is a request by a customer to have a personal document transcribed into an accessible format of their choice. As someone with lived experience or a close connection to sight loss, you can help us to understand what people need and how we can best support them. We want your help to shape what comes next.
We want to explore:
- What people need from transcription services today.
- How people are navigating their needs outside of our service.
- What role we should play in the future.
When will I be needed?
We’re holding three virtual meetings each month in July, August and September and ideally you would be able to attend all meetings.
How to get involved:
Please complete this form by Wednesday 2nd July. We want to ensure we have as representative a group of people as possible, as well as those who are able to think long term and in the interests of all blind and partially sighted people. Following review of all respondents, we will let you know if you’ve been selected to take part.
Thank you.
- Text-To-Speech Comes to Paige Braille
Braille access just got easier: text-to-speech is now built right into the Paige website. Whether you’re translating braille for school, home, or fun, you can now hear the translation read aloud without needing a screen reader. This makes learning and using braille smoother for everyone, especially those new to assistive tech.
Perfect for:
- New learners exploring braille
- Teachers supporting classrooms
- Families helping braille users
This update is now live on both the Translate tool and Learn tool.
Watch it in action and share it with someone who could benefit from more accessible braille learning.
- Braille on the news: Braille Challenge 2025 Finals
From our friends at Paige Braille:
From June 26–29, finalists from across the U.S. and Canada will gather in Los Angeles for the 2025 Braille Challenge Finals, hosted by the Braille Institute. This one-of-a-kind academic competition brings together the brightest young braille readers and writers, celebrating literacy, achievement, and connection.
More info at brailleinstitute.org/braille-challenge
- Braille for Beginners Drop-In Session
If you are registered for our Braille for Beginners On Demand course, our next Office Hours session will take place on Tuesday at 7:30 PM. Please look out for a reminder email containing your unique joining link. If you have not received it by Tuesday lunchtime, please write to [email protected] for assistance.
If you are new to braille and not registered for Braille for Beginners, please consider signning up at www.braillists.org/beginners.
For people not following Braille for Beginners, your next session will be next Tuesday. Please see next week’s Newsletter for more information.
The Braillists is a grass-roots community group offering high quality training and support to emerging and established braille users. We also work with family members, friends, colleagues and teachers of braille users, and connect braille users with braille technology developers and funders.
What Is Braille?
Braille is a simple code for representing written language. We believe braille has the potential to transform the life of any blind person who has the opportunity to learn it.
Discover more about braille on this page.
Learn Braille
We support hundreds of adults to read braille by touch in a few short weeks through our innovative and approachable Braille for Beginners course. Free of charge, it comprises hard copy resources through the post and a series of short pre-recorded lessons, supplemented by email and Zoom support from highly qualified and experienced tutors.
Find out more about Braille for Beginners and register here.
There are plenty of other courses available too, for both children and adults, reading by touch or by sight. We have made a list of these on our Learn Braille page.
Perkins Repairs and Other Braille Equipment
The Perkins Brailler is the most established braille writer in use today, and even machines from the 1950s can still be serviced and repaired. We have compiled information about Perkins repairs, places to purchase Perkins Braillers, and other types of braille equipment on our Braille Equipment page.
If you are looking for braille paper, you can find it on our Braille Consumables page.
Our Aims
- Promote the value of braille as a proven literacy tool that enriches the lives of blind people.
- Support efforts to make affordable braille and tactile reading technologies available to all blind people irrespective of education and employment status.
- Provide an open forum for the exchange of ideas about the development of future braille technology.
Find Out More
Join our announcements only mailing list to receive our weekly newsletter.
Join the conversation and meet other Braillists on our discussion forum.
Connect with us on Twitter (@Braillists) or like us on Facebook for up to the minute Braillists news.
Listen to some braille-related audio on Soundcloud (braillists).
Please see our Sponsors and Partners for information on organisations who are supporting us.
Get In Touch
Email [email protected] or call 020 3893 3392. Further details on our Contact Us page.