Latest News
- An Exciting Book Launch for National Braille Week, Thursday 10 October at 7:30 PM
We are excited to announce the launch of a new eBook!
Whether you’re new to braille or you’ve been using braille technology for decades, choosing your braille display can be daunting. They’re so expensive, there’s so much to consider, and just when you thought you’d investigated all your options, you come across another one you hadn’t heard of before!
Braille On Display has been helping prospective users choose the braille display which best meets their individual needs since 2016, and to celebrate National Braille Week and World Sight Day, we are delighted to unveil the third edition of this comprehensive compendium.
Join us on Thursday 10 October at 7:30 PM, where we will hear first hand from its author, Jackie Brown, about what this publication has to offer and what has been added in this brand new edition. Jackie will be joined by esteemed ambassadors from the assistive technology industry including Ron Miller and Jonathan Mosen, who will add their own commentary on the book.
We will also reveal details of how you can obtain your own copy of the book, and there will be a question and answer session with Jackie towards the end of the event.
Register for the Braille On Display Launch Event here.
To join by phone, please use these details:
- Phone number: 0131 460 1196
- Meeting ID: 864 5331 8624
- Passcode: 123456
- Braille Bar on Tuesday
Our popular Braille Bar returns this Tuesday at 7:30 PM. No question is too small, from kit to code – just ask and our experts will assist you!
Or, to join by phone, use these details:
- Phone number: 0131 460 1196
- Meeting ID: 880 3508 8878
- Passcode: 123456
- Live demonstration of MuseScore Studio with a screen reader, Thursday 17 October at 7:00 PM
MuseScore is a free notation editor, widely used for creating music scores for onward translation into braille. It has been great to see the emphasis on accessibility within its development in recent years. Sound Without Sight are very excited to share that their next Meet-up Session will feature a live demo of MuseScore Studio by James Bowden, Braille Technical Officer at RNIB. James will demonstrate the process of installing the software, and then cover all you need to create basic scores while using keyboard navigation and a screen reader. More information and sign up.
- How important is braille to you?
As we celebrate 200 years of braille at RNIB, we would love to hear from blind and partially sighted people across the UK about your experience of using braille and how it has enabled you to access information independently.
If you are a braillist in the UK and you would like to share your experience to help us raise awareness of braille use in the UK, please use the survey link below and share your thoughts: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Braille200
Thank you.
- Invitation to Participate in the 200th Anniversary initiative “Braille 200”
From: European Blind Union – Working Group on Braille.
To: blind and sighted braille users all over Europe
Dear Friends,
In 1825, a 16-year-old blind boy named Louis Braille, at his school in Paris, invented the braille code for tactile reading. This invention has since spread enhancing literacy, education and employment of millions of blind people around the world. In 2025, we will celebrate the 200th anniversary of our beloved braille code.
The European Blind Union, through its Braille working group, is launching a project to involve Braille users by sharing creative experiences. We are delighted to invite you to join our celebration. Our goal is to collect contributions inspired by braille from both blind and sighted users all over Europe.
We encourage individuals, groups, or organizations to create artistic or personal pieces, such as videos, podcasts about braille, texts, photos, graphics, or drawings in braille, based on braille signs or shapes. You might also come up with other creative ideas. Here are some ideas:
- Reading braille texts as audio or video.
- Original texts with testimonials, fictional stories, or poems related to braille code, submitted as text or recorded readings.
- Art projects involving braille, such as people standing with umbrellas to form braille characters, filmed or photographed from above.
- Reports from beginner braille courses.
- Works of art, such as graphics or pictures made of braille characters, which are visually interesting. A monthly calendar for 2026 will feature 12 outstanding graphics, for which a separate invitation will be sent.
- Songs, sketches, radio plays, etc. related to braille.
- Games, learning methods, software and materials on braille.
- Advice for other braille users.
- And any other creative ideas you come up with.
We hope to receive 365 contributions, one for each day of 2025. Every month, the EBU will award a prize of €100 to the best contribution of the month. All pieces will be published on our European Braille forum: https://www.livingbraille.eu/topic/braille200/, and will be shared through various channels such as email newsletters and social media.
We are eagerly looking forward to receiving your fantastic and original pieces. Please send your contributions, questions, or remarks via email to: [email protected].
Requirements for your contributions:
- Send us one or more files of your contribution. Or if you have already published it yourself, send a link to the public resource.
- If you know a good sample created by someone else, please advise us and send a link to this and contact details for the person.
- Include your full name, country, age, and whether you are blind or sighted.
- Young persons under 18 should include a declaration from their parents agreeing to the publication.
- Provide a text of up to 1,000 characters in English, explaining the content of your sample.
- If submitting text only, please include a full translation in English if possible.
- Photos and videos should be in landscape format.
- Include a short description of what can be seen in any photos or videos.
- Along with this text send us also your agreement as follows: By sending this contribution to European Blind Union Braille 200 initiative, I hereby agree on granting full copyright ownership to EBU.
By submitting your original work to this EBU initiative:
- Authors shall assign automatically to EBU worldwide all rights including copyright, and EBU may assign or license these rights.
- Authors shall allow EBU to use their name and their works in publicity and for information purposes as EBU may require.
- As copyright holder, EBU may give permission to the authors and to their national members to make use of the works as they deem fit.
- Authors shall provide EBU with their photographs and shall entitle EBU to reproduce, adapt, edit and publish their photographs on any media, including web and print.
Thank you in advance for your cooperation, involvement, and commitment.
Best regards,
Braille Working Group of European Blind Union
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.