Welcome to the Braillists

Latest News

  • Read Aloud With Confidence, Tuesday at 7:30 PM

    Reading aloud is a skill that is both terrifying and liberating. Adding braille to the mix presents unique challenges that can often get in the way of recognising significant progress. Along with reading speed and fluency, the one question we hear most often is: “How can I improve my ability to read aloud?”

    Building on the topics from her popular masterclass, Revitalise Your Braille Reading Technique, Chantelle Griffiths returns to uncover some of the mystery and magic of reading aloud and to share some tips and tricks to help.

    In this masterclass we will explore:

    • How a six-year-old Chantelle connected the dots between elephants, cats and reading aloud, and the one word she learned that can help you, too.
    • What reading aloud is not, and why “not” helps a lot!
    • The surprising visual analogy that can improve your reading exponentially, if you choose to see it.
    • The three infuriating words that everyone hates to hear but loves to experience.
    • How moving on is not giving up, but levelling up.
    • The capital B mindset that resets your brain and your reading practice every time.
    • And so much more.

    Why not bring along some familiar reading material, electronic or hardcopy, and try some of what you learn with us in real time.

    Whether you’re new to reading aloud or you just want a fresh perspective, there’s something here for everyone.

    Register for the Masterclass here.

    To join by phone, please use these details:

    • Phone number: 0131 460 1196
    • Meeting ID: 871 6649 7003
    • Passcode: 123456
  • Lunch and Learn – Braille: A Perfect Jigsaw, Wednesday 16 October, 12:30 PM

    We are delighted to have been made aware of this event from the Chartered Institute of Public Relations:

    2024 is the 200th anniversary of the invention of Braille. David Wilkins, a totally blind and partially deaf member of CIPR, who has used Braille since 5 years old will lead this session. David trained as a journalist and is now a member of the British Antarctic Survey’s Net Zero team in Cambridge. The session will talk through the history of Braille, how it was developed, and how modern technology isn’t always the answer; covering what you should consider when communicating with people who are visually impaired.

    Find out more

  • 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.

  • Celebrating Braille 200 at Harrogate Library, Monday 21 October at 11:00 AM

    Come join us for an enlightening talk by the Royal National Institute of Blind People as we celebrate 200 years of Braille!

    Harrogate Library, Victoria Avenue, Harrogate, HG1 1EG

    In 1824 Louis Braille invented a tactile system that would revolutionise the world for people with sight loss and empower them to achieve things that would never before been thought possible. Join us in a day of celebrations, information, talks and shared experiences.

    Learn about the history and significance of Braille as we celebrate its 200th anniversary. Discover how this tactile writing system has empowered individuals with visual impairments for centuries. Don’t miss this opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of Braille and its impact on the blind community.

    All welcome. Refreshments provided. See you there!

    Reserve your free tickets here

  • 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:

    1. Send us one or more files of your contribution. Or if you have already published it yourself, send a link to the public resource.
    2. 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.
    3. Include your full name, country, age, and whether you are blind or sighted.
    4. Young persons under 18 should include a declaration from their parents agreeing to the publication.
    5. Provide a text of up to 1,000 characters in English, explaining the content of your sample.
    6. If submitting text only, please include a full translation in English if possible.
    7. Photos and videos should be in landscape format.
    8. Include a short description of what can be seen in any photos or videos.
    9. 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

  1. Promote the value of braille as a proven literacy tool that enriches the lives of blind people.
  2. Support efforts to make affordable braille and tactile reading technologies available to all blind people irrespective of education and employment status.
  3. 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.