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