Author: Matthew Horspool

Chairman’s End of Year Message

Hello Braillists Foundation friends

As 2024 draws to a close and our team takes a well-earned break, I would like to take this opportunity to extend my sincere thanks for all you have achieved throughout the year to support and spread braille and tactile literacy.

This has been a massive year for braille. And next year promises to be even bigger. Just take a few minutes to browse through our news pages and you’ll find more braille announcements, events, activities, resources and research than ever before. The Braillists Foundation range of online Zoom events have set new records in terms of attendance, we met many of you face to face as Sight Village events in London and Birmingham, and we are excited for our first in-person World Braille Day conference in Worcester on 4 January 2025.

Huge thanks to Ilka and Ed, founding trustees, who have stepped down from our Board after four and a half years service. A warm Welcome to Laurent, Darren and Steph who have joined the Board. We now have a total of seven trustees, all of whom are braille touch readers. You can learn more about our governance and policies etc on the website.

While everyone’s contribution, no matter how small, is always greatly appreciated. I want to pay special tribute to Matthew Horspool. This man has worked incredibly hard each and every week, not just as Treasurer, but also as our General Manager, tech guru, volunteer coordinator, podcast producer, newsletter writer, and so many things. Matthew we are all in your debt. Thankyou so much for all you do for this community. We are extremely lucky to have you among us. Let’s resolve to share your huge workload in the new year.

It is thanks to Matthew’s considerable efforts that we now have a proper bank account and a PayPal button where you can help us pay the bills for web hosting, Zoom subscription, braille transcription and required expenses to keep the Braillists Foundation alive and well. So if you like what the Braillists Foundation does, and if you would like that to continue, feel free to leave a tip in the tip jar, and share our braillists.org/donate page with your networks. And if you have already donated, thankyou. Your contribution means a lot.

I look forward to meeting many of you in 2025 at our World Braille Day conference, RNIB’s Braille and Beyond Library events, at CSUN, the Tactile Reading Conference and elsewhere. Let’s continue working together to spread braille and tactile literacy for every single person who needs to access information by touch.

From the bottom of my heart the most enormous thankyou for everything you do to empower blind and partially sighted people through braille and tactile literacy.

Seasons greetings from all of us to all of you.

Your Braillists Foundation Trustees

Dave Williams (Chairman)

Megan Hastings (Secretary)

Matthew Horspool (Treasurer)

Stuart Lawler

Laurent Cadet de Fontinay

Darren Paskell

Stephanie Sergeant

The Braillists Foundation is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation registered in England and Wales, no. 1187244.

Christmas Opening Times

The Braillists Foundation is closed for Christmas from the end of Book Club on Thursday 19 December until the start of the World Braille Day conference on Saturday 4 January.

A limited email service will be available from Thursday 2 January for queries regarding the World Braille Day conference.

Full service resumes on Tuesday 7 January.

Merry Christmas and a happy new year.

The International Council on English Braille Announces the Third Edition of The Rules of Unified English Braille

For Immediate Release

09 December, 2024 –the International Council on English Braille (ICEB) is delighted to announce the completion of the third edition of The Rules of Unified English Braille, superseding the second edition published in 2013.

This edition introduces several new features including:

  • a comprehensive index of all rules;
  • use of Unicode braille patterns for all examples; and
  • the addition of many more cross references.

All changes to the UEB code since 2013 have been incorporated into this new edition. In particular:

  • the rules and terminology for quotation marks and apostrophes have been rewritten to facilitate more accurate automated translation;
  • medial capitals are now permitted around shortforms, e.g. DeafBlind, QuickTime, and LetterWriter;
  • new symbols have been added for the checkmark (tick) and German sharp s (eszett);
  • a clarification that the contraction for ‘th’ should be used in the name Beethoven has been added;
  • a word followed by the line indicator may now be brailled in contracted form;
  • the line indicator may now be used to indicate a column break in a table; and
  • a small number of words have been added to the Shortforms List.

Matthew Horspool, Code Maintenance Officer, said: “The completion of this edition of the Rulebook would not have been possible without the hard work of innumerable individuals, many of whom contributed their time voluntarily. I wish to thank them for making this significant milestone possible. I am confident that it will serve us well for many years to come.”

Judy Dixon, President, said: “The importance of a consistent, rational braille code cannot be overstated. UEB’s reach is now extending to countries whose primary language is not English but where English is widely used. Several such countries have expressed interest in joining ICEB and we welcome their participation as we enter the next phase of UEB development.”

The Rules of Unified English Braille, Third Edition is available for download in print (PDF) and braille (BRF) from www.iceb.org and is made available under the Creative Commons license.

Contact

Judy Dixon, President

[email protected]

Notes

The International Council on English Braille (ICEB) was formed in 1991 and provides a forum for international cooperation among those countries that use English-language braille by assisting countries to establish standard-setting bodies in relation to braille codes and practices; working towards the development and adoption of international minimum standards for the production and teaching of braille; and facilitating the exchange of braille materials between member countries. Its members currently include braille authorities from Australia, Canada, Ireland, Nepal, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States. To learn more about ICEB, visit www.iceb.org or write to [email protected].

The Rules of Unified English Braille is the definitive source of rules for the Unified English Braille code (UEB), which is maintained by ICEB and adopted by braille authorities throughout the English-speaking world.

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

RNIB Connect Radio on World Braille Day

To celebrate World Braille Day On January 4th, all RNIB Connect Radio programming from 10am to 4pm UK is dedicated to celebrating Braille, exploring its 200-year history, talking to Braille users today and even taking a stroll down Braille Gardens.

We tour the Braille Museum in Paris, talk to guests on stage at the British Library, and find out, from the writings of RNIB founder Thomas Rhodes Armitage, why Braille won the format war for tactile text.

You can hear RNIB Connect Radio online and across the UK on Freeview Channel 730. Simply ask your smart speaker to play RNIB Connect Radio.

https://www.rnib.org.uk/connect-radio

Braille And Tactile Skills courses at Adult Learning Lewisham

Registration is now open for the spring term for the Braille And Tactile Skills courses offered by Adult Learning Lewisham, starting on 13 January 2025.

They take place on Mondays either between 10AM/12:30PM or 1Pm/3:30PM.

Terms are eleven weeks long and are held at the Brockley Rise centre in South East London:
2 Brockley Rise, SE23 1PR

No previous knowledge of Braille is required and many applicants receive free or discounted places depending on their income.

They are a friendly and supportive group, and all learners work at their own pace towards their individual goals. They have lots of great group discussions about various topics related to visual impairment and use things like tactile games to make learning fun and to foster new friendships and connections.

To register, please call: 0208 314 3300
Monday to Friday between 9am and 4pm to make an appointment for a pre-course assessment with supported learning, or you can email: [email protected]

Rare Braille Book in Oxford: Read it for Yourself! Tuesday 21 January, 2:00 PM-3:00 PM

Robert Bolick has been collecting artists’ books since 2012. His collection ‘Books on Books’ contains over 1200 items, and a selection of over 150 works featured in an exhibition curated by Robert, Alphabets Alive! which toured from July 2023 to January 2024.

He has recently procured a new book from artist Masoumeh Mohtadi, which modifies and transcribes into braille the Persian fable called “The Little Black Fish” to teach the reader how to make an origami fish. He is working with MyVision Oxfordshire and Oxford University to run a workshop to enable blind people to handle and explore the book for themselves.

The workshop will be taking place on Tuesday 21 January, 2:00 PM-3:00 PM at:

Weston Library, Broad Street, Oxford, OX1 3BG

Attendance is free and lunch will be provided beforehand.

Please register your attendance in advance by emailing Nathan Tree, Community Engagement Lead for MyVision Oxfordshire, on [email protected]