Celebrating 200 Years of Braille: A Personal Journey to Accessibility and Inclusion

When Peter Hendriks turned 42, his life took an unexpected turn. Gradual loss of sight in both eyes forced him to end his career as a math and physics teacher. He joined a rehabilitation facility where he learned all the skills needed to live independently. “It was fun to learn braille, thanks to a supportive instructor who helped me to progress faster than expected,” Peter recalls.

As the world marks Braille Day on January 4, the occasion not only celebrates a revolutionary system that opens doors to education, independence, and opportunities for millions of blind and visually impaired individuals worldwide but also recognizes a major milestone: the 200th anniversary of the invention of braille. Developed by Louis Braille in Paris after losing his sight due to an accident at a young age, this tactile writing system has transformed the lives of countless individuals, offering a bridge to literacy and independence.

For Peter Hendriks, a passionate advocate and user of braille in the Netherlands, the journey with this tactile writing system has been one of both challenge and triumph.

Peter accesses his Dutch braille books through Passend Lezen, the national library service for individuals with print disabilities. But he quickly encountered a significant obstacle: the lack of consistency in the braille system in the Netherlands. He found himself navigating a confusing mix of braille codes, with mathematical braille in particular presenting a new set of challenges due to the introduction of a completely different notation system. This experience, though discouraging, sparked a sense of determination in Peter to advocate for a better, more standardized braille system for future generations.

With his background in education, Peter became involved with an organization producing educational materials for blind and visually impaired students, serving as a proofreader and advisor.

While the Dutch Braille Authority has played a leading role in standardizing braille for the Dutch language across three countries, significant challenges remain. “My hope is that the participating countries will agree on a standard for math braille,” he says. “It’s currently incompatible across borders.”

Peter’s personal experience and commitment to advocating for accessible braille highlight just how crucial this system is to the blind and visually impaired community.

As the Accessible Books Consortium (ABC) works to ensure that more books and educational materials are available in accessible formats, including braille, there is still work to be done.

ABC recognizes the role of braille as an important driver of educational and economic success for persons who are blind and visually impaired. It supports the teaching of braille and the production of embossed and refreshable braille, as well as promoting the production of digitally accessible books that can be read with assistive technology.  It is important that people who are blind or visually impaired remain up-to-date with the latest technological developments, but this should not come at the expense of braille literacy. As Peter Hendriks puts it, “braille is a window to the world.”

On this Braille Day, let us honor the legacy of Louis Braille, the creator of this transformative system, as we celebrate 200 years since its invention, and commit to working together to ensure that braille remains accessible, relevant, and consistent for all who rely on it.

Peter Hendriks, reflecting on his own journey, offers a poignant reminder of what true inclusion means. “I am a human being who, by chance, walks with a cane. I can love, get a job, and live independently with a little help.” His words inspire us to see accessibility as the foundation of a society where everyone has the freedom to live, work, and dream without barriers.

How ABC supports Braille Literacy

ABC promotes braille in all three of its primary activities:

• Capacity Building – ABC provides training and funding to organizations in developing countries for the publication of books in embossed braille or in digitally accessible formats that can be read with the use of refreshable braille displays.
• ABC Global Book Service – this global library catalogue of over one million accessible format titles is available for cross-border exchange under the framework of the Marrakesh Treaty. The Service contains over 100,000 braille titles, including 11,000 braille music scores.
• Accessible Publishing – ABC encourages publishers to adopt “born accessible” practices, including the production of books in the accessible Epub3 format, so that their publications can be read by persons who are blind or visually impaired using assistive technology, including refreshable braille displays.

Background

According to a 2017 study published in The Lancet, approximately 253 million people are blind or visually impaired world-wide. Nearly 90% of these are resident in developing countries, where the World Blind Union (WBU) estimates that people who are blind have only a one in ten chance of going to school or getting a job. A lack of accessible books remains a very real barrier to getting an education and leading an independent, productive life.

About ABC

The Accessible Books Consortium (ABC) is a public-private partnership led by WIPO that, together with its many partners around the world, has had real impact over the past decade. Since its inception, the ABC Global Book Service catalogue has quadrupled in size to over one million titles thanks to the inclusion of the collections of participating authorized entities. ABC delivered a total of 164,000 accessible digital files from the ABC catalogue to persons with print disabilities through its authorized entities in 2023. In addition, through ABC’s training and technical assistance partners, more than 20,000 textbooks have been made accessible in over 40 low-income countries, improving access to education for thousands of young people. ABC was established in June 2014 to implement the goals of the Marrakesh Treaty.

About WIPO

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is the global forum for intellectual property policy, services, information and cooperation. A specialized agency of the United Nations, WIPO assists its 193 member states in developing a balanced international IP legal framework to meet society's evolving needs. It provides business services for obtaining IP rights in multiple countries and resolving disputes. It delivers capacity-building programs to help developing countries benefit from using IP. And it provides free access to unique knowledge banks of IP information.