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RNIB makes first stop on UK ‘Braille and Beyond’ library tour to celebrate two hundredth anniversary of braille

Posted Thursday, 3 October 2024 Categories: Press release
A white man with very short grey hair, wears dark glasses and a black polo shirt with the RNIB logo on the right hand side. He is sat at a green desk behind a large black desktop computer and is talking.

Dave Williams, RNIB's Inclusive Design Ambassador who is leading the Braille and Beyond Library tour

Blind and partially sighted people gather at Barking Library to share how braille has impacted their lives

Blind and partially sighted people who use braille – the system of raised dots which enables people with sight loss to read through touch – gathered at Barking Library on Friday (September 27) to celebrate the two hundredth anniversary of the invention of braille.

The event was organised by the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) and London Borough of Barking and Dagenham (LBBD) and marks the first stop on a year-long RNIB ‘Braille and Beyond’ UK tour of libraries to mark the landmark anniversary.

Braillists from RNIB, Barking and Dagenham and surrounding boroughs gathered to share their experiences of the impact braille has on their lives. They included members of Barking and Dagenham’s Braille Buddies group which meets weekly to learn braille and to socialise.

Dominica Eze, 80, from Dagenham, has retinitis pigmentosa which is causing her vision to deteriorate.

Dave Williams, RNIB’s Inclusive Design Ambassador who is blind and a lifelong braille user, said: “Braille is reading designed for our fingers just like print is designed for our eyes. Braille enables my wife to identify her many medications and gave me the confidence to deliver a best man speech at my friend’s wedding. It’s a vital tool for professionals across a variety of fields, such as the politician or lawyer who has to rely on braille to deliver legally binding statements verbatim, or musicians like Stevie Wonder who told me how he uses braille to create and edit his song lyrics. Braille readers are more likely to be employed than blind people who don’t read braille and this highlights a critical need to expand braille education, ensuring that more children with vision impairment and adults with sight loss can benefit from this powerful tool.

“Supporting braille education and resources is a crucial step towards an inclusive society. We’re doing the RNIB Braille and Beyond tour to celebrate the story of braille so far and it will be up to blind and partially sighted people across the UK to write the next chapter.”

Abiola Olabode runs the Braille Buddies group with a certificate e was presented with for his work

Abiola Olabode runs the Braille Buddies group. He was inspired to set it up because of his experience of living with Devic’s disease, which affects his vision and mobility. He started learning braille in 2016 and learnt the basics in three weeks working with Dean Apps, Visual Rehab Worker at LBBD.

Abiola said: “Learning braille gave me a passion to do something with my time. We formed Braille Buddies in 2016 and people have started coming from surrounding boroughs. It’s fantastic. We chat for the first hour and the second hour we do braille so it’s about socialising as well as learning.”

Councillor Saima Ashraf, Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Community Leadership and Engagement said: “The celebration of the two hundredth anniversary of braille is a testament to the enduring impact of this remarkable system. Braille has not only empowered countless individuals to read and write but has also fostered a sense of community and inclusion. We are proud to support RNIB’s ‘Braille and Beyond’ tour and to witness firsthand the positive changes braille brings to the lives of our residents. This event at Barking Library is just the beginning of a journey that will inspire and uplift blind and partially sighted people across the UK.”

Annie Pacheco, 52, who is blind, moved to the UK from Goa in 2014. She knew no English but has learnt it through attending Braille Buddies.

Notes to editors

All media enquiries including interview requests to 0207 391 2223 or [email protected]. For urgent enquiries out-of-hours, please call 07968 482812.

For more information about the Braille and Beyond tour contact RNIB's Library Liaison Officer, Lara Marshall on [email protected].

Find more information about the braille courses and resources RNIB offers.

Braille Buddies meets every Friday, except the last Friday of the month from 10:30am to 12:30pm at Dagenham Library, Meeting Room 1 (first floor). Contact Abiola on 07983 552 855.

The Braille and Beyond event was made possible thanks to the support of players of People’s Postcode Lottery, which supports RNIB through funds awarded by Postcode Care Trust.

About Braille 200

Louis Braille was in his teens in the mid-1820s when he began developing the six-dot tactile reading system that enables millions of blind and partially sighted people around the world to access the power of literacy. From September 2024, RNIB is leading a year of celebrations across the UK to recognise the bicentenary of the braille code; braille continues to unlock access to countless opportunities in education, employment and independent living.

Throughout the 2024-2025 school year, RNIB and its partners will highlight braille’s versatility for representing written language and technical subjects, enabling blind and partially sighted people to learn, work and play.

Despite its proven benefits, misconceptions about braille persist. Braille 200 affords us an opportunity to dispel some of those myths. Braille remains crucial in a world increasingly reliant on digital information. It complements audio technology and ensures independent and efficient access to detailed and personal information such as recipes, medication packaging and greetings cards. You do not have to be blind from birth nor super intelligent, braille can be empowering at any age.