Send your New Year message in Braille
- This is the first online Braille writing
application which allows people to send ‘secret’ messages and has been
created to support Royal Blind’s National Braille Week (4-10 January,
2008)
- In a survey 88% of people listed sight as
their most important sense and almost half said the thing they would
miss most if they were blind would be seeing their friends and family.
(1)
- 2 million people in UK have sight problems.
Over 370,000 are registered as blind or partially sighted and around
20,000 say that Braille is their preferred reading medium although many
others use it for labelling. (2)
- The Royal Blind’s Scottish Braille Press
produced 6 million pages of Braille last year.
Live Web Chat For National Braille Week 4 January
2008 At 2:30.pm
The chat is being carried on several web sites - just click through to
find one
To coincide with the birthday of Louis Braille (the
inventor of Braille) and World Braille Day, Royal Blind is launching the
first National Braille Week in the UK. To support the event the charity
has developed a website that celebrates all aspects of Braille,
www.nationalbrailleweek.org . Visitors to the site will be
able to discover interesting facts about Braille – how it was created and
how it is used in the 21st century - and send an e-card with messages
rendered into a Braille image using a Yomego(4) entertainment platform.
Recipients will be given Braille information to decipher the message or
will be able to follow a link back to the Royal Blind site to have the
message decoded for them.
Richard Hellewell, chief executive of Royal Blind said:
“The new application is intended to help unlock the mystery of Braille and
highlight its importance to the country’s blind and partially sighted
community. It is a fun way for sighted people to learn about Braille and
perhaps send a special New Year message to friends, colleagues and family
in Braille for them to break the code.”
National Braille Week marks the beginning of a campaign
by Royal Blind that will develop over the next year, to support the 200th
anniversary of the birth of Louis Braille. In a survey commissioned to
support the event, findings suggest that although we don't think blind
people are sufficiently provided for, we do recognise the implications of
living without sight. In a survey 88% of people listed sight as their
most important sense and almost half said the thing they would miss most
if they were blind would be seeing their friends and family.
Richard Hellewell continued: “The ability to read and
write in Braille is the single most important gateway to opportunity for
the UK’s blind or partially sighted people. It is the building block of
literacy which is the building block of independence. People who are
blind and know Braille are known to be more likely to be employed than
those who rely on voice synthesizers.
“You wouldn’t tell a class of 6 year old children that
they don’t need to lean to read any more because computers can do it for
them. But every day, that’s what some people who are blind and visually
impaired are told. People need to be literate, to read, write, count – in
order to enjoy intellectual freedom, personal security and equal
opportunities. Braille is used all over the world but outside our
community there is little knowledge or understanding about its use.
Creating the secret message application is a great way to raise awareness,
which we hope will inspire interest and support for Braille and Royal
Blind.”
Kristen Bennie for Yomego added: “Working with Royal
Blind really brings into focus how online promotion and interactive
devices can be made to work for specialised organisations to raise
awareness. At the end of the day, Royal Blind needs to find new supporters
and encourage funding and we hope that this will at least draw attention
to their work.”
1. Survey carried out by Tickbox.net. 30.10..2007 -
06.11.2007. Sample size 1432.
National and Regional Information
National
88% say that sight is the most important of their senses
46% say that they would most miss the sight of their friends and family
23% say that they would most miss reading books
86% think that bank statements should be available in Braille
78% think that there are insufficient facilities for blind people in
day-to-day situations
East
83% say that sight is the most important of their senses
45% say that they would most miss the sight of their friends and family
23% say that they would most miss reading books
82% think that bank statements should be available inBraille
77% think that there are insufficient facilities for blind people in
day-to-day situations
London
84% say that sight is the most important of their senses 46% say that they
would most miss the sight of their friends and family
29% say that they would most miss reading books
90% think that bank statements should be available in Braille
79% think that there are insufficient facilities for blind people in
day-to-day situations
Midlands
89% say that sight is the most important of their senses
50% say that they would most miss the sight of their friends and family
22% say that they would most miss reading books
87% think that bank statements should be available in Braille
76% think that there are insufficient facilities for blind people in
day-to-day situations
North East
87% say that sight is the most important of their senses
53% say that they would most miss the sight of their friends and family
20% say that they would most miss reading books
89% think that bank statements should be available in Braille
85% think that there are insufficient facilities for blind people in
day-to-day situations
North West
88% say that sight is the most important of their senses
46% say that they would most miss the sight of their friends and family
23% say that they would most miss reading books
86% think that bank statements should be available in Braille
75% think that there are insufficient facilities for blind people in
day-to-day situations
Northern Ireland
88% say that sight is the most important of their senses
53% say that they would most miss the sight of their friends and family
24% say that they would most miss reading books
71% think that bank statements should be available in Braille
59% think that there are insufficient facilities for blind people in
day-to-day situations
Scotland
88% say that sight is the most important of their senses
41% say that they would most miss the sight of their friends and family
28% say that they would most miss reading books
90% think that bank statements should be available in Braille
76% think that there are insufficient facilities for blind people in
day-to-day situations
South East
88% say that sight is the most important of their senses
45% say that they would most miss the sight of their friends and family
23% say that they would most miss reading books
89% think that bank statements should be available in Braille
80% think that there are insufficient facilities for blind people in
day-to-day situations
South West
89% say that sight is the most important of their senses
52% say that they would most miss the sight of their friends and family
17% say that they would most miss reading books
85% think that bank statements should be available in Braille
76% think that there are insufficient facilities for blind people in
day-to-day situations
Wales
95% say that sight is the most important of their senses
39% say that they would most miss the sight of their friends and family
24% say that they would most miss reading books
76% think that bank statements should be available in Braille
79% think that there are insufficient facilities for blind people in
day-to-day situations
Yorkshire
86% say that sight is the most important of their senses
42% say that they would most miss the sight of their friends and family
22% say that they would most miss reading books
89% think that bank statements should be available in Braille
81% think that there are insufficient facilities for blind people in
day-to-day situations
2. RNIB research figures correct as of 14/11/2007.
3. Royal Blind,
www.royalblind.org comprises:
The Royal Blind School, Edinburgh
A school that offers the highest quality of education and care to meet the
needs of young people with a visual impairment or those with very complex,
multiple disabilities. The two campuses include pre-school, primary and
secondary facilities supporting pupils across the full ability range.
Braeside House
A Home that provides first class services and facilities for older people
who are blind or visually impaired, offering both residential and nursing
care in purpose built premises.
Scottish Braille Press
A leading provider of high quality alternative formats with many years of
experience, backed up with
continuing investment in technology and skills. |