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Tag: Braille
The World Braille Day: Celebrating the Importance of Braille for the Full Realization of Human Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Social Structures
Author: Silvia Favalli, Post-doctoral research fellow in International law – University of Pavia (Italy)
Since 2019, World Braille Day celebrates the significance of Braille as a means of communication and a gateway to realize human rights of persons who are blind or partially sighted. This day commemorates the birthday of its inventor, Louis Braille, born in France in 1809.
Braille is a tactile writing and reading system and consists of the representation of alphabetic and numerical symbols using six dots. The dot patterns are assigned to each letter and number, but they represent musical, mathematical and scientific symbols as well. It also allows users to develop an understanding of the formal structure of language, such as spacing, formatting and grammar.
Braille has been a key tool for persons who are blind or partially sighted to exercise their rights since it was first developed in the XIX century. In particular, Braille is crucial in the context of education, to allow freedom of expression and opinion and, more broadly, to enhance social inclusion, as reflected in the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4, which focuses on inclusive and equitable quality of education and promotion of lifelong learning opportunities for all.
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