The Sunday News
Vusumuzi Dube, Senior Reporter
ZIMBABWE will tomorrow join the rest of the world in commemorating the United Nations International Braille Day amid calls for society to note the importance of Braille and the need to improve the placement of blind children in schools.
The UN General Assembly officially designated 4 January as the World Braille Day, a day meant to raise awareness of the importance of Braille as a means of communication in the full realisation of the human rights for persons who are blind or partially sighted.
Responding to questions from Sunday News, executive director for the Zimbabwe National League of the Blind, Mr Ishmael Zhou said due to the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions, this year’s commemorations would be held virtually.
He said this year their commemorations were hinged on improving public awareness regarding persons living with visual impairments.
“The importance of commemorating this day hinges on public awareness on the use of Braille and the need for society to support blind children by facilitating their placement in schools.
“More often than not society has a view that a blind person cannot read or write because of lack of sight. Braille is communicated through one’s fingers. Blind children have to develop their sense of touch at a tender age,” said Mr Zhou.
He noted that for the blind community their fingers are versatile but key among that is for the fingers to facilitate learning from ECD to university.
“When the UN declared the day, it was meant for member states to prioritise the literacy of blind people globally. Zimbabwe is a signatory of the Marrakech Treaty which it ratified on 12 September 2019.
“The country has to go a step further to domesticate the Marrakech Treaty so that the right to read challenge is addressed for blind and partially sighted citizens. The treaty, if domesticated, will allow transcription of written materials into Braille without seeking permission from copyright holders,” said Mr Zhou.
In a statement to commemorate the day, the World Blind Union (WBU) last week said Braille is essential for literacy and lifelong learning of the blind, their freedom of expression and opinion, as well as social inclusion.
The WBU said this was in line with Articles 21 and 24 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 which focuses on inclusive and equitable quality of education and promotion of lifelong learning opportunities for all.
“In celebrating the World Braille Day, the World Blind Union is urging all countries to ratify and implement the Marrakesh Treaty which enables distribution of Braille, and other accessible reading materials, without the threat of copyright infringements.
“Furthermore, as the world strives to cope with Covid-19 pandemic, access to information and reading material in accessible formats is essential for persons who are blind or partially sighted. Therefore, we would like to take this opportunity to call on governments, policy makers and all other stakeholders to ensure that reading materials are available in accessible formats, including Braille, so that no one is left behind,” reads the statement.
