Building Inclusive Communities and Surroundings | World Braille Day | truCSR

Written by: Samreen Saify

Compiled and Edited by: Rebecca Shibu

According to a report by WHO, more than a quarter population across the globe, i.e., around 2.2 billion people, suffer from vision impairment, out of which 1 billion cases were preventable or have yet not been addressed.  It's a well-established fact that vision impairment severely impacts an individual's life outcomes by impeding the social, economic, and educational activities undertaken to live a fulfilling life. The absence of tactile tools, such as Braille, in the majority of the establishments and shared spaces, reduces the chance for these individuals to participate and assert their rights. India,  being the second-most populous country in the world in terms of vision impairment, is home to over 20 percent of the world's blind population. 

Source: World Health Organization

The lives of visually impaired individuals are often mired with various issues and concerns. With an aim to highlight this, since 2019, World Braille Day is observed on the 4th of January to raise awareness of the importance of Braille as a means of communication and a necessary step towards helping the visually impaired realize their full potential and human rights. Braille, the foundation of literacy for the blind, is a tactile representation of alphabetic and numerical symbols using six dots to represent each letter and number. Invented in 19th century France by Louis Braille, Braille is used by blind and partially sighted people to read and comprehend books, periodicals, and other reading material.  This day's observance is a necessary reminder for all of us to take necessary measures to make shared spaces more accessible. By doing so, we would not only be giving visually impaired individuals a space to assert their rights but also a chance to live a more dignified and fulfilling life.  

The pandemic has also made it abundantly clear how crucial it is to produce essential information in accessible formats, including Braille. As vision-related impairment significantly affects the economic and educational opportunities of the blind besides reducing the quality of life, there is a need to make establishments more accommodative and accessible for their individual needs.  Despite the various advancements in technology, our surroundings remain significantly inaccessible for these individuals let alone functional. This severely undermines their autonomy besides making them excessively dependent on their primary caregivers and family. Therefore, there is a need to spread awareness about Braille and other accessible forms of communication and active incorporation of the same to make more inclusive communities and surroundings. 

Persons with disabilities not only deserve but are also legally entitled to the same accommodations, services, and facilities as their able-bodied counterparts. Therefore, proactive efforts are needed to extend the scope of accessibility to all social and age groups. One way to ensure this is through the incorporation of need-based tools and material in all spaces and establishments. So that in our quest to make communities more inclusive, nobody gets left behind.  

- Team truCSR

truCSR is a social engagement platform run by a group of professionals with a passion for social development with a cumulative experience of more than 100 years in the field of Corporate Social Responsibility (#CSR), finance, taxation, corporate and allied laws, corporate governance and strategic management. The platform seamlessly connects Implementers and Contributors to amplify the #CSRimpact and accelerate the process of social change with digital solutions. This platform is owned and developed by a company headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. 

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