Latest News
- The New Braille Features in iOS and iPad OS 26, Tuesdays 23 and 30 September at 7:30 PM
Apple recently released the latest versions of its flagship operating systems, including iOS and iPad 26 for the popular iPhone and iPad product lines. Amongst the many new features are a significant number of improvements to VoiceOver, the built-in screen reader.
In this two-part series, Matthew Horspool will lift the lid on what is new and changed for users of braille displays and Braille Screen Input.
In part 1, on Tuesday 23 September, we will cover:
- Braille Keyboard Input
- Item overview
- New cursor and text selection options
- Quick navigation
- Single-hand Braille Screen Input
- Changing gestures in Braille Screen Input Command mode
In part 2, on Tuesday 30 September, we will devote the entire session to Braille Access, a new notetaker-like experience for connected braille displays. We will talk about:
- Launching apps and items
- Taking, reading and managing braille notes
- Reading and transferring BRF files
- The braille clock and calculator
- Live braille captions
- Braille Access settings
- Configuring braille keyboard commands for Braille Access
Both sessions will start at 7:30 PM UK time, and you can register once to attend both sessions.
Register for the Masterclass here.
To join by phone, please use these details:
- Phone number: 0131 460 1196
- Meeting ID: 890 9440 0482
- Passcode: 123456
- Joining the dots – 200 years of Braille Music, Sunday Feature on Radio 3, 28 September at 7:15 PM
The story of Braille music and its impact on blind musicians over the last 200 years.
2025 marks 200 years since Louis Braille invented his revolutionary 6-dot tactile writing system for blind people. Braille was also an organist, and he went on to adapt his system into Braille Music, allowing blind musicians to access and study scores like never before.
Award-winning lutenist Matthew Wadsworth travels to France to learn about the origins of Braille Music and explores the impact it’s had on blind musicians over the last 200 years.
Matthew visits the Musée Louis Braille (Braille’s childhood home) in Coupvray, France to learn about Louis Braille’s early life. He also travels to the Institut National des Jeunes Aveugles (The National Institute for Blind Youth) in Paris – the institute for blind students where Louis Braille was a student and teacher. The school still teaches blind students today and organ teacher Alexandra Bartfeld tells Matthew how the institute trained famed blind organists like Jean Langlais, Louis Vierne and Gaston Litaize.
Philippa Campsie, independent researcher into the history of blindness, explains how Charles Barbier’s Night Writing code using raised dots inspired Louis Braille. And Mireille Duhen, from the Valentin Haüy museum, shows Matthew period tactile music scores from the turn of the 19th century.
Internationally acclaimed concert pianist Ignasi Cambra explains at the piano how he uses Braille Music to memorise a score.
Viola player Takashi Kikuchi is a member of Paraorchestra. He recently learned the music for the Virtuous Circle – an orchestral performance of Mozart’s 40th Symphony with additional music by Oliver Vibrans. He discusses the challenges of memorising contemporary music and how he worked with fellow viola player and Assistant Music Director of Paraorchestra, Siobhan Clough, to access the score.
Recorder player and composer James Risdon talks to Matthew about the ways digital Braille Music scores have benefited his career. And Dr Sarah Morley Wilkins from the Daisy Consortium Braille Music project and Jay Pocknell (Project Manager at Sound Without Sight and Music officer at the Royal National Institute for Blind People) discuss their work with music publishers to improve access to Braille Music scores in the digital age.
- Webinar on Canute Console sponsored by Dancing Dots, Wednesday 1 October at 5:00 PM
Introducing the Canute Console from Bristol Braille. A 360 cell, 9-line refreshable braille display synced to a high contrast 13″ monitor.
Read literary, math or music Braille a nine-line page at a time; Use the Console to access math, financial and chart information in a more intuitive way; Study; Use the Console for Linux system administration; programming; exploring maps and much, much more.
Presented by Ed Rogers from Bristol Braille.
Join the Zoom meeting Meeting ID 890 8536 4510 000764
- Meet the Monarch at Coventry Vision Hub! Thursday 9 October, 10:00 AM-4:00 PM
Coventry Vision Hub, the new name for Coventry Resource Centre for the Blind, will be holding an open day in recognition of World Sight Day. HumanWare and other assistive technology companies will be part of a small exhibition, and we are promised that there will be a Monarch!
Entry is free on Thursday 9 October between 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM. No registration required.
Coventry Vision Hub, 33-35 Earlsdon Avenue South, Coventry, CV5 6Th
024 7671 7522
[email protected]- Monarch meets JAWS: Unlocking the future of Multiline Braille, Wednesday 22 October at 5:00 PM
Vispero and HumanWare invite you to an exclusive webinar showcasing the future of braille access with Monarch and JAWS. Together, we’ll demonstrate how multiline braille and split braille open new possibilities for education, productivity, and independence.
Discover how cursor routing on multiline displays provides faster, more intuitive navigation across multiple lines of text, bringing braille access closer than ever to the experience of print. Learn how JAWS and the Monarch work hand-in-hand to deliver a powerful, seamless solution for braille users of all levels.
Join us to see firsthand how this groundbreaking collaboration is transforming braille access and empowering users worldwide.
- The Braillists on Bargain Hunt!
Can you guess today’s mystery object? Eric Knowles baffles punters at Stoneleigh antiques fair in Warwickshire with an intriguing brass-hinged item with holes in it – but what was it used for? Matthew Horspool reveals all!
The object is shown from approximately 13 minutes through the programme.
- Recycling Braille Books
This is a message from Mary Lea. Please contact her directly for more information.
At the moment I am volunteering at the Braille Hub in Belfast, and they can recycle old RNIB books into bound copies. If you have any books you’d like to have bound for your own collection, or if you want to donate them to schools in Africa, let me know. The pamphlets go to Belfast prison where the prisoners get to produce the books while learning useful skills.
Write to me off list for more information.
- Bonocle is back and you could win up to $500
BoQuest is a gamified braille and assistive technology practice app giving braille students the chance to practice their braille skills anytime and anywhere on their smart devices with any compatible braille display.
BoDesk is a web dashboard for TVIs and vision teachers to help them with lesson planning, assigning personalized assignments and tracking student progress.
Bonocle are running a pilot with the Bonocle braille challenge.
- Go to www.bonocle.co/pilot
- Fill the form and get the download instructions
- Do the challenge and win up to $500.
- Invite others to join and mention you in the form’s referral section for a chance to win $100.*
*More people will grant you more entries and they must complete one run of the challenge to qualify as an entry.
For more information, email Ramy Abdulzaher
The Braillists is a grass-roots community group offering high quality training and support to emerging and established braille users. We also work with family members, friends, colleagues and teachers of braille users, and connect braille users with braille technology developers and funders.
What Is Braille?
Braille is a simple code for representing written language. We believe braille has the potential to transform the life of any blind person who has the opportunity to learn it.
Discover more about braille on this page.
Learn Braille
We support hundreds of adults to read braille by touch in a few short weeks through our innovative and approachable Braille for Beginners course. Free of charge, it comprises hard copy resources through the post and a series of short pre-recorded lessons, supplemented by email and Zoom support from highly qualified and experienced tutors.
Find out more about Braille for Beginners and register here.
There are plenty of other courses available too, for both children and adults, reading by touch or by sight. We have made a list of these on our Learn Braille page.
Perkins Repairs and Other Braille Equipment
The Perkins Brailler is the most established braille writer in use today, and even machines from the 1950s can still be serviced and repaired. We have compiled information about Perkins repairs, places to purchase Perkins Braillers, and other types of braille equipment on our Braille Equipment page.
If you are looking for braille paper, you can find it on our Braille Consumables page.
Our Aims
- Promote the value of braille as a proven literacy tool that enriches the lives of blind people.
- Support efforts to make affordable braille and tactile reading technologies available to all blind people irrespective of education and employment status.
- Provide an open forum for the exchange of ideas about the development of future braille technology.
Find Out More
Join our announcements only mailing list to receive our weekly newsletter.
Join the conversation and meet other Braillists on our discussion forum.
Connect with us on Twitter (@Braillists) or like us on Facebook for up to the minute Braillists news.
Listen to some braille-related audio on Soundcloud (braillists).
Please see our Sponsors and Partners for information on organisations who are supporting us.
Get In Touch
Email [email protected] or call 020 3893 3392. Further details on our Contact Us page.