International Day for Universal Access to Information: A right that must reach everyone
Today, 28 September, is the International Day for Universal Access to Information. This year’s theme is information integrity in the digital age.
For people with blindness, low vision and deafblindness, information integrity starts with one question: can I read this myself? When public notices, textbooks, health advice, ballots or emergency alerts are only in print, or on screens that don’t work with assistive technology, people depend on others to interpret the information for them. Information we cannot access independently is information we cannot verify, question or act on with confidence.
Article 21 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities commits governments to providing public information in accessible formats, including braille, at no extra cost. The Marrakesh Treaty lets accessible-format books cross borders. The commitments exist. The task now is to act on them.
Braille is central to this. It gives people literacy, the ability to read and write independently, and a direct relationship with the written word. That is why ICEVI and the World Blind Union are leading More Braille: More Empowerment, a global campaign for braille instruction, materials and technology for every person who reads by touch.
Here is how you can take part today:
- Learn about the campaign and add your support: https://icevi.org/icevi-wbu-global-braille-literacy-campaign/
- Take part in the Global Braille Survey and help map how braille is learned, taught and used worldwide: https://www.pathstoliteracy.org/global-braille-survey/
- Share the WBU campaign page: https://wbu.ngo/about/global-braille-literacy-campaign
- Explore ICEVI’s work, including Teaching for All, a free start-up curriculum for teachers of children with blindness, low vision and deafblindness, launching on 29 September at the 2nd ICEVI Africa Conference: https://icevi.org/
Accessible information is not a special favour. It is part of universal access to information.