Author: Matthew Horspool

(TORONTO, ON, June 18, 2026

At its Annual General Meeting held on Saturday, June 6, 2026, Braille Literacy Canada (BLC) was pleased to announce the three recipients of the 2026 Edie Mourre Scholarship award. This award, created in honour of Edie Mourre, a long-time CNIB library employee and braille transcriber, supports outstanding individuals who are training to become braille transcribers, proofreaders, or braille educators.

This year, we are pleased to announce that three recipients were chosen for the Edie Mourre Scholarship:

• Shay Hammad is pursuing certification in braille transcription.
• Emily Morgan is a teacher who is wishing to strengthen skills in braille, to provide more accurate instruction, adapt classroom resources efficiently, and better meet the diverse literacy needs of her students.
• Lilian Chan is teacher of students who are blind or with low vision and is pursuing additional braille coursework.

BLC, as the Canadian Braille Authority, is thrilled to be able to support Shay, Emily and Lilian as they strive towards their braille goals, and we wish them all the best with their future training! We thank all those who are interested in pursuing braille certification to increase access to timely and high-quality braille.

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Braille Literacy Canada / Littératie braille Canada, founded in 1990 as the Canadian Braille Authority, is a national charitable organization dedicated to the promotion of braille as the primary medium of literacy for those who are blind or with low vision. BLC is recognized by the International Council on English Braille as the authority for the development, adoption, and establishment of standards relating to braille in Canada. With a membership comprising organizations and individuals, educators, braille transcribers, braille producers, parents of braille users and braille users themselves, BLC represents a broad cross-section of those working with or impacted by braille and is led by a volunteer board of directors elected by the BLC membership.

June 18, 2026 – President Daphne Hitchcock, on behalf of the board of Braille Literacy Canada (BLC), presented the 2026 President’s Award to Karen (Kae) Brophy at the Annual General Meeting held on June 6, 2026. Established in 2018 and awarded annually, the award recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to braille literacy in Canada.

Kae has been a strong advocate of braille, who has worked diligently to develop programming which specifically benefits young learners and their families.

Kae worked at CNIB for 40 years. She began her career in the CNIB Library, Braille Department.

When she moved to the braille transcription department, Kae’s braille knowledge grew, and she continued to champion braille as her career evolved. Kae was an integral part of the creation and roll-out of many braille-centric resources and programs aimed at promoting literacy for readers who are blind or with low vision including,

• Organizing the annual Creative Writing Contest, formerly known as the CNIB Braille Accuracy and Literary Contest which began in 1997.
• “Where’s My Ball”, a program that provided families with a tactile print/braille book and promoted activities and resources to help young learners develop skills in tactile exploration, while introducing braille format.
• Braille Club at the Hub,
• Ontario Braille Challenge
• National Book Club for adult readers and Accessibility of the TD Summer Reading Club.
• Braille Writers Retreat at Camp Jo

Kae has also contributed to many successful community collaborations, including World Braille Days events. Kae retired in December 2025 as the Program Lead for Braille Literacy – CNIB Next Generation.

“Over the years that I have known Kae, I have been impressed with her innovative program ideas, her boundless enthusiasm and unwavering passion for braille literacy,” states BLC past-president, Daphne Hitchcock.

BLC is honoured to recognize Kae for her years of dedication to braille literacy, contributions to national programming and provision of educational opportunities for youth who are blind or with low vision.

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Braille Literacy Canada / Littératie braille Canada, founded in 1990 as the Canadian Braille Authority, is a national charitable organization led by a volunteer board of directors dedicated to the promotion of braille as the primary medium of literacy for those who are blind or visually impaired. BLC is recognized by the International Council on English Braille as the authority for the development, adoption, and establishment of standards relating to braille in Canada. BLC represents those working with or impacted by braille, with a membership comprising organizations, researchers, educators, braille transcribers, braille producers, parents of braille users and braille users themselves.

Humanware has a page containing several guides for the new BrailleNote Evolve.

David Woodbridge is posting occasional episodes about the BrailleNote Evolve on his iSee – Using Various Technologies from a Blind Persons Perspective podcast. Currently, these include:

• A physical description of the Braille Note Evolve
• Braille Note Evolve demo 1 – description, starting up, entering pin number to login, main menu, and shutting down
• Braille Note Evolve demo 2 – KeySoft Main Menu Options, KeySoft Control Centre, and exiting KeySoft Main Menu
• Braille Note Evolve demo 3 – how to get to the NVDA settings from the KS Main Menu and how to get back to the Main Menu if you pop in to Windows by accident
• Braille Note Evolve demo 4 – a quick review of Quick Settings, and then handy KeySoft, NVDA, and Window commands
• Braille Note Evolve demo 5 – using Braille on the Braille Note Evolve
• What it is like using JAWS with the BrailleNote Evolve

Episode 80 of Access On, is on. This week, HumanWare begins shipping the Windows-based BrailleNote Evolve. In this extended episode, we bring you the first independent, extensive review of the device.

Subscribe to Access On wherever you get podcasts, or download the audio of this week’s episode at: https://pinecast.com/listen/f2d89618-33c6-462e-9a38-1cbe88026a53.mp3

Webinar Recorded: May 18th, 2026

Watch on YouTube

Innovative MEMS technology is changing how the visually impaired can interact with digital information. Dave Schleppenbach from Tactile Engineering introduces the Cadence Tactile Tablet, a 2D refreshable display. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Dave about how this modular device renders Braille text, complex graphics, and even live video.

Visit the podcast page

Readers may find this blog post of interest.

The recording of the June 2026 Orbit Research Zoom Meeting hosted by Robert Carter is now available for direct download at:

https://www.turner42.com/OrbitResearchJune2026ZoomMeeting.zip

For other Orbit Research information, see: https://www.turner42.com/ori.html

Did you miss last week’s webinar from Blazie Technologies?

Did you hear it but liked it so much that you want a second replay?

If you fall into the first camp, the problem is solved. If you’re in the second camp, who could blame you?

Whatever camp you’re in, a recording of our latest webinar is now available from our Web site’s Guides and Media page. We have lots of news and announcements, plus demos of some of what’s coming in our next update. Enjoy.