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About New College Worcester

New College Worcester has a proud tradition of teaching braille to generations of blind people including many famous alumni. In 1866, Worcester College for the Blind Sons of Gentleman was founded, and so began high quality secondary education for blind boys in England. But what about the girls? In 1921, Chorleywood College for girls with little or no sight opened, and finally young girls who were blind could receive an equal education. In 1987 the two schools merged, becoming the New College Worcester that we know today.

To celebrate 150 years of New College, 150 wonderful memories were gathered. These included stories from those who are currently working or studying at NCW, as well as stories from those who have left. Interesting accounts were taken from newsletters and memoirs from much further back, and all together it provides a wonderful look back at such a unique place.

Although many things have changed over the years, braille is still a big part of the lives of the young blind students. They are taught to read and write braille as well as how to combine it with technology like braille displays so that they are able to learn in all environments. Recently, the students and staff worked together to produce a video celebrating 200 years of braille, and what it means to them.

One former student you are bound to know is Peter White, BBC journalist and presenter of In Touch. In a wonderful interview conducted by Harriet Smith (another former student) Peter opened up about his career and the role braille has played in it, as well as the most difficult people he has interviewed!

Peter went back to New College for BBC’s the One Show, speaking about his time there, including how he ruffled some feathers with a rather political school magazine.

We are so pleased to be hosting our first ever conference at a place that genuinely values braille. Whether it is making sure that students have the opportunity to learn the code, or by providing eager readers with a seemingly endless supply of library books, New College Worcester shows us that whilst many things may change, a love of braille endures.

RNIB Connect Radio on World Braille Day

To celebrate World Braille Day On January 4th, all RNIB Connect Radio programming from 10am to 4pm UK is dedicated to celebrating Braille, exploring its 200-year history, talking to Braille users today and even taking a stroll down Braille Gardens.

We tour the Braille Museum in Paris, talk to guests on stage at the British Library, and find out, from the writings of RNIB founder Thomas Rhodes Armitage, why Braille won the format war for tactile text.

You can hear RNIB Connect Radio online and across the UK on Freeview Channel 730. Simply ask your smart speaker to play RNIB Connect Radio.

https://www.rnib.org.uk/connect-radio

The Braille Revival League Presents “Why Braille Matters”, Saturday 4 January at 6:00 PM

January 4 is Louis Braille’s birthday. He was born in 1809 which would mean that in 1825 he would have been sixteen. Many folks think this is about the time that the braille system came into existence. This would mean that this year the braille system is 200 years old. We have tried to be sure through our announcements that everybody knew that the Braille Revival League, a special interest affiliate of the American Council of the Blind is, for the second year in a row, celebrating Louis Braille’s birthday with a major zoom event.

At 1 PM eastern time on Saturday January 4th we will begin a presentation that will last for four hours. It is divided into three segments, each of which we think will help accentuate just “why Braille matters” which is the name of our presentation.

The first section will explore braille around the world. We will look at things happening in the United Kingdom, Jamaica, a Pacific island country and elsewhere. We want to explore the diversity of braille and how important it is in countries large and small.

Our second segment deals with the United States. We will look at a company in Kansas that is using braille graphics to create tactile American flags. We will hear from the American Printing House for the Blind, one of the oldest and most important braille institutions in our country. Native American Braille is something most of us have probably not thought about. We will hear from the Navaho nation about how they have worked to develop braille for that language.

Our third segment will explore our organization! What is it? What does it do? How can you help? We will also look at the state of braille today! We think with Charles Dickens that these are the best of times and the worst of times! Join us to find out why!

Join Why Braille Matters on Zoom

Webinar ID: 843 9858 3214

The event will also be live streamed on ACB Media 8.

BRAILLE MATTERS! Show you know it by joining us at 1 PM Eastern time Saturday January 4!

Agenda

  • 1:00 PM:  Introduction and Greetings – Denise Colley, Braille Revival League President
Segment One:  How Braille Works in Different Countries Around the World
  • 1:01PM:  UN Declaration on World Braille Day and the World Braille Council of the World Blind Union
    Presenter:  Kim Charlson, president, North America/Caribbean Region of the World Blind Union
  • 1:10PM:  Braille Matters In Belgium
    Facilitator:  Kim Charlson
    Presenter:  Bart Simons, Chair of the Braille Authority for the Dutch language
  • 1:20PM:  Braille Literacy In Canada
    Facilitator:  Kim Charlson
    Presenter:  Kim Kilpatrick Vice-Chair, Braille Literacy Canada
  • 1:35PM:  The Samoa Blind Persons association
    Facilitator:  Judy Dixon, President, International Council on English Braille
    Presenter:  Faatino Utumapu, President
  • 1:50PM  The Braillists Foundation
    Facilitator:  Judy Dixon
    Presenter:  Matthew Horspool, General Manager, The Braillists Foundation
  • 2:05PM  Jamaica Salvation Army School for the Blind
    Facilitator:  Audrey Schading, President, Braille Revival League of New York
    Presenters:  Sean Harvey, Guidance Counselor, and Fitzville Martain, Former student,          Jamaica School
  • 2:19PM  Wrap-up and Hand-off:  Kim Charlson
Segment Two:  Exciting Ways Braille is Happening All Over the United States
  • 2:20PM:  Introduction and Words by Helen Keller:  Patty Slaby, 2nd Vice President, Braille Revival League
  • 2:22PM  Florida School for the Deaf and Blind
    Facilitator:  Patty Slaby
    Presenter:  Elisha Zuaro, 6-12 Teacher
  • 2:37PM  American Printinghouse for the Blind
    Facilitator:  Neva Fairchild, Member, Braille Revival League
    Presenter:  Jennifer Wenzel, Product Specialist
  • 2:52PM  Navajo Braille Connection
    Facilitator:  Neva Fairchild
    Presenter: Carol Green, Assistive Technology Instructor
  • 3:07PM  Kansas Braille Transcription Institute
    Facilitator: Alice Massa, Member, Braille Revival League
    Presenter: Randolph (“Randy”) Cabral, president and executive director
  • 3:22PM  Learn-at-home Braille Project
    Facilitator: Alice Massa
    Presenter: Professor Vileen Shah, director of braille education, East Bay Center for the Blind
  • 3:39PM  Wrap-up and Hand-off:  Neva Fairchild
  • 3:40PM  Who Is the Braille Revival League, Its History, Structure, Activities, Benefits of Membership, and How You Can Join
    Presenter:  Mary Haupt, Member, Braille Revival League
  • 4:05PM  Who Are Our Special Interest Affiliates, What Are They Doing, and How to Become one
    Facilitator:  Denise Colley
    Presenters:  Audrey Schading, President, Braille Revival League of New York, and Neva Fairchild, President, Braile Revival League of Texas
  • 4-25PM  Where Is Braille In General in This Country?
    How are the Braille Revival League and ACB Working Together to Promote Braille Literacy?
    What Do We Think The Future of Braille Is In This Country?
    Facilitator: Paul Edwards, Immediate Past President, Braille Revival League
    Open for Q&A and general discussion.
  • 4:55PM  Wrap-up and Closing Remarks:  Denise Colley

MAD Foundation event: 🌟 Life on 6 Dots: A Tribute to Louis Braille through a Special Evening Show! 🎭 Saturday 4 January at 1:30 PM

MAD (My Action for the Disabled) Foundation celebrates the birth anniversary of Louis Braille, the genius behind the Braille script—a revolutionary system of 6 simple dots that transformed the world for blind individuals. This event celebrates the incredible legacy of Louis Braille and showcases an inspiring evening of performances and stories.

📅 Event Details:

📍 When: 4th January, 7 PM – 9 PM Indian Standard Time (IST) (see below for alternative timezones)

📍 Where: Zoom

🎥 What’s an Evening Show?

Evening Shows are more than just screenings; they’re a cultural tradition where storytelling comes alive to inspire, entertain, and spark meaningful conversations.

On this special evening, we’ll celebrate the remarkable story of Louis Braille, who turned his personal challenges into a universal gift of empowerment.

✨ Show Highlights:

  • “Young Heroes” – Stories of courage and determination that redefine resilience.
  • “Life on 6 Dots” – A tribute to Louis Braille’s life, struggles, and his incredible legacy in creating the Braille script that empowers millions to read, write, and live independently.

🎙 The Show is audio-described and captioned, ensuring an inclusive experience for all.

💬 Post-Show Discussion:

After the screening, join fellow participants for a reflective discussion. Share your thoughts on how Braille’s innovation continues to inspire change and foster inclusion in today’s world.

✨ Register Now:

To join this meaningful evening program, use the following link: https://zoom.us/j/7937300899?pwd=QVIxcGRoajZJczhPcGExWStCQTBoUT09&omn=94494769011

please click here to register for event updates.

For more information and updates, join the MAD Foundation WhatsApp group.

We would be honored to have you join us for this special occasion. Please feel free to extend this invitation to friends and family who may be interested in attending.

Let’s honour the legacy of Louis Braille together and celebrate the gift of independence, knowledge, and empowerment through “Life on 6 Dots.” Don’t miss this inspiring journey!

Equivalent Times in Different Time Zones:

1. United States (US):
  • Eastern Time (ET): 8:30 AM – 10:30 AM
  • Central Time (CT): 7:30 AM – 9:30 AM
  • Mountain Time (MT): 6:30 AM – 8:30 AM
  • Pacific Time (PT): 5:30 AM – 7:30 AM
2. United Kingdom (UK):
  • Greenwich Mean Time (GMT): 1:30 PM – 3:30 PM
3. Europe:
  • Central European Time (CET): 2:30 PM – 4:30 PM
  • Eastern European Time (EET): 3:30 PM – 5:30 PM
4. Russia:
  • Moscow Standard Time (MSK): 4:30 PM – 6:30 PM
5. Universal Time:
  • Coordinated Universal Time (UTC): 1:30 PM – 3:30 PM
6. Asia (Popular Time Zones):
  • Indian Standard Time (IST): 7 PM – 9 PM (Local Time)
  • China Standard Time (CST): 9:30 PM – 11:30 PM
  • Japan Standard Time (JST): 10:30 PM – 12:30 AM (Next Day)
7. Australia:
  • Australian Eastern Daylight Time (AEDT): 12:30 AM – 2:30 AM (Next Day)

Chairman’s End of Year Message

Hello Braillists Foundation friends

As 2024 draws to a close and our team takes a well-earned break, I would like to take this opportunity to extend my sincere thanks for all you have achieved throughout the year to support and spread braille and tactile literacy.

This has been a massive year for braille. And next year promises to be even bigger. Just take a few minutes to browse through our news pages and you’ll find more braille announcements, events, activities, resources and research than ever before. The Braillists Foundation range of online Zoom events have set new records in terms of attendance, we met many of you face to face as Sight Village events in London and Birmingham, and we are excited for our first in-person World Braille Day conference in Worcester on 4 January 2025.

Huge thanks to Ilka and Ed, founding trustees, who have stepped down from our Board after four and a half years service. A warm Welcome to Laurent, Darren and Steph who have joined the Board. We now have a total of seven trustees, all of whom are braille touch readers. You can learn more about our governance and policies etc on the website.

While everyone’s contribution, no matter how small, is always greatly appreciated. I want to pay special tribute to Matthew Horspool. This man has worked incredibly hard each and every week, not just as Treasurer, but also as our General Manager, tech guru, volunteer coordinator, podcast producer, newsletter writer, and so many things. Matthew we are all in your debt. Thankyou so much for all you do for this community. We are extremely lucky to have you among us. Let’s resolve to share your huge workload in the new year.

It is thanks to Matthew’s considerable efforts that we now have a proper bank account and a PayPal button where you can help us pay the bills for web hosting, Zoom subscription, braille transcription and required expenses to keep the Braillists Foundation alive and well. So if you like what the Braillists Foundation does, and if you would like that to continue, feel free to leave a tip in the tip jar, and share our braillists.org/donate page with your networks. And if you have already donated, thankyou. Your contribution means a lot.

I look forward to meeting many of you in 2025 at our World Braille Day conference, RNIB’s Braille and Beyond Library events, at CSUN, the Tactile Reading Conference and elsewhere. Let’s continue working together to spread braille and tactile literacy for every single person who needs to access information by touch.

From the bottom of my heart the most enormous thankyou for everything you do to empower blind and partially sighted people through braille and tactile literacy.

Seasons greetings from all of us to all of you.

Your Braillists Foundation Trustees

Dave Williams (Chairman)

Megan Hastings (Secretary)

Matthew Horspool (Treasurer)

Stuart Lawler

Laurent Cadet de Fontinay

Darren Paskell

Stephanie Sergeant

The Braillists Foundation is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation registered in England and Wales, no. 1187244.

Christmas Opening Times

The Braillists Foundation is closed for Christmas from the end of Book Club on Thursday 19 December until the start of the World Braille Day conference on Saturday 4 January.

A limited email service will be available from Thursday 2 January for queries regarding the World Braille Day conference.

Full service resumes on Tuesday 7 January.

Merry Christmas and a happy new year.

The International Council on English Braille Announces the Third Edition of The Rules of Unified English Braille

For Immediate Release

09 December, 2024 –the International Council on English Braille (ICEB) is delighted to announce the completion of the third edition of The Rules of Unified English Braille, superseding the second edition published in 2013.

This edition introduces several new features including:

  • a comprehensive index of all rules;
  • use of Unicode braille patterns for all examples; and
  • the addition of many more cross references.

All changes to the UEB code since 2013 have been incorporated into this new edition. In particular:

  • the rules and terminology for quotation marks and apostrophes have been rewritten to facilitate more accurate automated translation;
  • medial capitals are now permitted around shortforms, e.g. DeafBlind, QuickTime, and LetterWriter;
  • new symbols have been added for the checkmark (tick) and German sharp s (eszett);
  • a clarification that the contraction for ‘th’ should be used in the name Beethoven has been added;
  • a word followed by the line indicator may now be brailled in contracted form;
  • the line indicator may now be used to indicate a column break in a table; and
  • a small number of words have been added to the Shortforms List.

Matthew Horspool, Code Maintenance Officer, said: “The completion of this edition of the Rulebook would not have been possible without the hard work of innumerable individuals, many of whom contributed their time voluntarily. I wish to thank them for making this significant milestone possible. I am confident that it will serve us well for many years to come.”

Judy Dixon, President, said: “The importance of a consistent, rational braille code cannot be overstated. UEB’s reach is now extending to countries whose primary language is not English but where English is widely used. Several such countries have expressed interest in joining ICEB and we welcome their participation as we enter the next phase of UEB development.”

The Rules of Unified English Braille, Third Edition is available for download in print (PDF) and braille (BRF) from www.iceb.org and is made available under the Creative Commons license.

Contact

Judy Dixon, President

[email protected]

Notes

The International Council on English Braille (ICEB) was formed in 1991 and provides a forum for international cooperation among those countries that use English-language braille by assisting countries to establish standard-setting bodies in relation to braille codes and practices; working towards the development and adoption of international minimum standards for the production and teaching of braille; and facilitating the exchange of braille materials between member countries. Its members currently include braille authorities from Australia, Canada, Ireland, Nepal, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States. To learn more about ICEB, visit www.iceb.org or write to [email protected].

The Rules of Unified English Braille is the definitive source of rules for the Unified English Braille code (UEB), which is maintained by ICEB and adopted by braille authorities throughout the English-speaking world.