World Braille Day 2022
Every year the World Braille Day is celebrated on January 4. The day is celebrated to spread the importance of braille. It is celebrated by the United Nations and several other international organizations.
About World Braille Day
In 2018, the United Nations passed a resolution to celebrate January 4 as the World Braille Day. Following this, the first World Braille Day was observed in 2019.
Why is World Braille Day celebrated on January 4?
January 4 is the birth anniversary of Louis Braille. Louis invented the Braille language in 1809. January 4 was chosen to honour Louis Braille.
Who was Louis Braille?
Braille was a French teacher. At the age of three, he lost one of his eye sight in an accident. Braille lost his other eye while working in his father’s shop. This motivated Braille to invent Braille. Also his passion towards learned kindled him to invent Braille.
What is Braille?
In Braille the alphabets and numbers are created using six dots. There are three different types of braille scripts. They are as follows:
- Uncontracted Braille: It uses letter – by – letter transcription. It is used for education purposes.
- Contracted braille: It uses abbreviations. It is a space saving script
- Grade 3: It is a personal stenography. It is less commonly used.
Blindness in India
According to the National Blindness and Visual Survey prevalence of blindness is the highest among old age people, 80 years old. The major causes of blindness in India are cataract, cataract surgical complication and corneal opacity.
Definition of Blindness in India
Recently, India changed the age-old definition of blindness. In 1976, India defined blindness as the incapability of the person to count fingers at a distance of six metres. In the new definition, the distance has been reduced to three metres. The vision impairment in middle income countries is four times greater than the high income regions.
Related Posts
Month: Current Affairs - January, 2022
Category: Important Days & Events Current Affairs