Unified Arabic Braille Portal by Mada: Innovative digital resource to reduce braille literacy in the Arab region

Abstract

Given the rise of audiobooks, does braille still have a role to play in the lives of people who are blind or visually impaired? For people who are blind, knowing Braille is the equivalent of knowing to read and write print by someone with sight. It is a unique system of raised dots that can be read by touch. Learning braille means that blind and partially sighted people can enjoy reading for life. Learning braille from a young age helps with literacy, as braille is a much better way to understand punctuation, grammar and spelling than audio (Rex et al., 1994). It is a method of reading and writing that relies on touching prominent dots that the blind recognizes once they pass their fingers over them. The method was invented in the mid-19th century and got its name from the name of its French founder Louis Braille (Mellor, 2006). This paper presents an overview about the Unified Arabic Braille Project which was supported and developed by the Mada Innovation Program.