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“Braille
1809-2009” |
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Synthesis of the Conference by Françoise Madray-Lesigne, France Secretary-general of the Valentin Haüy Association (AVH) President of the World Blind Union
Dear Friends from the Five Continents,
After the exceptional richness of the contributions over the past three days and the discussions arising from them, the synthesis that traditionally closes a conference becomes even more of a perilous exercise. Thus, the following is inevitably incomplete.
First of all, I wish to underline the high standard of the contributions we have had the pleasure of listening to. They make this Conference a magnificent tribute to Louis Braille and his brilliant invention which has shaped the lives of so many millions of blind and partially sighted men and women worldwide. Our stimulating debates bear witness to one major fact: from the 46 countries over five continents represented here, eminent blind personalities have come, sometimes from far-flung corners of the globe, including enthusiastic researchers, highly placed leaders, grassroots workers in the development of braille, men and women in the field and moreover, remarkable speakers. Allow me to thank in particular Euclid Erie, Kicki Nordström, William Rowland and Maryanne Diamond, who have successively acted as President of the World Blind Union for four years, and the Rt Hon David Blunkett, MP, who has served as Her Majesty’s Minister on several occasions in Great Britain. This Conference has been honoured with their active participation.
The second exceptional point undoubtedly relates to the intense emotion that has been a recurrent factor over the three days, with touching and delicate tributes from many speakers to a writing code that has enabled them to develop and communicate whilst constantly broadening their relationships, a standing ovation lasting several minutes for Louis Braille following Euclid Erie’s personal, heartfelt evocation, enthusiastic applause after the reading out of the list of the 46 countries represented in the UNESCO Congress Hall, another standing ovation at the overwhelming account given by Lex Grandia, President of the World Deaf-Blind Union, in response to the vibrant appeal he launched to the audience for the unceasing development of braille. And there were many more such moments. It is indeed rare to find profound thinking allied to the expression of warm fraternity over the centuries.
Moving on to the debates themselves, I was deeply impressed by the striving for cooperation and consensus that was manifest at each stage of our work, whether it be such delicate issues as the unification of the various braille codes, access to an aesthetic sphere and to artistic pleasure through accessible publications or drawings (see Charlson and Bris-Corvest) or the potential available today by the new technologies (see Coudert).
As regards the world’s numerous written languages, the multiple flexibility of braille has, in the majority of cases, enabled efficient alphabetical codes to be created. Where more than 63 symbols were needed – in the case of the Asiatic languages with a syllabic structure, for example – we have had to resort to the combination of two braille signs where in standard script one will do (see Tanaka and Niyomphol). As was evidenced by the papers delivered during the plenary session on the 6th January and the round table the same day on the unification of braille, in each language group (English-, Arab-, French-, Spanish-speaking etc.) committees of experts made up of researchers and specialist braille users have worked at great length over the past hundred years, in order to reduce competing alphabets and arrive at one single language. It is no easy matter to give up one’s specific customs but the advent of computers has been decisive in fostering this relative uniformity, which has now been achieved for the majority of the languages in question. Yet we must not imagine that one fine day there will be some unified global braille code that would enable a Frenchman, say, to read without strain Japanese, Russian, Arabic, Greek or Chinese (which is not the same as understanding). The very variety of structures of languages militates against such a universalistic dream. Joe Sullivan’s contribution is most enlightening on this point.
Such is not the case for other codes (information technology, mathematics, or music) which can be expressed in braille. In theory, there is nothing to stop unification, but unfortunately in these areas – apart from music – virtually everything remains to be done. In IT, the use of braille with eight dots has facilitated the creation of the 256 signs used by the normalised character tables of the various systems such as Widows, Linux and Mac. Agreement remains to be reached on the application of these symbols, which is not yet the case for many frequently used signs such as @, / or _ etc. In addition to this hurdle, which the producers of assistive technology are striving to overcome, there is the fact that far too few internet sites are available to blind users. It has to be noted that the rapid evolution of the new technologies hardly ever takes into account, in the initial stages, the need to adapt software and related products to the needs of the visually impaired. If we are not careful, information technology, a marvellous means to have autonomous access to information, could well become entirely dependent upon visual elements. If this were the case, it would become, for us, a dangerous source of exclusion. So as to avoid this real danger, it is essential in the early stages to build in compatibility of programmes with adaptation to voice synthesis or braille. The speakers during the round table on IT were unanimous in insisting on the fact that far from being in competition with each other, braille and speech synthesis are complementary and guarantee easy and complete control of the computer. And in this way they open up new possibilities of autonomy for the blind and partially sighted.
In the sphere of mathematics, the unification of figures and symbols is not yet with us (see Cierco and Magna). As of now, each country uses its own notation for mathematics, despite several attempts over the past 50 years. Hence the hope that on the occasion of the bicentenary of Louis Braille’s birth, collaboration between specialists from all over the world will lead to the conception of a universal braille code for mathematics.
Regarding music transcription, the attempts have not yet converged, to the greatest misfortune of users worldwide. Moving over to computerised registration of musical scores should assist in the elaboration of a common code that is easy to manipulate. However, while the GOODFEEL software from Dancing Dots for automatic transcription (see McCann) is up and running and widely available, the European Contrapunctus programme (see Quatraro and Jessel) is developing, using different criteria of notation and analysis, and is still at the prototype stage. Overcoming differences of this nature is one of the tasks of the years ahead.
In the industrialised countries, braille is entering more and more sectors of everyday life, albeit too slowly for our liking. I shall not embark on a list; all the speeches devoted to this essential point show this and give numerous instances. Yet, I wish to underline the Japanese model (see Sashida), where the blind can vote in braille and in some cases receive the candidate’s election manifestos in braille. Here is a powerful and encouraging testimony: there exists a country where the blind are indeed treated as full citizens in their own right, autonomous in decision-making at the ballot box, just like everyone. The number of people using braille to vote in Japan is staggering.
Given such potential uses and requirements, the number of blind and partially sighted people using braille remains far too low, especially in the emerging countries where there is a crying need. Without being the sole reason for this, the lack of qualified teachers, that is to say teachers who themselves have a good command of braille, weighs heavily. Notable improvements in this domain constitute one of the keys to the future of braille.
With or without the use of braille, employment is a black spot throughout the world for the visually impaired. The current world economic crisis further worsens this worrying situation. As a number of speakers have shown, referring to their own experience and their knowledge of the field, in order to be taken on and to undertake a worthwhile occupation, braille represents such a decisive plus that it is regrettable not to avail oneself of it. All that remains is to adapt the use one makes of it to the requirements of the job in question.
What would a tribute to Louis Braille be, however fervent, if it did not look to its future and the development of the potential it carries with it. We have been able to note with great pleasure how active and productive research is in the domains where braille has its place. The most innovative and stimulating aspect for the future comes from the contribution of neuroscience (see Belarmino). We are starting to be able to measure the effects of constantly calling upon touch and the use of our writing on the malleability of the brain and how the representation of the world by the blind is built up. What a fantastic opening towards the future! Our “tactile vision” of the world is in the throes of being recognised and accepted. This spells an end to the neglect of our point of view on the world, as well as to accusations of always singing the same song or of spuriousness that are so often levelled against us.
In a word, how can we do justice to the great hope that has been voiced over the past three days and the immensity of the task that lies ahead of us? We are all concerned by the dearth of material and trainers in the emerging countries. To breach this gap is a challenge we should all take up in order to tear down the wall of ignorance that accompanies blindness everywhere. The resolutions prepared by Kiki Nordström, William Rowland and Pedro Zurita and adopted unanimously by the Conference express our aspirations, involvement and ambitions. Their realisation will require all of us to pool our efforts. Let us hope that Louis Braille, the bicentenary of whose birth we are celebrating, will give us the strength and courage to see through the tasks that lie before us.
To conclude, I should like to express heartfelt thanks from myself on behalf of the Valentin Haüy Association (AVH) and from Françoise Sabotier-Grenon on behalf of the National Institute for the Young Blind (INJA) to all those who have toiled for a year and a half – and particularly in the latter months – to make this Conference the success that we have just experienced. Let me first thank our partners: - UNESCO, for providing prestigious and comfortable rooms. The symbolic value of this gift has certainly escaped no-one. The National Commission for UNESCO has afforded invaluable support, as have the UNESCO staff, with a special mention for the interpreters who have worked under somewhat difficult conditions, often with no supporting printed text. Their professionalism merited the long applause they were given; - the International Committee for the Commemoration of the Bicentenary of Louis Braille’s Birth (CINAL), the Ministry of Culture and Historic Buildings, the Editions du Patrimoine, the Organización Nacional de Ciegos Españoles, the Ile de France Regional Council, the town of Paris and la Caisse d’Epargne for their financial support. We sincerely thank the employees and volunteers of AVH, INJA, les Auxiliaires des Aveugles and les Pèlerins de Compostelle 2000, who have put their heart and soul in facilitating our movements and organisation. Christiane Delattre and Christian Volle were the perfect orchestrators of this organisation and your applause has demonstrated better than words could how much you have appreciated their kindness and efficiency. Michel Le Guern was in charge of photography, Béatrice de Rostolan and Albert Alexis Galland spearheaded relations with the media resulting in widespread coverage in the French-speaking world. Last but not least, our sincere gratitude goes to all the participants who gave this Conference the dimension of a fraternal, happy celebration. Let all our best wishes for happiness and success be with you at the beginning of this memorable year.
Translated from French to English by Brian Edmonds.
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