Dear all,

I also wish to thank you for two very nice days with very good presentations. I enjoyed Iceland very much and hope to come back there some day.

The remaining participants at the meeting on Thursday agreed to formulate a statement about the common goals of our collaboration.

Here is an attempt. I was given very free hands, so please feel equally free to suggest corrections and alterations.

Nordic Braille Meeting 2023

The ability to read Braille at a proficient level is crucial for people with blindness in order to pursue our dreams of education, employment and leisure activities as equal members of society.

Braille is the basis of learning for people with blindness, not an additive. Braille allows for learning how to spell for immersion and for a sense of space. Reading with sound cannot substitute reading Braille.

People with blindness constitute a very small group, and knowledge of Braille and how to teach it is therefore scarce and difficult to maintain.

Through our collaboration in the Nordic Braille Committee, we strive to:

• Raise awareness of the necessity of learning Braille for people with blindness.
• Pursue the recognition of Braille as a writing system on equal terms with the print alphabet used bby people with sight.
• Ensure a high level of competency on Braille and Braille reading strategies digitally as well as on paper.

The Nordic Braille Committee is a collaboration between Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Iceland

Med venlig hilsen

Tina S. Thøgersen

Læse- og studievejleder

IBOS - Instituttet for Blinde og Svagsynede

Rymarksvej 1, DK-2900 Hellerup

+45 39 45 25 96

JH86@kk.dk, sikker e-mail: ibos@kk.dk