Uruguay prints the Constitution in braille as the first step towards a more accessible country

Uruguay It will print a hundred copies of its Constitution in Braille as a “first step” towards a more accessible country for people with visual disabilities, who consider this format “fundamental” for a “solid” assimilation that new technologies do not guarantee.

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Making the Uruguayan population aware of their rights and obligations through easy access to regulations is the central task of the National Directorate of Official Impressions and Publications (IMPO) from the country.

Although, in line with this, IMPO It has had a web page since 1997 where you can access the regulations and official notices, as its director points out to EFE, Fernando Abellain 2020 the current management promised to advance so that access was “truly inclusive”.

A FIRST STEP

Thus, the organization, which began to transfer its books to audiobook format, and formed an advisory commission made up of people with disabilities, decided to explore the braille format and, to do so, approach the Uruguayan Braille Foundation (FBU), which since 1978 produces materials adapted for blind and low vision people.

As the president of the FBU points out, Carla Trivellithe mention of an antecedent in which the Foundation had printed the Constitution Uruguayan in Braille motivated the alliance to produce 100 copies.

A man reads a sheet with the Uruguayan Constitution written in Braille. (Photo: EFE/ Alejandro Prieto) (Alejandro Prieto/)

To which he delimits that the Constitutionin its latest version from 1967, has “few leaves” in the conventional version that in braille increases in volume due to the thickness of the paper and means that each copy goes into six volumes, Abella highlights that the distribution that will be made will be key, for libraries and educational centers throughout the country.

In turn, he stresses that this is a kick to do so with more legal texts.

“The Constitution is the first step. Obviously it is necessary to continue advancing, to create other products. We also want to work on the issue of (transfer to braille materials from) Citizen Languagea program that has IMPO in which the legal technicalities of the norms are passed to a form of easy understanding”, he emphasizes.

In the same vein, it is expressed trivelliwho points out that the initiative is “very good“but what is there “so much to do” on this ground.

“In the field of visual disability there are many law students and psychology and it is always necessary (in braille). Many times material was made on demand, some distributed, but it is not the best because in reality (…) if you want to expand knowledge, it is good that you can go to another part of the book, see it, review it“, Explain.

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THE IMPORTANCE OF BRAILLE

Conceived in 1825 by the French pedagogue Louis Braillefrom whose surname it takes its name, Braille or cecography is defined by the Spanish dictionary as “a writing system for the blind consisting of drawn signs in relief to be able to read with the fingers”.

although it says trivellinew technologies open a window “awesome” of possibilities for blind people due to the possibility of listening to the texts through, for example, screen readers, the braille It is not a mere alternative, as it is of greater importance in learning processes.

“Have a graphemewhich in the case of braille is the braille character and in the conventional reading the letter, and relating these two aspects (reading and writing) makes the assimilation of information much deeper and more solid than if we listened to it”indicates.

Who assures that as a result of this every time the FBU obtain financing seeks to allocate it to children, because “the child has to learn to read and writeto know the characters and unite them to form words and that is the pillar of their education”thus stresses how essential it is to have publications in braille.

“There are things that we need to write and read, to learn spelling, a Foreign language, not to mention make mathematical, chemical, physical calculations. Everything that has to do with the hard sciences is impossible to do on a computer or on a phone”, he emphasizes.

Finally, the Uruguayan rounded off with a call to public and private companies who want to “give a hand“Well, he notes, it will be “for the benefit of the whole society.”

Source: Elcomercio