Every 4^th of January, we come together to celebrate World Braille Day, an observance that has been officially recognized by the UN General Assembly since 2018. On this day, we are reminded of the vital contributions of Braille towards the full realization of human rights for more than 2.2 billion people around the world who live with a near or distance vision impairment.

For many, Braille – a touch-based communication system that uses raised dots to represent letters and numbers – is an important way of reading and transmitting written information.

At UN Geneva, our print shop is equipped with Braille embossers: impact printers that emboss Braille characters onto paper quickly and efficiently. Our staff is experienced in transcribing digital text into Braille, printing Braille, and binding and assembling materials for meetings and everyday work. Our goal is to ensure that all Braille users – both UN colleagues and meeting participants – enjoy equal and inclusive access to documents and information.

Curious about how the Braille embossing process works, as well as how end users actually read Braille? Watch or listen to this two-minute video featuring UN Geneva colleagues.