As a braille user, you probably know that there has been quite a lot of discussion about braille in the past few years. Many of you have attended the workshops that have been held around Australia dealing with the Unified Braille Code (UBC), and last year some of you participated in the evaluation of the UBC proposals.
In november this year, there will be extensive discussions about the UBC at the General Assembly of the International Council on English Braille (ICEB). Late last year the Australian Braille Authority established a working party to prepare a paper on the benefits to Australia of adopting the UBC. At the same time, we realised that there are other options that needed to be considered in relation to the future of braille in Australia.
The working party has just produced a paper titled "Braille 2000: Meeting the challenges of a new millennium", which sets out a strategic plan that is aimed at ensuring that braille will remain the primary literacy and communication medium for blind people in Australia. This is a very important document because it contains a number of recommendations that will, if adopted, result in significant changes to braille codes and practices that are used in this country.
The Australian Braille Authority is committed to making this paper available to anyone who wants it. Accordingly, you can obtain a copy in print, braille or on disk by contacting Gillian Gale at the Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind, telephone 1800 335 588. While we do not envisage significant modifications to the substance of the proposals contained in the paper, we do encourage your comments, particularly on those recommendations that deal with the way the changes will be implemented.
The paper is over 90 braille pages in length. We realise that not all readers will have time to study the paper in its entirety. We have therefore enclosed the Foreword, Executive Summary, and list of recommendations with this letter.
As we approach the beginning of a new millennium, the Australian Braille Authority believes that braille is even more important for blind people in Australia than ever before. We also believe that the proposals contained in the Braille 2000 paper will ensure that braille remains an enabling, empowering medium well into the future. As Chair of the Australian Braille Authority, I commend the paper to you.
Josie Howse
Chair, Australian Braille Authority
Telephone: 02 9886 7313
Email: howsej@det.nsw.edu.au
The discussion paper which follows, "Braille 2000: Meeting the Challenges of a New Millennium", was commissioned in 1998 by the Australian Braille Authority (ABA). A representative and authoritative working party was established to write the paper early in 1999. Its purpose is to give necessary background information and to formulate recommendations to inform discussion and decision-making at the full meeting of the ABA set for April 10 in Melbourne.
I acknowledge the contribution of Bruce Maguire who wrote the paper, with assistance from Gillian Gale, and I thank other people who contributed their views and advice.
Braille appears to be on the decline in Australia. A valid reason may be the choice of accessible formats now available to blind people, which was not the case before the computer age: the availability of talking books, computer-generated speech or print-handicapped radio. On the other hand, braille services in Australia are arguably among the poorest in developed countries - a regrettable fact which must surely hasten the decline in braille usage if left unchecked. Braille is fundamentally important in the education of blind children and it is the primary literacy medium for blind children and adults. Therefore, it is incumbent upon all stakeholders to do everything that can be done to arrest the decline in braille usage, to facilitate its production and availability, and to maximise its useability by blind people.
What can be more important than the actual braille codes to be used? The
time has come for change in Australia: to leave the isolated back water and
enjoy the main stream. We must replace the talk and procrastination with
written specifications and actions. The cost of Australia-specific braille
codes cannot be measured in dollars expended. Rather, the cost accrues as
services not provided, training materials for teachers and students being
non-existent, needs unmet and rights denied. This paper recommends approval
by the Australian Delegation of the Unified Braille Code, to be voted on at
the General Assembly of the International Council on English Braille (ICEB)
in November 1999. Further, it proposes that if the Unified Braille Code is
doomed, then Australia should adopt the US braille Codes. In particular,
this implies no change for computer braille, a small change for literary
braille, and a major change for Mathematics and Science braille codes.
Whether it be the Unified or the US braille Codes that we adopt in
Australia, the change-over cost is estimated at $200,000 and the
implementation time-frame is thought to be three years. Hardly minimal
change with negligible cost! Accordingly, it is important that all
stakeholders read the paper carefully, embrace its recommendations and
commit themselves to harnessing the human and financial resources necessary
to implement the braille codes proposed for Australia in the new millennium.
William Jolley
Convenor,
Round Table on Information Access for People with Print Disabilities and
Executive Officer, Blind Citizens Australia
February 1999
"Braille 2000: meeting the challenges of a new millennium" has been written to provide a strategy for making significant changes to the braille codes and practices that are used in Australia. These changes are necessary if Australian braille users are to benefit fully from developments in braille production technology, new mechanisms for providing braille in electronic formats, and international initiatives related to braille.
From the time that braille was introduced into Australia in the 1860's until about fifteen years ago, Australia followed British braille codes, including the code for literary braille as well as the codes for Mathematics and Science. However, from the early 1980's, a number of factors combined to bring about changes in the way braille is written in Australia. These included the increasing demand for vocational material in braille, the introduction of computerised braille production in Australia, and the realisation that braille is a tool that can be adapted to changing circumstances. But probably the single most important factor was the adoption of integration as the preferred way of providing education for blind children. This was the model that was used in the US, whereas Britain still preferred to educate most blind children in special schools. Integration meant that there was a need for braille to provide more accurate information about print formatting and capitalisation, and there was also a need for braille in a broad range of subject areas.
In response to this need, Australia made changes to its braille codes that caused them to diverge more and more from their British origins. As braille production software has continued to develop, and as the information superhighway is making it possible to create online repositories of braille material for the first time, Australia's divergent position from both Britain and the US will lead to significant disadvantages for braille users if action is not taken soon.
The information superhighway and the growing emphasis on globalisation have also created communications mechanisms for dealing at an international level with some of the problems that are inherent in the braille system itself. Under the auspices of the International Council on English Braille (ICEB), the Unified Braille Code (UBC) Research Project is developing proposals for a new braille code that would solve many of these problems. Australia is playing a leadership role in this research project, and in 1998 Australian braille users had the opportunity to participate in a preliminary but detailed evaluation of the proposals. There is considerable support for the proposed braille code, and a recognition of the need for change.
The UBC proposals will be considered at the General Assembly of the ICEB to be held in November 1999. It is not possible to say at present whether other member nations will adopt UBC, but one of the key recommendations in this paper is that Australia vote to accept the new code.
Of course, it is not viable for Australia to "go it alone", and so three other options have been considered in this paper, in case the UBC is not accepted by other ICEB members. Of these alternatives to the adoption of the UBC, the option to change to the codes and practices used in the US is considered the only one that will offer significant advantages to braille users in Australia. These advantages include the availability of a wider range of resources for braille teachers, students, and producers; access to a greater range of material, particularly in subjects such as Mathematics, Science and Computing; and greater compatibility with braille production software.
The eleven recommendations contained in this paper deal with the overall details of the strategy for changing the braille codes and practices used in Australia. A three-year implementation period is proposed, beginning in June 2000.
Direct costs associated with the changes proposed in this paper are difficult to quantify at this stage, but are likely to be about $200,000, spread over three years. The costs of not making these changes are to be measured in poor services, inadequate resources for training teachers to teach braille, lower standards of literacy among blind people, and increasing isolation of Australia from international developments related to braille. The final recommendations in the paper therefore call upon the blindness sector in Australia to secure the necessary funding, and to make public and tangible commitments of support.
Recommendation 1 (Section 3.5)
That, at its meeting to be held in Melbourne on April 10, 1999, the ABA resolve as follows:
That, since the ABA believes that the introduction of the Unified Braille Code (UBC) will be in the best interests of all braille users, it therefore directs Australia's delegation to vote in favour of the endorsement of the UBC proposals at the General Assembly of the ICEB to be held in November 1999, unless there are compelling reasons that, in the opinion of the delegation, require otherwise.
Recommendation 2 (Section 3.5)
That, at its meeting to be held in Melbourne on April 10, 1999, the ABA resolve as follows:
That, in the event that the Unified Braille Code (UBC) is endorsed by the General Assembly of the ICEB at its meeting in November 1999, and provided that the UBC is adopted by BANA, the ABA adopt UBC as the only official code approved for use in Australia.
Recommendation 3 (Section 3.5)
That, at its meeting to be held in Melbourne on April 10, 1999, the ABA resolve as follows:
That, in the event that BANA does not adopt, or does not appear likely to adopt the UBC following the conclusion of the General Assembly of the ICEB to be held in November 1999, then the ABA:
Recommendation 4 (Section 3.5)
That, at its meeting to be held in Melbourne on April 10, 1999, the ABA resolve as follows:
That the ABA hold a special meeting immediately following the conclusion of the General Assembly of the ICEB, the sole purposes of which will be to:
Recommendation 5 (Section 4)
That the implementation of the new codes and practices be co-ordinated by a Project Officer supported by an "Implementation Team" comprising the four members of Australia's delegation to the 1999 General Assembly of the ICEB, a representative of Blind Citizens Australia, and a representative of South Pacific Educators in Vision Impairment (SPEVI).
Recommendation 6 (Section 4)
That the changes to braille codes and practices used in Australia be introduced on an incremental basis beginning on January 1, 2001, and that, prior to this date, thorough training and familiarisation be provided for all users.
Recommendation 7 (Section 4)
That the timetable for implementation of the new codes and practices be as follows, noting, however, that there may be a need for some flexibility because of differences in curricula between states and also because of different curricular requirements in different subject areas:
Recommendation 8 (Section 4)
That the ABA offer to have discussions with relevant braille producers and users in New Guinea aimed at exploring ways in which Australia can assist New Guinea in implementing the changes that are made to braille codes and practices in Australia.
Recommendation 9 (Section 4)
That the ABA, in co-operation with other appropriate bodies, explore sources of funding for the implementation of the new braille codes and practices.
Recommendation 10 (Section 4)
That, prior to the special meeting of the ABA to be held in November 1999, all organisations identified as constituting the blindness sector be contacted seeking tangible and public declarations of support for, and financial commitment to the implementation of the new braille codes and practices.
Recommendation 11 (Section 4)
That, at the special meeting of the ABA to be held in November 1999, each member be called upon to table their organisation's statement of commitment and support, and that these statements become part of the public record through their inclusion in the Minutes of this special meeting.