Cyprus is at the bottom in terms of education in reading and writing in Braille and the production of material in Braille, the Pancyprian Organisation of the Blind said in a statement on the occasion of the World Braille Day.
The Pancyprian Organization of the Blind calls on the State to proceed as soon as possible with the substantial support of the Organization in order to pave the way for the production and circulation of books in Braille as well as other reading material in an accessible format for the blind.
It also calls on those in power in the Cypriot State and in politics to ensure that any reading material available to citizens is converted into an accessible format, including Braille, so that no one is left behind, ensuring equal opportunities for all to read and access knowledge and recognising in practice that "Braille is knowledge and knowledge is power!"
"The promotion and dissemination of Braille among the blind and society in general is however not among the priorities of the Cypriot State: Important documents that directly concern citizens with visual disabilities, such as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, are not available in Braille. In addition, while humanity is struggling to protect its citizens from the global humanitarian crisis, our country has failed to make available to visually impaired citizens important instructions and relevant information on the protection measures taken by the state. Blind people also continue to be excluded in recent years from reading materials in a format accessible to them," it added.
As a result of the policies pursued by the relevant ministries and state agencies in these matters, the organisation says, the number of blind people trained in reading and writing braille over the past ten years can be counted on the fingers of one hand, while the number of braille users has fallen to close to 50 per cent.
"As a result our country is stuck and sinking further and further into the bottom ranks among the member states of the European Union in terms of the training of blind people and trainers in braille and the rate of production of books and other materials in this script. As a result, blind people are subject to serious violations of their rights to education, pre-vocational and vocational training, freedom of expression and opinion, access to knowledge, information and communication, lifelong learning systems and inclusion in the community at large, as required by the Convention and by Goal 4 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which focuses on inclusion and equitable quality of education and promotion of lifelong learning opportunities for all.
