4 January is World Braille Day, which raises awareness of the importance of Braille as a means of communication and as a foundation for human rights, equality, and inclusion for blind and visually impaired people.

The day marks the birthday of Louis Braille (French, 1809–1852), who invented the Braille system. World Braille Day was first recognized by the World Blind Union in 2000 and was officially proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in 2018.

I attended the celebration hosted by the National Library of Norway and the Norwegian Association of the Blind and Partially Sighted (program link).

People from a wide range of backgrounds and generations—including Sámi participants, a high school student who is a Norwegian champion in chess for the visually impaired, and professionals working at the Norwegian Parliament—spoke about why Braille is important and how it is used in different contexts in Norway.

The Braille Prize 2026 was awarded to Arne Kyrkjebø from the National Library of Norway for his work on a digital solution that converts musical notation from visual script into Braille (article link). Congratulations!

The event also featured a speech by Øyvind Engh, who has been Head of the Library for Audio and Braille since 2006.

The event concluded with a concert by organist Solveig Marie Oma, featuring beautiful piano music and singing.

I was glad to celebrate this important day.