The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) today congratulates a twelve-year-old from Rotherfield, East Sussex, who, two hundred years after the birth of Louis Braille, has become the first British winner of the Onkyo International Braille Essay Contest.
Anna Barham, a student at Uplands Community College in Wadhurst, East Sussex, won first prize in the Junior Fine Works category, and scooped US$500 prize money for her essay entitled 'Braille Literacy Changes My Way of Life'.
The contest - in its seventh year - is a worldwide initiative that invites applicants to write an essay, sharing their personal experience to tell how braille empowers them and improves their lives.
Aspiring writer, Anna, was over the moon that her essay had been chosen. She says: "I'm very proud to have won this competition. One day I hope to be an author so this is really exciting for me."
Anna has septo-optic dysplasia and has been using braille since she was about four. Her mother, Jayne Barham, says: "When we found out that Anna was blind, it felt like the life we took for granted was instantly destroyed. Little did we anticipate the sheer bravery and determination that such a small person could have - she is inspirational in her outlook on life and we are extremely proud of her."
Of her experiences as a braille user, Anna says: "Braille is brilliant. If it wasn't for braille I wouldn't be able to read or write. I just wish that there were more books produced in braille. I am very grateful that there is a National Library service, but it would be really lovely if I could go into a bookshop and buy a braille book myself."
RNIB is currently the biggest producer of braille in Europe and the National Library service has Europe's largest collection of braille books with over 25,000 books available for loan. Yet despite initiatives, such as the recent clause in the Man Booker prize that resulted in braille versions of all the short-listed books being available on the day of the announcement, the vast majority of books are never produced in accessible format.
Mandy White, Project Officer - Braille Development at RNIB, says: "Braille may be two hundred years old, but as Anna shows, it is just as relevant today. Braille gives people greater access to literacy, knowledge and ultimately the independence to manage their own lives. It is important that work continues to ensure that people like Anna can benefit from a wider range of brailled items."
RNIB has championed braille since it beginnings, publishing its first braille book in 1871. It is now possible to produce all kinds of materials in braille, from bank statements to bus timetables, maps to musical scores; as well as complex maths, science and computing texts, including code for computer commands and equations.
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For further media information please contact RNIB Media Relations Office on 020 7391 2223 (out of hours mobile: 07968 482812).
Notes to Editors:
The Onkyo International Braille Essay Contest is sponsored by the hi-fi and home cinema manufacturer, Onkyo Corporation, and Tenji Mainichi, a weekly braille newspaper produced in Japan. Although it began in Japan, subsequent years have seen the contest spread to the rest of the world. It is now run in the following regions: Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Central and Southern Asia, Europe and the US.
There are three levels of prizes awarded at senior and junior levels within each region, and in 2009 the UK won it's first prize, a Fine Works Prize worth US$500. The other prize levels are $1000 and $2000.
The European region is administered by the European Blind Union, through its representatives in each country, RNIB being the co-ordinator of the UK entries.
About RNIB
Every day another 100 people will start to lose their sight. There are around two million people in the UK with sight problems. RNIB is the leading charity working in the UK offering practical support, advice and information for anyone with sight difficulties. If you, or someone you know, has a sight problem, RNIB can help. Call RNIB on 0303 123 9999 or visit www.rnib.org.uk