Programs & Services

June 13, 2025 Workshop: 2025 Braille Literacy Canada Symposium

Date : Friday, June 13, 2025

Time : 1:00 PM (EST)

Register

Braille Literacy Canada/Littératie braille Canada is happy to announce our 5th Braille Symposium, Unlocking Access - Ouvrir les portes au sucès, which will take place on the afternoon of Friday, June 13, 2025. from 1 – 5 PM EDT (10am-2pm Pacific/11am-3pm Mountain/Saskatchewan, 12pm-4pm Central, 2pm-6pm Atlantic). This event will be of interest to braille readers, educators, transcribers, parents, producers and anyone else with a passion for braille literacy!

We would like to thank our incredible sponsors (including Beyond Print, Canadian Assistive Technology, Crawford Technologies and Humanware) for their support of this event!

Schedule of Events

Each presentation will be approximately 30 minutes long, followed by a 15 minute question-and-answer period, and then a 15 minute intermission.

Registration

Registration will close on Thursday, June 12, 2025. Live Zoom automatic captioning will be provided for the English presentations, and written transcripts of the presentations will be made available after the event. Once you have submitted your registration, your request will be reviewed and a Zoom link will be e-mailed to you within a few days. Email any questions you have to info@blc-lbc.ca.

Please note if you are attending the French presentation at 1:00pm and wish to continue attending the remaining English presentations from 2:00 – 5:00pm, you will need to register for both events. There are separate registration links for the English and French presentations..

Veuillez noter que si vous assistez à la présentation en français à 13h00 (qui est gratuite) et que vous souhaitez continuer à assister aux autres présentations en anglais de 14h00 à 17h00, vous devrez vous inscrire à la fois aux événements en français et en anglais. Il existe des pages d'inscription et des liens Zoom distincts pour les présentations en anglais et en français.

To register for the French presentation, visit https://www.brailleliteracycanada.ca/fr/programs/workshops/register/44

This event is open to anyone in Canada and internationally with an interest in braille. The French presentation is free to anyone who wishes to join. For the English sessions, the Symposium is free of charge to members of Braille Literacy Canada (or members of organizations who are corporate members of BLC) and $20.00 CAD for non-members.

Interested in becoming a BLC member? Annual membership (open to all Canadians) is $20 - check out our membership section for more information.

Presentation Information and Speaker Bios

Using Tactile Images to Make Astronomy More Accessible to Blind and Visually Impaired Learners (English)

Photo of Noreen Grice

Speaker: Noreen Grice, Western Connecticut State University, President of the Middle Atlantic Planetarium Society
Time: 1 PM Eastern

Join Noreen Grice as she presents on how to make science education accessible. Grice teaches astronomy to college students at Western Connecticut State University and has been serving as President of the Middle Atlantic Planetarium Society.

_Noreen Grice holds Masters degrees in Astronomy (San Diego State University) and Business Administration (Central Connecticut State University) and is currently a doctoral student in Educational Leadership. She is an astronomy educator with over 40 years of experience working in the museum/planetarium field and through her efforts, has developed a foundation for accessible astronomy. _

_Through her consulting company, You Can Do Astronomy LLC, she makes astronomy more accessible to students with disabilities and different learning styles and especially for people who are blind or visually impaired. Noreen Grice has authored seven accessible astronomy books and all but one of her books feature tactile images that allow readers to explore celestial objects with their fingertips. Her most recent book is Touch the Solar System, a digital tactile book for the Talking Tactile Tablet (T3), co-authored with astronomer Heidi Hammel. To learn more about Noreen Grice and her work in accessible astronomy, please visit https://www.youcandoastronomy.com. _

Dans le sillage de trois personnages emblématiques mis à l’honneur au musée Valentin Haüy - Paris (en français seulement)

Mireille Duhen

Présenté par Mireille Duhen, Bénévole au musée et à la bibliothèque patrimoniale Valentin Haüy Paris

NOTE : Vous pouvez vous inscrire à la session française ici, gratuitement. Si vous souhaitez également assister aux présentations en anglais, veuillez également vous inscrire aux sessions du symposium en anglais.

Cet atelier portera sur la création du musée Valentin Haüy, ainsi que sur des moments historiques qui ont jalonné l’instruction des aveugles aux 18e et au 19esiècles. Des artéfacts et des documents exceptionnels conservés au musée seront également présentés.

Mireille Duhen est bénévole au musée et à la bibliothèque patrimoniale Valentin Haüy Paris. Elle est responsable de la conservation de ses collections. Elle assure également les visites guidées qui se font sur réservation et la rotation des livres et objets présentés en vitrine. Un espace réservé à une exposition tactile complète la visite. Pour en savoir plus sur le musée Valentin Haüy, visitez le https://www.avh.asso.fr/nos-solutions/culture-loisirs-sport-et-vacances-adaptees/notre-musee-et-notre-bibliotheque.

Marrakesh and the Accessible Books Consortium: The Benefits and Access for Readers (English)

Moderator: Luc Maumet, with panelists from CELA, NNELS and BANQ
Time: 2 PM Eastern

Luc Maumet will be joined by panelists from the Centre for Equitable Library Access (CELA), the National Network for Equitable Library Service (NNELS), and Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BANQ) to discuss the Marrakesh Treaty and the Accessible Books Consortium (ABC). Learn more about the benefits and access for readers.

Luc Maumet is a librarian and an expert in accessibility and library inclusion with the Accessible Book Consortium. For a number of years, Luc has also served as head of the media library of the Valentin Haüy association specialising in services for visually impaired people.

The Braille Challenge - Celebrating the Challenge of Braille (English)

Adam Wilton

Speaker: Adam Wilton, Ph.D., Program Manager of the Provincial Resource Centre for the Visually Impaired (PRCVI)
Time: 3 PM Eastern

Curious about the Braille Challenge? Join Adam Wilton and his panel as they discuss the what the Braille Challenge achieves, how it began and where it is.

Adam Wilton, PhD, is the Program Manager of the Provincial Resource Centre for the Visually Impaired (PRCVI) in Vancouver, British Columbia. He has been an educator for 18 years, working mostly as a Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments and Orientation and Mobility Specialist. Adam has numerous connections to the braille world - he is a Director for Braille Literacy Canada, the Coordinator of the BC Regional Braille Challenge, and the past Chair of the Canadian Association of Educational Resource Centres for Alternate Format Materials.

eBraille – A Reality for everyone across the World (English)

Speaker: Willow Free, Global Innovations Product Manager at the American Printing House for the Blind
Time: 4 PM Eastern

“We’re at the beginning of another braille revolution,” said Willow Free, co-chair of the eBraille Working Group. Learn about eBraille the file type which allows braille and tactile graphics to be read together in one electronic document.

Willow Free is the Global Innovations Product Manager at the American Printing House for the Blind. She comes to this position as a certified braille transcriber and former quality assurance tester with a focus in braille, technology, and project management. She is passionate about literacy in all forms and believes that no one should be deprived of reading materials in the medium that they prefer. She is a graduate of Berea College with a degree in English Writing. She currently lives in Louisville, Kentucky with her wife and dog and spends her time hiking, writing, and complaining about user interface.

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