World Braille Day, observed each year on January 4 and established by the United Nations in 2019, promotes awareness of the Braille system (a tactile code of six raised dots representing letters, numbers, and other symbols) and highlights its importance for communication and the full realization of the human rights of blind and partially sighted people.

With the aim of further empowering blind and visually impaired people, LASIGE researchers are conducting scientific work in the field of Inclusive Human-Computer Interaction, having recently published the following article: “Exploring Collaboration in Programming Activities with Children with Visual Impairments: a 10-Session Study in a School Setting“, co-authored by Filipa Rocha, David Gonçalves and Tiago Guerreiro.

They incorporate multimodal features into programming kits that offer promising paths to more inclusive learning environments that accommodate diverse abilities, introducing children to computational thinking from an early age.

This fosters computational literacy and supports the development of critical, cognitive, and social skills, stimulating creativity and learning, to avoid barriers for children with visual impairments, creating relevant social impact.