News

Braille is considered to be the primary literacy and numeracy medium for people who are blind or have low vision, even with the incredible rise of mainstream technology in recent times. Braille is more relevant and accessible than ever, and we need to make sure it’s available to those who need it most, whenever and … Read more

The World Blind Union (WBU) is delighted to celebrate World Braille Day, 4 January 2019. Louis Braille, who created the reading and writing system of dots for blind people, was born in France on 4 January 1809. 4 January has been declared by the United Nations as an international day to commemorate the importance of … Read more

This Christmas, BANZAT has something really unique to share with you. In November, a group of braille enthusiasts called the Awhina Braille Group got together in Auckland to talk about braille and share some braille Christmas cheer. One of the activities was to compose a braille version of The Twelve Days of Christmas song. The … Read more

Celebrate Braille in 2 Competitions for NZ School Students With a closing date now of Friday 16 November 2018 we’re running two competitions to celebrate Braille Literacy Day on 7 September. For Primary and Intermediate aged students: Make up a name for the New Zealand Braille Literacy Kiwi Mascot and collage a picture of it … Read more

Applications Close on 3 September 2018 to Sit the Trans-Tasman Certificate of Proficiency in Unified English Braille Jointly Administered By The Australian Braille Authority and The Braille Authority of New Zealand Aotearoa Trust The Braille Authorities of Australia and New Zealand are pleased to announce the 2018 Trans-Tasman Certificate of Proficiency in Unified English Braille. … Read more

With a closing date of Friday 31 August 2018 we’re running two competitions to celebrate Braille Literacy Day on 7 September. For Primary and Intermediate aged students: Make up a name for the New Zealand Braille Literacy Kiwi Mascot and collage a picture of it (A4 size). Post the artwork to Gloria Edwards, BLENNZ, Private … Read more

Braille Music Transcriber, Moya Michalakis, writes: Every year Greerton Village (in Tauranga), holds a festival of “Yarn bombing”-wrapping tree trunks in knitted and crocheted blankets decorated as works of art. This year, each tree represents a song title, and supports a charity. There is a facebook page where you can Like the page, nominate a … Read more

If you have braille knowledge, why not tell us about it by sitting the Trans-Tasman Certificate of Proficiency in Unified English Braille. People who pass the certificate show us not only that they understand the braille code, but also that they believe in writing it accurately and care about the quality of braille that readers … Read more

Are you able to read uncontracted braille by touch or by sight? Are you interested in braille promotion, teaching, codes, and production? Are you able to attend usually four meetings per year with travel costs to Auckland met by BANZAT? Are you willing to commit some time outside meetings to further BANZAT’s work? Have you … Read more

The Braille Authority of New Zealand Aotearoa Trust (BANZAT) launched its policy for the Accreditation of Braille Producers Working in New Zealand in 2015. Policy 7 which explains the Accreditation framework and procedure is available at www.banzat.org.nz/publications/policies. Accredited producers agree to follow the standards set by BANZAT giving greater confidence to requesters, purchasers and readers … Read more