Ana Laura Pichardo Morales, Environmental Protection Coordinator of the Faculty of Languages.
On 19 April of the current year, at the Faculty of Languages of the Autonomous University of the State of Mexico (UAEMex), in the State of Mexico, the first Exhibition of the Earth Charter in Spanish Braille was held, where the complete document transcribed into Braille was presented.
Braille is a tactile reading and writing medium, using the fingertips, consisting of raised dots arranged similar to those on a domino. (Vallés, 2005)
The objective of the Earth Charter Exhibition was to raise awareness, sensitise, and respond to the needs arising in schools, in order to appreciate the diversity of people we encounter. Students and teachers should be prepared to develop materials that are useful regardless of any disability. Hence, the main challenge that educational systems worldwide should pursue is to promote inclusive learning processes (Peñaherrera, Sánchez-Teruel, & Cobos, 2010).
Therefore, there arises the need to share some work for university students and professors that is useful based on the experiences we have had with visually impaired individuals.
Thanks to Claudia Muñoz Estrada, who was responsible for transcribing the entire Earth Charter document into Braille, this project was carried out. Additionally, she created the logos for the sixteen principles of the Earth Charter and provided the tools used for Braille writing: slates and styluses.
During the Exhibition, we had the participation of an alumnus from the Faculty of Languages, Armando Rayón Pioquinto, who read the Preamble of the Earth Charter in Braille. We must also highlight the participation of “Vemos con el Corazón IAP,” who read the sixteen principles of the Earth Charter in Braille.
Among the personalities present, we were honored to have the two Focal Points of the Earth Charter from the State of Mexico, Rafael Fernando Sánchez Barreto and David Eduardo Velázquez Muñoz, as well as our authorities from the Faculty of Languages, environmental brigades, students, and professors.
It is worth mentioning that during the Exhibition, the Braille keyboard and printer were displayed, which have been kept at the Faculty of Languages since 2011.
The final activity within the Exhibition was a demonstration involving Claudia Muñoz, Armando Rayón, and the four students from “Vemos con el Corazón IAP,” David Brayan Urbina Valdez, Dana Paola Valdez Hinojosa, Cinthya Guadalupe Hernández Ortega, and Paula Muñoz Bernal. This allowed the attendees of the first Earth Charter Exhibition in Braille to reflect on the roles we all have within society.
To remember what is written in the Earth Charter, “As never before in history, common destiny beckons us to seek a new beginning. Such renewal is the promise of these Earth Charter principles. To fulfill this promise, we must commit ourselves to adopt and promote the values and objectives of the Charter.”
References:
- Peñaherrera, M., Sánchez-Teruel, D., & Cobos, E.F. (2010). Inclusion and Intercultural Curriculum. In M. Martín-Puig (Coord.), Current Situation and Future Perspectives of Lifelong Learning (pp. 261-271). Castellón: Publications Service of Universitat Jaume.
- Vallés Arándiga, Antonio (2005). Reading Comprehension and Psychological Processes. Liberabit. Journal of Psychology, Vol. 11, San Martín de Porres University, Peru.
- Earth Charter Commission (2000). www.earthcharter.org