The International Day of the Blind is marked on November 13 around the world. The International Day of the Blind was chosen by the United Nations in 1946 not by chance - November 13 is the birthday of the French aristocrat Valentin Aui, who recognised the prevailing injustices against blind people and took steps to improve their lives. He established the world's first boarding school for the blind in Paris and set the groundwork for global education for the blind. The white cane was initially introduced as a distinguishing signal and a method of mobility for the blind by the Frenchwoman Gilles Derbemont (1930), and then by George Bonham in the United States. In 1943, military psychologist Richard Hoover designed the long white cane.
The United States recognised October 15th as International White Cane Day on October 6, 1964. In 1906, Louis Braille's embossed dot script (Braille) was introduced. The Louis Braille National Community Centre for the Blind in Sofia has been the primary publisher of Braille novels since 1928. The community centre library includes a collection of about 2000 titles. It sends books to readers all around the country. In Sofia, the service is provided via car to residents' homes. Bulgaria's first talking books were recorded in 1959, the first Braille magazine was produced in 1933, and the first audiocassette magazine was recorded in1963. /BGNES.
