Well-equipped Telecenter for the Blind Opened in Uruguay

The new Telecenter functioning in the Juan Antonio Lavalleja Public Library of Minas, the capital of the department of Lavalleja in Uruguay, opens a new world of light for the visually impaired in the country. Situated in the House of Culture, the Telecenter is equipped with state-of-the art paraphernalia provided by UNESCO and Private sector companies - ANTEL Telecommunication and SALUS/Danone.

The infrastructure in the Telecenter includes PCs with acoustic output, cassette recorders for audio books, fast Internet access, access to free educational software, printed books in Braille, and 3D materials like geographical maps and texture games.

UNESCO’s Günther Cyranek, who attended the inaugural function on 16 June, emphasized in his opening address the global organization’s commitment to foster social inclusion of disadvantaged groups and to help them to be real actors in knowledge societies.

Earlier in 2005, UNESCO had supported school Nr. 198 in Montevideo, a public school for the blind and visually impaired in Uruguay, with PCs, free educational software, and a Braille printer and provided capacity building for teachers. The school is now helping the community of visually impaired in Minas by providing printed Braille books to the Telecenter in the Juan Antonio public library. The Braille room in the Library is the first outside of Montevideo.

Source: UNESCO