Mobile network Movistar has a company policy to make mobile technology accessible for those with disabilities and provides services specifically designed for the blind, deaf and those with mental disabilities. There is a dearth of quality reading material for the blind in Chile - with no newspaper or magazine dedicated solely to the blind community, estimated to consist of around 635,000 people.
To fill this void Movistar has teamed up with Metro International's free newspaper Publimetro to create Chile's first ever monthly publication written and printed fully in Braille. The project launch (30 June) coincided with the 200-year anniversary of the birth of Louis Braille, the creator of the raised dot system bearing his name. Both Publimetro and Movistar share the belief that more effort should be made to help integrate blind citizens, an often over looked section of the community, into every day life. The Braille edition of Publimetro aims to address this problem.
The content of the newspaper includes news round-up, plus any tips and information relevant to the blind community. The 8-page publication will be circulated to 2,500 people belonging to major associations dealing with the blind on a monthly basis until the end of the year. The Braille edition is promoted in the regular newspaper, under the tagline: "Because we believe in a Chile that is 100% integrated". Non-blind readers are given a crash course in Braille symbols. Through Publimetro, Movistar is also sponsoring a library for the blind and is actively helping them to promote their cause.
The paper, a first-of-its-kind, has generated a great deal of interest on television and press in Latin America.
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