A Braille application and a book were launched at the Accessibility Beyond Barriers Conference 2026 at the JS Auditorium, IBA City Campus, in Karachi. The launch highlighted efforts to improve access to education and information for people with visual impairments. The conference was organized by Boltay Huroof, and it brought together educators, public officials and representatives of national and international organizations. The participants discussed barriers to inclusive education, including the limited availability of Braille textbooks and learning materials, which is a problem that affects students who depend on Braille to read their lessons and to follow the curriculum along with other students.
The newly launched application converts Urdu and English text into Braille, which offers users another means of accessing written content through digital technology. The book was also presented as part of efforts to promote accessible reading. S H Umar, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Boltay Huroof, said that the organization had spent eight years researching and developing a book that can be read by both sighted and blind readers. He said that sustained government support could help accelerate inclusive innovation and expand opportunities for persons with disabilities, which links the launch to the wider question of public backing for accessible education.
The programme of the conference included a panel discussion on accessible learning environments, an activity by blind children and presentations on inclusive education. The activity by the children gave the audience a direct view of how students with visual impairments take part in learning, while the panel and the presentations looked at the conditions that schools and institutions need to provide. The combination of a technology launch with discussion and a demonstration allowed the event to address both the tools and the environments that support inclusive education.
Those attending included the CEO of the National Institute of Banking and Finance (NIBAF) Lubna Farooq Malik, the Head of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) at National Bank of Pakistan Hirra Qaiser, UNICEF Education Specialist Asif Abrar and the Representative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Dr Luay Shabaneh. The presence of representatives from the banking sector and from United Nations agencies shows the range of institutions that took an interest in the subject. The event concluded with the distribution of books and certificates, and the Braille application and the book remain the two main outcomes of the conference for readers with visual impairments.
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