A NEW CHAPTER in community engagement unfolded at the recently concluded George Town Literary Festival (GTLF). On that day, a collaborative project between Penang Monthly and St. Nicholas’ Home Penang was officially launched. The initiative’s main objective is to make the Penang Monthly magazine accessible to the visually impaired community in Penang, and widely to Malaysia.

The idea to braille Penang Monthly was first sparked when the editorial team paid a visit to St. Nicholas’ Home for an event. During the visit, the Home highlighted the need for more reading materials to benefit both its residents and the wider community of visually impaired individuals. This vision was realised a year later, with the successful translation of Penang Monthly into braille.

The MoU signing during GTLF drew quite a crowd, and was also graced by Man Booker Prize nominee, Tan Twan Eng. The event opened with welcoming speeches from Penang Institute’s Executive Director, Ooi Kee Beng and General Manager of St. Nicholas’ Home, Carmen Chew. Ooi expressed his pride in this initiative, stating that the goals of both organisations—inclusiveness, accessibility, communal interactions and a shared understanding of Penang’s special history—are aligned towards improving literacy for all.

Chew, in turn, emphasised that accessibility to different kinds of reading material is a fundamental right on its own, and stressed the importance of ensuring accessibility for all members of the community. She added that diversity is valuable in the building of an inclusive community, and this includes integrating the visually impaired community.

The attendees then had the opportunity to hear from Lim Kui Yong and Tang Wei Chong from the Home, who gave two engaging presentations. Lim, a professional brailler, provided an insightful overview of the history of braille, including the story of its founder, Louis Braille. She took the captivated audience through the constructs and systems of braille, and how it was taught and used.

Tang, a librarian at the Home, shared a witty yet meaningful account of his life as a visually impaired person. He talked about the challenges he faces in daily life, in living in a world that is designed for the sighted, and expressed a desire for greater inclusivity. He also highlighted the misconception that blind individuals are introverts, emphasising that they are no different from those who are sighted. Taking himself as an example, he shared that he loves reading, has a lot of hobbies such as gaming, and enjoys socialising with friends.

One of the focal points of the event was a special art installation by Other Half Studio’s Sumay Cheah, which featured a structure made of bamboo, twine and folded origami turtles and elephants crafted from recycled braille paper. People walking through the installation could close their eyes and not only touch and feel the origami, but also smell the unique scent that was sprayed onto it. She observed that sighted individuals tended to take their vision for granted at times. “With this installation, I hope to create an enriching tactile experience where people use senses other than sight to engage with the world around them.”

Attendees also received personalised bookmarks brailled on the spot by Lim and Tang, were given cupcakes baked by the people at St. Nicholas’ Home, and had the opportunity to browse through brailled copies of Penang Monthly.

Another “First” by Penang

In a separate interview, Chew explained that the process of brailling Penang Monthly was fairly straightforward as all the hardware were readily available, with binding taking up the most time. “By having more reading materials in braille, we can encourage the visually impaired community to read more,” she said, adding that digital technology still remains limited and unfriendly to visually impaired individuals. She pointed out that screen readers are not able to access picture file images such as JPEG, which are still widely used in digital media.

This limitation was echoed by Tang in his speech, where he explained his difficulties when it comes to web access. He believes that it is not difficult to make digital content and websites more accessible—for instance, adding alt-text to images.

Chew added that even accessing digital newspapers presents significant challenges for the visually impaired due to the incompatibility of formats with screen readers. The Home currently relies on volunteers to manually scan, copy, paste and proofread news articles before they are brailled.

“It’s very important for the visually impaired community to have access to resources and knowledge, so that they would not feel left behind,” she emphasised.

As such, reading materials in braille remain critically important. Currently, whatever reading material available at the Home’s library are shared nationally; the Home mails them to library members who live out of state; the courier fees are waived by Pos Malaysia. The Home is open to collaborations with universities, authors and the public. “We especially hope that authors will share their books to be brailled, and book donations from the public are very much welcomed,” she said.

Tang noted that it is both special and rare for a mainstream magazine like Penang Monthly to be made available in braille. “Penang is the first state to showcase this initiative,” he said, “and it benefits everyone in the community, especially senior citizens, as it opens up the world for them.” Chew added that readers found Penang Monthly really interesting and enriching. “As most of our residents are from other states, they really enjoy learning about Penang’s history and culture through the magazine.”

Chew hopes that this collaboration with Penang Monthly will continue to expand with more copies being printed and shared. Ooi, meanwhile, emphasised that Penang Institute has always valued partnerships with important NGOs such as St. Nicholas’ Home. “Inclusivity is a core value in Penang society, and that aligns with the state’s visions outlined in Penang2030,” he stated.