Speakers

Keynotes

Cathelijne Denekamp

Manager accessibility

Rijksmuseum
The Rijksmuseum is the largest museum in the Netherlands dedicated to art and history. The forefront of making this institution truly accessible is Cathelijne, who is committed to ensuring that all visitors and employees experience the museum on equal footing, feeling welcome and recognized.
Cathelijne's work spans across physical, social, and digital accessibility, focusing on creating an environment where everyone can participate and feel a sense of belonging. Her efforts include making the museum a more accessible employer and ensuring diverse representation within the collection. This holistic approach aims to build a solid foundation for the Rijksmuseum to be a museum for everyone.
Her philosophy is simple yet profound: an accessible museum is a better museum for all. To share the Rijksmuseum’s journey towards accessibility, Cathelijne authored a book, "Accessibility Without Limits - Rijksmuseum," Accessibility without limits - Rijksmuseum. which chronicles the strides taken and the lessons learned in this ongoing mission.
Astrid Kappers

Professor of Fundamental and Applied Haptics

Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e)
Astrid Kappers studied experimental physics in Utrecht. She did her PhD research in Eindhoven in the field of speech recognition using a computer. After her PhD (1989), she returned to Utrecht University, where she conducted research into visual and haptic perception. She became a professor there in 2005. After a major reorganization, she and her group left for the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam in 2012. Since 2018, she has been working at the Eindhoven University of Technology, where she can focus on more applied research. She has received several prestigious grants, including a VICI grant from NWO. She has served on the editorial staff of several international journals and has been frequently involved in the organization of international conferences. Under her leadership, 29 researchers have obtained their PhDs and many students have graduated. She is involved in more than 300 publications in international magazines or books.
Markus Lang

Professor of Special Needs Education in the context of Blindness and Visual Impairment

Heidelberg University of Education
Markus Lang is Professor of Special Needs Education in the context of Blindness and Visual Impairment (Heidelberg University of Education).

Studies
- University of Education Schwäbisch Gmünd (1989-1992): Teaching degree for primary and lower secondary schools (specialising in history, German, music)
- Heidelberg University of Education (1992-1994): Teaching degree in special needs education (specialism: Education in the context of Blindness and Visual Impairment)
Doctorate (1999-2002)
- Dissertation on “The promotion of haptic perception to prepare blind children for the acquisition of Braille”
Employment
- Teacher in Special Needs Education at the Schloss-Schule Ilvesheim (School for the Blind and Visually Impaired) (1996-1999 and 2002-2005)
- Substitute Professor of Special Needs Education in the context of Blindness and Visual Impairment at the Heidelberg University of Education (2005-2012)
- Professor of Special Needs Education in the context of Blindness and Visual Impairment at the Heidelberg University of Education (since 2013)
Jonathan Mosen

Executive Director, Accessibility Excellence

National Federation of the Blind
Jonathan Mosen MNZM directs accessibility excellence initiatives at the US-based National Federation of the Blind. He relocated to the United States from New Zealand in 2024 to take up this role.
At the NFB, Jonathan manages relationships with the world's largest technology companies, as well as start-ups who may have the next big idea for access technology as it affects blind people.

He has been a thought leader, broadcaster, podcaster, advocate, change agent, government relations professional, author, CEO, DPO leader, information technology consultant, Internet start-up founder, candidate for Parliament, IT product designer, and non-profit Chair. He is a passionate champion of Braille.
Dagmar Reinhardt

A/Professor of Architecture

The University of Sydney
Dagmar invents, designs, makes, thinks, discusses and creates with and for people of all ages. She is an associate professor, researcher and design studio teacher at the School of Architecture,, The University of Sydney and a practising architect (reinhardtjung).
Dagmar's research focuses on human-centric and sense-based design linking architecture, acoustics, robotics and accessibility. She is at the moment working with blind and partially sighted children and their parents and carers to improve museum curations and exhibition, and she and her team explore how playgrounds can become better places for all citizens - young and old.
Eva Slootweg

Teacher

Royal Dutch Visio
Social contacts and awareness of yourself and the environment you are in. That is my beautiful profession as a teacher of social skills!
My closing of the day will be about Empowerment. How can you Empower yourself and how can you help someone else to Empower.
With some input from students and from you, I hope you will end the day inspired and empowered.
Ans Withagen

Special Educationalist

Royal Dutch Visio
Ans Withagen has years of experience as a special educationalist at a school for visually impaired children at Royal Dutch Visio. Her expertise lies in the field of the tactual development of blind children. At the beginning of 2000, she and a project group started developing a Tactual Profile for children who have been blind from birth. This instrument is now used worldwide and was validated in 2005. She did a PhD study on tactual functioning of blind children.
Subsequently, she led many projects to stimulate the tactual development of blind children in education.

Chairman & Sidekicks

Vincent Bijlo
Sidekick on Wednesday is Vincent Bijlo: comedian, theatre maker, writer and podcast creator. But Vincent also experiences first-hand, every day, how inaccessible our society can be for people with a visual impairment. And he wants to do something about it.
Wednesday's theme is braille and tactile books. If anyone knows about that, it's Vincent. He’s really passionate about braille and a strong advocate for this writing system.
Kristina Misiûnaité

Vereniging Onbeperkt Lezen
Sidekick on Tuesday is Kristina Misiûnaité, a policy advisor at the Dutch Ministry of Finance. She studied tax law and previously worked at the court. Kristina is also secretary of the association Onbeperkt Lezen and board member of the foundation Beter Zien Anders Kijken.
Ronnie Overgoor

Chairman
Jesse Wienholts

Sensotec
Sidekick on Mondag is Jesse Wienholts, an expert in Accessible Innovation and a blind professional. He works at Sensotec, a company specialised in visual aids. From both personal experience and a business perspective, he brings a unique view on how technology removes barriers and creates new opportunities.

Speakers

Alies Aarts -van der Moer

Occupational Therapist

Royal Dutch Visio
Alies graduated as an occupational therapist in 2000 and started working at Visio in the same year. Now she has 25 years of experience, working with young visual impaired children. She is a teacher of the 'Tactual Profile' and 'The Young Blind Child' courses.
She is also a trainer for International Programs, where she met Ans Withagen who asked her to join the project Draw Along because of her experience with young blind children.
Sarah Adams
Rebecca Adda

Inclusive Design Consultant

Buro Happold
Vivian Aldridge

Rehabilitation teacher

Swiss Centre for Visually-Impaired People in Vocational Contexts
Braille has been a key element in Vivian's life since his childhood in the UK. He met a blind person for the first time in his late teens - four years after acquiring his qualification in Standard English Braille - and started giving instrumental and braille music lessons.
He studied physics and education and soon took a job supporting visually-impaired students in secondary schools. After qualifying as a teacher of the blind, he moved to Switzerland and now teaches compensatory work strategies.
He has represented the VBS (the German-speaking countries' federation of educators of visually-impaired people) on the Braille Authority of the German-Speaking Countries for 25 years.
Fridtjof Åldstedt
Anna-Karin Andersson

Project manager

SPSM
Marc Angelier

CEO

The LEGO Foundation/The Braille Program
Staunch defender of braille, author of tactile books for blind children and specialized teaching methods, Marc Angelier travels the world training teachers in pedagogical techniques specific to visual impairment to make inclusive schooling for all a reality!
He participates in research studies and training programs to increase students with disabilities’ accessibility to education.
Since 2019, he is, with Marie Oddoux, in charge of the development and implementation of the inclusive LEGO Braille Bricks concept for the LEGO Foundation. This amazing concept allows visually impaired children from all over the world to learn braille and develop the breadth of skills they will need for the future.
Mayumi Aoyagi
Tim Arborealis Lötberg

STEM specialist

Swedish Agency for Accessible Media
Tim works with accessible book production at the Swedish Agency for Accessible Media (MTM). With a background in astrophysics, they are managing projects related to STEM content. For the past two years they have been working on translating MathCAT into the Nordic languages and building it into MTM:s book production process.
Inez Aschenbrenner

teacher for deafblind students

Deutsches Taubblindenwerk Hannover/Bildungszentrum Hören-Sehen-Kommunikation
I have worked with deafblind / hearing and visually disabled students since 2003.
Since 2003 I have a master in education in speech therapy, education for learning disabilities and since 2007 for educations for the hearing and visually impaired.
At the moment I work to specialize as a teacher for Low Vision in our school for deafblinds in Germany.
Our school ist called educational centre for hearing, vision and communication. Hearing, vision, and communication are the main areas in which people who are deafblind or have dual sensory impairments need support. Orientation is also an essential aspect. That’s why we are proud to present our project on orientation in everyday life here.
David Austin

University Professor

Grand Valley State University
David is a professor of mathematics at Grand Valley State University in west Michigan. He is the author of the open-access textbook Understanding Linear Algebra and currently serves as the director of the Open Textbook Initiative, sponsored by the American Institute of Mathematics. He is also the lead developer of PreFigure, an open-source software project that helps authors create accessible mathematical diagrams.
Sigrid Avsnes

Senior advisor

Statped
Senior advisor. Working with children age 0-6 years with visual impairment. Giving advice to the adults in the kindergarden, parents and others.
Nasim Bagheri

PhD Student

Laboratoire d'Informatique de l'Ecole Polytechnique (LIX)
I am a PhD student at LIX, working on developing assistive technologies for visually impaired individuals. My research combines computer graphics, human-computer interaction, and human cognition.
Cécile Barichard

Transcriber

ATAF
Cécile has been a transcriber for 15 years at the Institut Montéclair VYV3 in Angers (France) and is a member of ATAF (Association des transcripteurs adaptateurs francophones) since 2017. This association fosters exchange, capacity development and pooling of practices and tools.
Frank ter Beek
Silje Benonisen

TVI/Senior Advicer

Statped
Silje is a TVI and mobility instructor with 25 years of experience supporting individuals with visual impairments in all age groups. For the last 10 years she has focused on working with children who are blind aged 0–6, exploring how we can better support their early development in learning to read and write braille.
Silje Benonisen
Barbora Bertlová

study support worker

ELSA Support Centre for Students with Special Needs at Czech Technical University in Prague, CZE
My name is Barbara Bertlová and I am from the ELSA Centre of the Czech Technical University in Prague, Czech Republic.
I studied special education with a focus on visual and multiple disabilities.
At ELSA Centre I work as a study support worker for students with special needs, especially for those with visual impairments.
Saskia Biesterbos

Occupational Therapist

Royal Dutch Visio
Saskia is an experienced occupational therapist at Royal Dutch Visio, specializing in rehabilitation for individuals with visual impairments, particularly adults with dual sensory loss.
Despite being sighted, she has learned to read and write Braille, sharing this skill empathetically with those who lose both vision and hearing later in life.
She is committed to innovative projects that improve her clients' quality of life, including the Tactual Profile DB project, which enhances understanding of tactile perception in dual sensory loss.
In the workshop, Saskia will offering participants firsthand experience with its core concepts.
Lars Bjørndal

senior adviser at Statped

Norwegian Braille Authoroty
Lars was born blind and has used braille since childhood. He is a trained church musician with a background in pedagogy. Currently, he works as a senior advisor at Statped, the Norwegian Directorate for Specially Adapted Education. He has been a member of the Norwegian Braille Authority for over ten years.
Lars has extensive experience in converting digital text to braille, and at Statped, his expertise lies in technology for braille users.
Robyn Black

Regional Practice Lead

BLENNZ (Blind Low Vision Education Network NZ)
My current role is Regional Practice Lead supporting several Visual Resource Centres across New Zealand. With over 15 years of experience as a Resource Teacher: Vision, I bring a deep commitment to accessible education and inclusive practice.
A particular passion throughout my career has been supporting literacy success for Braille learners. This focus culminated in the co-construction of the "Literacy through Braille" course, designed specifically to build the capability of New Zealand's Resource Teachers of Vision. This initiative reflects my belief in evidence-based teaching and the importance of tailored professional development to meet the diverse needs of blind and low vision students.
Anneke Blok

speech pathologist

Royal Dutch Visio
I worked for 30 years in Rehabilitation with Partially sighted and Blind chidren. The last 3 years at Education. I developed with others Tactual Profile and was involved in several projects for Blind children.
Since 2005 I am a member of Typhlo & Tactus, European group to schare knowledge and organize a two year international competition on choosing the best tactile books
Chantal te Boekhorst

Braille teacher and tactile trainer, itinerant teacher

Royal Dutch Visio
Frouck de Boer

Occupational therapist, Accessibility advisor

Royal Dutch Visio
Frouck de Boer is originally an Occupational Therapist. In 1995 she graduated from the Zuyd University of Applied Sciences, after which she started her career in a nursing home on a psychogeriatric ward (PG) and combined her work with the study Clinical and Health Care Psychology, University of Groningen. In 2003 she exchanged the nursing home for the Mental Health Care, where she started working with people with a hearing impairment. In 2009 she made the switch to Royal Dutch Visio. Her focus is optimizing the physical environment from an inclusive perspective, so also people with a visual impairment can use the building space optimal.

In her role as Accessibility Advisor, she is involved in improving the accessibility of public spaces. Her mission is ‘make the world as visible as possible’, so that everyone, in the diversity of people, can make optimal use of the public world.
Anne Bottenheft

Visual Specialist

Dedicon
Islah Boutahar

Coordinator of the program for the visually impaired

American language center of Marrakesh Morocco
Islah is a dedicated Coordinator with 11 years of experience supporting individuals who are blind or vision-impaired.
Specializing in English as a Foreign Language (EFL), she tailors educational materials to meet students' unique needs.
Islah fosters independence by partnering with craft centers, providing vocational training to help students gain life skills and enter the workforce with confidence.
Known for her exceptional organizational skills, she is committed to breaking barriers and creating inclusive environments for visually impaired individuals in education and beyond.
Ruben Brandsma

Teacher / Innovator

Royal Dutch Visio
Ruben works for Royal Dutch Visio, an expertise organization for people with visual impairments. He is part of the education department, where he teaches a variety of subjects to students from grade 3 up to the fifth year of senior general secondary education (havo), including digital literacy, cooking, technology, and programming. In addition, he is also an innovation project leader and manages several teams, such as the 3D team, the AI team, and the Education Lab. In these roles, he develops innovative applications for education and designs and prints 3D models to make learning more accessible.
Jaap Breider

Owner / product designer

Thinakble
word geschreven.
Eva Cambeiro Andrade

Coordinator of the DBSV Tactile Children's Books Project

Deutscher Blinden und Sehbehindertenverband (DBSV)
Eva was born in Spain, where she studied media accessibility for blind and deaf people. She volunteered for a year in a German school for visually impaired children and worked afterwards, back in Spain, as a coordinator for European Voluntary Service projects, hosting and sending blind and partially sighted young volunteers. Since 2012 she works at the German Federation of the Blind and Partially Sighted, in Berlin, and creates tactile children books.
Petr Cervenka

Tactile maps maker and O&M trainer

Masaryk University
Petr has been interested in tactile maps since he studied Cartography and Geography at Charles University in Prague. For 15 years he taught orientation & mmobility and trained O&M instructors. Since 2009 he has been working at Masaryk University, where he is involved in preparing tactile materials for students, preparing tactile maps and teaching spatial orientation to visually impaired students.
ChuYu Cheng

Associate Professor

Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology
As a associate professor in Product Design, I've focused my research over the past decade on developing products for the visually impaired and advancing Braille education.
My recent work has centered on creating biology-related tactile learning tools that enable visually impaired students to access and understand complex scientific concepts through touch. These educational materials translate visual information into tactile experiences, making science education more inclusive and equitable.
I'm committed to using design innovation to break down barriers to education and improve quality of life for those with visual impairments.
Ibrahim Cherradi

CEO

Keynoa
In 1976 at the age of 18, I left my country of birth Morocco, to my country of university studies France. Ten years later I was hired at the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna in my country Austria.
With a Doctorat d'Université en Energétique and a Diplôme d'Ingénieur en Génie Atomique form Université de PARIS, INSTN Saclay, CNRS, France, and over three decades in the field of nuclear instrumentation provision at the IAEA, my expertise lies in developing and implementing non-off-the-shelf solutions for IAEA safeguards nuclear inspections, including R&D of instruments and software. With my proficiency in cradle-to-grave equipment development and multiple data acquisition and analysis and ICT expertise, I demonstrated my ability of directing large teams of engineers and technicians designing and executing complex and customised hardware and software systems.
As the founder and CEO of Keynoa Technologies - a company developing specific innovative assistive technology solutions for visually impaired and blind persons - I lead the development and implementation of the company's strategy, vision, and mission.

I obtained a number of EPO and USPTO patents for the Keynoa method.
Anne Chotin
Vikram Choudhary

Special Needs Teacher

Deutsches taubblindenwerk
Vikram Choudhary is a special needs educator at the Deutsches Taubblindenwerk (German
Deafblind Centre), specializing in deafblind education. He holds a Pedagogical Master's degree
in Communication and Deafblindness from the University of Groningen, Netherlands, and is a
certified Supervisor for the Tactile Working Memory Scale (TWMS) through the Nordic Welfare
Centre.
Specializing in congenital deafblindness, Choudhary's expertise focuses on supporting tactile
language acquisition through pre-language development and developing individualized
communication methods for students with congenital deafblindness.
Prior to his current role, Choudhary served as a rehabilitation teacher for adults with acquired
deafblindness, where he specialized in Braille, digital communication, and assistive
technologies.
Irina Cirpus

Teacher (MSc MSEd) at Visio Secondary Special Education

Royal Dutch Visio
I studied microbiology and biochemistry at Philipps-Universität Marburg (D). In Marburg the white cane is omnipresent. Nowadays I teach biology and chemistry at a school for visually impaired pupils in Rotterdam (NL). Teachers from regular school can contact me or my colleagues when support teaching a vi-pupil is wanted. helpdeskscheikunde@visio.org helpdeskbiologie@visio.org
Chris Clark-Bischke

Director/Professor

The University of Utah/Multi-University Consortium
Chris Clark-Bischke, Ph.D. Dr. Bischke is the Director of the Multi-University Consortium Teacher Preparation Program in Sensory Impairments (Multi-University Consortium) and a professor and faculty member in the Department of Special Education at the University of Utah (U of U). She is the program coordinator of the Visual Impairments program at the UofU and Utah State University.
Dr. Bischke knows the importance of preparing future teachers of students with visual impairments in the Unified Braille Code and in the creation of tactile graphics. Through collaboration with peers, her students are learning valuable information that will better prepare them to support their students.
Wilna Combrinck

Graphic Designer/Lecturer

South African Library for the Blind/Red & Yellow Creative School of Business
Wilna Combrinck is a graphic designer with a focus on food, lifestyle, and non-fiction publications. In addition to her professional work, she shares her expertise as a part-time lecturer at Red & Yellow Creative School of Business in Cape Town, South Africa. Wilna also contributes her design skills to the South African Library for the Blind, where she is a tactile picture book design volunteer. Her areas of special interest include children’s literacy, literacy acquisition in low-income communities, and design accessibility for people with visual impairments. Her Master of Art dissertation examined tactile design for visually impaired children within South Africa’s multilingual context.
Ann Conefrey

Tactile Graphic Designer and Researcher

Conefrey Design
With over 30 years experience in art and design, I have spent the last decade focused on advancing the quality and diversity of accessible materials for the visually impaired—including my own daughter, who is blind. Collaborations with special education have led to a range of projects, including several award-winning tactile children’s books.
Last year I achieved a Master’s in Design, researching ways to enhance tactile communication for touch readers through the development of more emotionally rich and aesthetically engaging forms. I am currently an advisor for the Erasmus+ project Tacticos and develop projects for the creative sector and (dis)ability awareness.
Hoëlle Corvest-Morel

counselor and trainer

DUGTA
Hoëlle Corvest-Morel worked for 30 years at the Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie in Paris, making the exhibitions accessible to blind and visually impaired visitors. Blind herself, she understands the limits of museum experiences, where it is forbidden to touch anything. She pioneered the use of relief drawings and tactile/audio books to make art and science truly accessible. Today, through her DUGTA Foundation, she continues to train, advise and advocate inclusive museum experiences for people with visual impairments.
Karen Croake

Specialist Vision Teacher & PhD Candidate

University of Newcastle, Australia
Karen is a PhD candidate at the University of Newcastle, Australia. Her research question is Which pedagogical strategies support the sustained development of braille literacy in a mainstream classroom?
Karen has been a teacher for over 30 years and has worked at a Diocesan system level for over 20 years in inclusive education working to support students with disability and their teachers and families. For the last 10 years she has been working as a Specialist Vision Teacher teaching students who are blind or have low vision in mainstream schools across the diocese.
Ann Cunningham

tactile artist

Sensational Books
In the early 1990s, Ann wondered if the low-relief stone pictures she sculpted could make sense to someone who is blind. That question shifted her career path—and she never looked back.
After over 20 years of teaching art at the Colorado Center for the Blind and creating accessible tactile exhibits and public art commissions, she now focuses on embossed picture books, with an emphasis on concept books for babies.
Cunningham is also collaborating with a core group of five blind artists to teach tactile art to others interested in making accessible images..
Saskia Damen
Saskia is full professor at the unit Inclusive and Special Needs Education at the University of Groningen the Netherlands with a special chair focusing on research on deafblindness and complex communication needs. She is also a senior researcher at the Academy of Royal Kentalis. She supervises several PhD projects. Most of these projects investigate effective ways of supporting parents, caregivers and teachers in stimulating development and learning of individuals with deafblindness or complex communication needs.
Phia Damsma

Creative Director

Sonokids Australia
Having co-founded Sonokids in 2000, Phia moved from Holland to Australia in 2005. Phia is co-president of South Pacific Educators in Vision Impairment (SPEVI Inc), the professional association for specialist educators (vision impairment) in Australia and the South Pacific Region. It was at the 2020 SPEVI conference in Adelaide, South Australia, that her 25+ years of creating educational game apps for learners who are blind or have low vision and other important contributions to the disability sector was recognised by her being made a Knight in the Order of Orange-Nassau. Imagine the surprise when the ambassador interrupted by walking onto the stage!
Other fun facts are that Phia’s favorite on Spotify from the recently released 'Sonokids Song Book 1, by the Ballylanders', is the Gum Tree song, that she’s one of the original members of the Sonification World Chat (supporting sonification as a tool to make STEAM accessible), co-authored a publication in Nature Astronomy, is a writer of children’s books, recently experienced the wrath of a tropical cyclone, and has an Australian kelpie at home.
Frances Mary D'Andrea

Assistant Professor of Practice

University of Pittsburgh
Dr. Frances Mary D’Andrea is an assistant professor of practice at the University of Pittsburgh. A teacher of students who are blind, from 1995-2005 she worked at the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) and helped establish their National Literacy Center.
Dr. D'Andrea serves as AFB's representative to the Braille Authority of North America (BANA), and serves on the Executive Committee of the International Council on English Braille (ICEB).
She has published and co-published many articles, chapters, and books, conducted dozens of presentations both nationally and internationally, and serves on many committees and task forces related to the education of students with visual impairments.
Devi Dawson

Resource Teacher Vision/Manager at BLENNZ Wellington

Blind and Low Vision Education Network New Zealand (BLENNZ)
Devi has worked in education for the past thirty years and for the past 15 years worked in Blind Education. Devi has a special interest in the teaching of Literacy through Braille to new entrant school children.
In 2022 Devi and her colleague Robyn Black, launched the 'Effective Teaching of Literacy through Braille' online learning course to the BLENNZ network. The course is aimed at supporting Resource Teachers Vision in their work with early Braille learners by providing a standardised pedagogy. Since the introduction of the course there has been greater engagement from learners, increased inclusion in the mainstream and RTVs feeling more confident and more informed in their teaching and learning.
Reiner Delgado

Head of Social Affairs

European Blind Union (EBU) / German Federation of the Blind and Partially Sighted (DBSV)
DBSV is the umbrella organisation of blind and partially sighted people in Germany. I'm responsable there for children, youngsters, parents, women, deaf-blind, education, braille, culture and sports. I'm coordinator of the braille working group of the EBU.
We work in DBSV and EBU on improving braille displays, tactile training and learning braille for adults, tactile graphics, 3D print, interactive tactile children books; in Germany we start to develope tactile aids for deaf-blind persons.
Ilse Disseldorp

Science teacher, project lead

Royal Dutch Visio
Ilse Disseldorp has worked as a teacher in physics, math and technology for Royal Dutch Visio and currently leads a project to make the sciences accessible to visually impaired students.
She has authored numerous articles with practical and pedagogical advice on teaching the sciences in education trade journals and for eduVIP.nl (the Dutch platform for education for visually impaired students).
She has developed resources to visualise the sciences: tactile drawings and tools for blind students to make tactile (construction) drawings for math and physics, including a tactile ruler and a tool to draw parallel lines.
Judith Dixon

Retired from our National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled

n/a
Christian Egli

Software Engineer

Swiss Library for the Blind, Visually Impaired and Print Disabled
Anders Eklund

Project manager

SPSM (National Agency for Special Needs Education and Schools)
I have worked with producing accessible teachings materials for 25 years, I have a masters degree in physics and have mostly focused on STEM materials with focus on Braille readers.
Marc Elders

Marketing Communications Associate

CBB
I work since a year for the CBB. I am envolved in the marketing of our tactile Wishing Cards. I also love to promote our tactile 'Inclusive Reading books'. During the conference I am involved in the organisation and especially involved in making the conference accessible. For example we printed a tactile map of the building and a braille programbook. Get it at the infodesk! :-)
Linda Eriksson
Samantha Eyley

TVI, COMS, Program Manager

Perkins School for the Blind
Samantha is a Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments and a Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Visual Disabilities Education and her Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction, with a focus on Special Education and Visual Impairments, both from Florida State University. Currently, she is pursuing a Doctoral degree in Educational Leadership and Administration at Boston College.
With a decade of experience, Samantha has taught students ages 3 to 22 in a variety of programs. Her career has centered on providing literacy instruction and technology skills for learners of all ages. More recently, she has transitioned to supporting teachers worldwide. As the Program Manager of the Educational Leadership Program at Perkins International, she focuses on training educators around the globe in best practices for working with students who have disabilities.
Yolanda Eys

teacher (Secondary Special Education)

Royal Dutch Visio
Zahra Farmani

Author, researcher, Art institute teacher

Badbadak art school, division of tactile books
Zahra Farmani (I go by Zohre)
‏*Born:* 1955
‏*From:* Tehran, Iran
✅‏ Active in the field of tactile-sensory books and education for visually impaired children, including:
‏- Author, designer, and creator of tactile-sensory books for visually impaired children.
‏- Four-time award-winning tactile-sensory book author at *IBBY* (since 1999).
‏- Jury member for tactile-sensory book selection at the Children’s Book Council of Iran
‏- Founder of volunteer groups for prototyping tactile-sensory books.
‏- Collaborator on student research projects.
‏- Organizer of exhibitions and workshops on tactile-sensory books at universities and blind centers across Tehran and other cities.
‏- Founder of Iran’s first tactile-sensory library for visually, impaired and blindchildren.

‏✅ General activism in children’s advocacy:
‏- Director of four cultural-educational centers for children.
‏- Board member of the *Research Institute for Children of the World* .
‏- Managing Dirctor of the *International virtual Museum of Children’s Art*.
Julia Föcker

Senior Lecturer

University of Lincoln
Julia is a Lecturer at the School of Psychology Sports Science and Wellbeing at the University of Lincoln. She held a postdoctoral position at the University Rochester, Brain and Cognitive Sciences, New York, USA (2010-2012), followed by a three-year-postdoctoral position at the University of Geneva, Switzerland (2012-2015) in the Department of Psychology and Educational Sciences under the supervision of Prof. Daphne Bavelier. From 2015-2018, she worked as an Assistant Professor at the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, Germany in the Institute of Clinical Neuropsychology. Her broad research interest is in the impact of technology use and visual deprivation on neural plastic changes in the developing and mature human brain.
Erin Foley

PhD Student & Adjunct Lecturer

San Francisco State University
Erin is a Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist, Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments, and a Doctoral Candidate in the Joint Doctoral Program between the University of California, Berkeley and San Francisco State University. Her dissertation focuses on teaching spatial literacy and tactile graphicacy to blind and low vision learners. She is an Adjunct Lecturer at SF State where she teaches in both the O&M and VI programs.
Samuel Foulkes

Director of Braille Production & Accessible Innovation

Clovernook Center for the Blind & Visually Impaired
Samuel directs the efficient operation of braille production functions at one of the world’s largest producers of braille materials, ensuring high-quality output and production accessibility. His work also focuses on researching, designing, evaluating, and implementing innovative inclusive access initiatives.
Willow Free

Tactile Technology Product Manager

American Printing House for the Blind (APH)
Bert Frees

Software Developer

DAISY Consortium
Bert is an open-source software developer specialized in XML technologies and accessibility.
Regina (Gina) Fugate

Teacher

Maryland School for the Blind
Gina Fugate is a Computer Science and Technology Teacher at The Maryland School for the Blind, with a background as an itinerant Teacher of Blind and Low Vision Student in rural and urban U.S. communities. She is an Ed.D. student at the University of Florida and a Certified Assistive Technology Instructional Specialist (CATIS). Gina integrates tools like LEGO SPIKE and Finch 2.0 with Quorum and Python to create accessible, hands-on coding experiences that are compatible with braille displays . Gina believes accessible computer science benefits all learners—and when all students experience inclusive design, they are more likely to create accessible tech themselves, reducing barriers, saving time and cost, and building a more inclusive digital future.
Kanako Fukuda

Assistant Professor

Utsunomiya University
After completing a doctorate at graduate school, I worked as a teacher at a school for the blind, and now I teach at a university. My specialty is education for children with visual impairments, and I am researching teaching materials and methods that promote the conceptual development of children with blindness and low vision.
Martin Gaberthüel
Mathieu Gaborit

Adaptator, researcher

INSEI
Basically teacher for primary blind children. Then, trainer for trainee teacher for the blinds. Also researcher in education in visual impairment. Also image adaptor for the blinds and counselor in cultural places for visually impaired visitors.
Rita Gerkema-Nijhof

researcher, educational specialist

Royal Kentalis
Rita is dedicated to stimulating interaction and communication with people with multiple disabilities in a sensory and joyful way. She is currently researcher at Royal Kentalis, where she is pursuing a PhD in sensory storytelling at the University of Groningen. Her goal is to develop and research sensory methods to further promote communication for people with sensory and multiple disabilities.
Corine Giron

Graphic and podcast designer

Un Regard pour l'Art
Art historian trained at the École du Louvre, I create accessible art content for blind and visually impaired audiences. As a volunteer for the association Un Regard pour Toi, I give audio-described talks and produce podcasts accessible to a broader audience.
In September 2021, a key encounter with Hoëlle Corvest led me to create tactile images, first with a Piaf machine, then with a TactPlus one. Under Un Regard pour l’Art, I now design detailed tactile booklets to convey the spirit of exhibitions and animate group sessions of tactile reading images. Through touch and storytelling, I aim to open new, inclusive ways of experiencing art.
Gyntha Goertz

Braille teacher and specialist

Royal Dutch Visio
Gyntha has been working in special education at Visio for 30 years and teaches braille to young pupils and older pupils who had to learn braille at a later age.
She is co-author of the Dutch Braille curriculum and of the Dutch braille learning objectives per school year. She has provided training on the didactics of teaching Braille to school teams in various countries.
She has devised a number of tools for initial braille such as the materials: 'From Braille house to Braille letter', a braille letter box, 'Feel your readingbook' and the arithmetic box 'from beadstring to (empty) number line' (to stimulate number sense in young Braille students).
Sylvia Goldbach

Designer and Sculptor

TAKTILES / Taktilesdesign GmbH
What would it be like if colors could be felt? If pictures, graphics and paintings could be experienced through touch?
This question leads Sylvia Goldbach and her team 2020 to the federal school of Schleswig, Germany and the The Tactile Color Compass was developed. It translates colors into tactile surfaces.
TAKTILES is a company in Lübeck founded 2016.
With over 20 years of expertise in the field of design and industrial technologies, Sylvia Goldbach realizes coloured prints and models and graphics for inclusive media.
For museums in Vienna, Berlin, Dresden, .. as well for schools for visually impaired in Germany maps, unique tangible artwork were realized are mainly 3D printed in many materials like UV ink, soft plastics, even metal and wood. We are looking forward to more cooperations!
Ana González Areán
Lily Gower

Specialist Teacher Vision Impairment

South Australian School and Services for Vision Impaired
Lily Gower is a Highly Accomplished Teacher at the South Australian School and Services for Vision Impaired, with expertise in tactile learning, non-visual art, and inclusive education. She has presented widely on accessible strategies for students who are blind or have low vision (BLV), including non-visual drawing and sonification. Lily recently co-led the “Museum for Touch” project with the University of Sydney, creating multisensory museum experiences. Her work empowers BLV students through hands-on, creative, and meaningful learning.
Chantal de Graaf

projectleader/participant

Royal Dutch Visio
Seven years ago I applied for a job, with no job description what so ever. And within 6 months my agenda was fully booked with appointments to think and work on materials to make mathematics more accessible for visual impaired students. Till today, nothing has changed in my agenda. But it did for the students.
My strengths are working together, listening to people, thinking outside the box and a high workethos. I will apply those strengths on the congress and hopefully we all get a lot of new ideas to work on.
Torø Graven

Researcher

University of Oxford
Anchored in Psychology and Special Needs Education, my research focuses on understanding how people who rely on active (haptic) touch perceive and process information, and how this is affected by vision and hearing. Using this knowledge to develop new teaching methods and teaching materials in schools and universities, re/habilitation programmes, and informal education, I aim to empower haptic touch, hearing, or both in supporting or replacing an impaired vision, for example, in memory retrieval and shape recognition.
I use both quantitative and qualitative research methods – combining speed, accuracy, drawing, and/or think-aloud data – and have developed research methodology for identifying problem-solving strategies (qual-quan) and the effect of previous sensory experience and learning (quantitative). I have also started tracking the exploring movements and exploring pressures of haptic touch (quantitative research method) using a prototype TouchTracker.
Blog: SmartSense – https://blogs.ed.ac.uk/smartsense/
Podcast: The Oxford Sound Album – https://podcasts.ox.ac.uk/series/oxford-sound-album and blog post https://www.torch.ox.ac.uk/article/the-oxford-sound-album-how-it-started
Publications:https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4524-3431and https://www.cristin.no/
!!! New paper: Hearing the city without vision: An exploratory study https://doi.org/10.1177/02646196251330184
Chantelle Griffiths

Co-Founder and CEO

Tactile and Technology literacy Centre (TTLC)
Chantelle is a CEO, entrepreneur and life-long Braille user. Her career has centered around teaching literary and music Braille and assistive technology skills to adults in New Zealand and Australia. She currently serves as a trustee for the Braille Authority of New Zealand Aotearoa Trust).

Chantelle's latest projects include collaborating on the Braille Music for Us learning framework with Dr Wendy Richards and creating innovative Braille and tactile puzzle books. Other projects include learning to design tactile graphics without vision and writing a screen reader-specific course on using and producing Braille music scores with MuseScore and Sao Mai Braille.
Catinka Grunditz

Product Owner of Tactile Special Products

The Swedish Agency for Accessible Media, MTM
A former Teacher of Arts and Special Education for deaf children, my work at MTM is focused on tactile products for the visually impaired. In doing this I collaborate with tactile graphic designers and other suppliers to optimize tactile graphics for different purposes, contexts and target groups.
Tor Sivert Gunnes

Music dep. for visually impaired

Statped
Tor Sivert has been working on music in Statped (Norwegian directorate for specially adapted education) for 6 years. Before that he has been working as a music teacher in different schools and constellations.
In Statped he is transcribing music books and scores to braille music. He is also teaching teachers and pupils in braille music. A part of his job is also to develop teaching material in music for blind and visually impaired.
Catarina Hagg

Project manager for Educational material

SPSM
My name is Catarina Hägg. I am a project manager at SPSM where I develop new teaching materials for students with visual impairment. In recent years, I have focused on projects for developing new types of digital teaching materials for students with blindness. I have previously worked as a special education teacher with students with blindness.
I am also one of the initiators of the Tactile reading conference, that started in 2017 in Sweden.
Shanna Hamilton

Lead Teacher

Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired
Shanna is a curriculum lead teacher at the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired. She has her undergraduate degree in Journalism from Indiana University and graduate degree in Special Education with a focus on Visual and Dual Sensory Impairment from Texas Tech University. Shanna taught in special education K-12 classrooms for eight years before switching to her role in curriculum.
Kozue Handa

researcher

Meiji Gakuin University
Richard He

Lead Accessible Resource Designer

Mountain Lakes Public Library Makerspace
I’m a recent graduate from Stevens Institute of Technology with a Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering, specializing in product design and manufacturing. I am super excited to be designing practical solutions that improve people's lives.
I was introduced to 3D printing in high school, and now I am exploring the exciting possibilities of multimaterial and multicolor printing. I love showing others what’s possible through innovative 3D design and fabrication.
Ingrid van Heel

Speech therapist

Royal Dutch Visio
I have been working for almost 25 years at Royal Dutch Visio Education. I work with visually impaired children with multiple disabilities. I am dedicated to stimulating interaction and communication with these children in a creative way, like using songs or Sensory Storytelling. Now I am working on a project together with my colleagues from Royal Kentalis about Sensory Storytelling.
Meike Heldoorn

PhD student

Eindhoven University of Technology
I have always been interested in how technology can enhance human life. Because of this interest, I decided to study Human-Technology Interaction. Currently, I am a PhD candidate focusing on tactile perception. In my PhD project, I aim to contribute to creating a tactile display, with the goal to make digital interfaces more inclusive for individuals with visual impairments. By considering the haptic sense in these technologies, I hope to enhance accessibility and provide a richer, more intuitive user experience for all.
Tina Herzberg

Professor and Coordinator of the Visual Impairment Education Program

University of South Carolina Upstate
Dr. Tina S. Herzberg is a Professor at University of South Carolina Upstate where she has coordinated the Visual Impairment Education Program since 2007. She is also the co-author of the Pearson Nemeth Curriculum, and the principal investigator of Project INSPIRE 2: Access and Equity in STEM Learning for Individuals Who Read Braille. Tina is a certified teacher of students with visual impairments and a certified orientation and mobility specialist as well as a former middle school mathematics and English teacher.
Anette Holdhus

Senior advisor

Statped
I have spent the past seven years working at Statped as a senior advisor. Before that, I worked as a TVI in a primary school.

With a passion for learning and a deep joy in seeing children succeed, I am driven by the desire to create an inclusive and stimulating learning environment. I love exploring new methods and knowledge that can make a difference for children and young people!
Leona Holloway

Research Fellow

Monash University
Leona is a Research Fellow with the Inclusive Technologies team in the Faculty of Information Technology at Monash University. Drawing on her background as a braille and tactile graphics transcriber, Leona’s work focuses on the use of new (and old) technologies for access to graphics by people who are blind or have low vision.
Leona is the Chair of the Australia and New Zealand Accessible Graphics Group (ANZAGG) and serves as the Community Impact pillar lead for the Monash Assistive Technology & Society (MATS) Centre.
Leona's work on 3D printing for accessibility was featured on Australia's ABC news and earned her the 2025 ACM SIGCHI Dissertation Award.
Matthew Mr Horspool

Braille and Assistive Technology Consultant

Matthew Horspool
Matthew has been blind since birth and fervently believes that braille is an essential tool for all visually impaired people. He makes extensive use of braille both personally and professionally, and his career spans over ten years in the UK visual impairment sector in roles which bridge the boundaries between braille and technology.
In addition to his freelance work training individuals in the use of screen readers and braille devices, he holds several influential positions including:
• General Manager, The Braillists Foundation
• Braille Subject Lead, UK Association for Accessible Formats (UKAAF)
• Code Maintenance Officer, International Council on English Braille (ICEB)
Barry Hughes

Scientist

University of Auckland
I am a cognitive scientist with a long-standing research interest in haptic and tactile perception, cognition and action, especially as they apply to those with severe visual impairment. For forty years I have been fortunate to work with scholars and scientists who share these interests, and with students who overcome their unfamiliarity and discover the power and mystery of touch.
Alexandre ILIC

Author and graphic designer

INJA Paris / Association LIBD
- Publishing
Originally a comic book author in traditional publishing, Alexandre ILIC began in 2014 to specialise in the design of illustrated books in embossed relief for blind and partially sighted readers. In collaboration with the LIBD association, he has produced a series of comics, manga and illustrated books whose tactile drawings can be explored by touch.
- Education
Since 2016, Alexandre has also been working part-time at the INJA (National Institute for Young Blind People) in Paris, where he has been creating tactile materials in collaboration with all of the institute's departments. These 2D drawings and 3D objects are designed for educational, medical and pedagogical purposes.
- Workshop
In addition to these projects, Alexandre regularly organises and leads workshops aimed at raising awareness about tactile images. These sessions offer a unique opportunity for blind, partially sighted, and sighted participants to collaboratively explore and create tactile drawings.
Emily-Jane Jackson

Production Officer

ChildVision Ireland
Emily-Jane is from Wicklow, Ireland and is here at the Tactile Reading Conference representing ChildVision's Reading Services - Ireland's National provider of accessible school books for children with VI. With a background in English and Social Care, Emily-Jane is passionate about finding creative ways to make reading fun and accessible.
Jessica Jägryd

Advicor

The National Agency for Special Needs Education and Schools, SPSM
In 2007, I first encountered deafblindness. I started working in a class with four pupils with congenital deafblindness. I followed the children in school for many years, it was rewarding, fun and educational.
Now, as a counsellor at The National Agency for Special Needs Education and Schools, SPSM I meet children with deafblindness in different ages in preschools and schools.
At Stockholm University, I have taken several courses on visual impairment, learning media assessment and Braille. Braille and children with congenital deafblindness is very exciting field.
Jolijn Jansen

Accessibility consultant and user researcher

Stichting Accessibility
Jolijn is commited to a society in which everyone can participate independently. Through inclusive design methods, in which a diverse group of end users collaborates in each design stage, she helps organisations to develop accessible and user-friendly products and services. She mainly performs moderated interviews and focus groups with end users. Additionally, she advises on 2.5D tactile design and plain language.
Gerhard Jaworek

Computer Scientist

ACCESS@KIT - Center for Digital Accessibility and Assistive Technology, Karlsruher Institut für Technologie
Karin Jönsson

AT and ICT Specialist

The Swedish Resource Center for Deafblindness
I have been working with AT within ICT (Accessibility Technology within Information and Communication Technologies) for people with vision loss since 1987. In recent years, my focus has primarily been on individuals with combined hearing and vision loss/deafblindness.
Since 2021, I have been a member of the Swedish Braille Authority
Toshihiro Kanahori
Balakrishnan

Professor

Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
Caroline Karbowski

Orientation & Mobility Specialist

Perkins School for the Blind
Caroline Karbowski is a passionate innovator, problem solver, and community builder. She is a Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist (COMS) at Perkins School for the Blind, and she is pursuing a Graduate Certificate in Assistive Technology for Individuals with Visual Impairments at UMass Boston. She is a two-time Buckeye, having received an MA in Sensory Impairments & Inclusion, and a BS in biology with minors in chemistry and American Sign Language from The Ohio State University (OSU). Before graduate school, she worked as a biochemistry Research Assistant at OSU where she studied protein structures and created a science lab accessibility video series. Even though she is sighted, she decided to teach herself braille in middle school so she could read books in the car without getting carsick, and that passion for braille led to the creation of See3D, Inc., a nonprofit that organizes the printing and distribution of 3D printed models for blind and low vision people, and A Cubed Design, a startup developing a low-cost and repairable braille display. She is the recipient of the 2022 Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award, a certified literary braille transcriber, and enjoyer of choir and ballroom dance. Caroline’s favorite topics include 3D printing accessibility, tactile literacy, science accessibility, and tactile maps, so don’t hesitate to reach out and connect!
Hiroshi Katoh

Emeritus professor

Tsukuba University of Technology, JAPAN
Katoh graduated from the University of Tsukuba in 1979 with a psychology major. His research theme at graduate school was the behavioral genetics of emotional reactivity in rats. From 1990, he taught visually impaired students at Tsukuba University of Technology. He retired in 2021 and is currently participating in the Tactile Art & Therapy Project as a joint researcher.
Marjo Kauttonen

Coordinator

Accessibility Library Celia
I have been working at the Accessibility Library Celia In Finland since 2007. In Celia I am in charge of the book collection for children and young people, and also Celia’s braille book collection for adults. I am also a member of Finnish Braille Authority.
I am interested about how to get children to read, and especially how to get them read in braille.
I lead a working group that designs books that combine both braille and tactile images for children who are just learning to read. The working group came up with the idea to combine tactile images and braille books on a specific theme. We hope that these themed packages will encourage children to borrow and read more braille books.
Triona Keane

Production Officer

ChildVision
Triona has been working as a Production Officer with ChildVision Ireland for almost five years. Her role involves everything from Braille Transcription and Production to delivering Sensory Stories for children.
This year, Triona has been working to create a Sensory Experience Box specific to blind and visually impaired children. She is delighted to be presenting her findings at this years Tactile Reading Conference.
Alexei Kolesnikov

Professor of Mathematics

Towson University
Alexei is a Professor of Mathematics at Towson University in Baltimore. He is interested in providing freely available automated tools for producing tactile versions of college-level mathematics materials.
He led the "Raised Mathematics" project supported by the National Federation of the Blind and the American Institute of Mathematics. The project has resulted in a developed capability to automatically transcribe college mathematics textbooks, written in PreTeXt markup, into Braille. Alexei is a minor contributor to the PreFigure project.
Alice van de Kraats

Braille teacher

Royal Dutch Visio
I'm Alice van de Kraats, 44 years old. I started in regular education. I worked there as a teacher, remedial teacher and internal supervisor. Then I made the switch to Visio Education. I taught upper grades for 7 years. Since this year I have been giving Braille lessons with great pleasure.
Yvonne Kruithof

Educational psychologist

Bartiméus
Yvonne Kruithof works as a educational psychologist at the school of Bartimeus. She has over 25 years of clinical experience in working with children with a visual impairment. By administering psychological and developmental tests she identifies the level of functioning and (educational) needs of these children.
She has experience in developing programs for psycho-education (See, MyCVI) and has conducted effect studies in collaboration with the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
She is currently pursuing a PhD in which she is developing a support module for families of children with CLN3 disease/Batten disease.
Hannah Dr. Kunert

Lecturer

Komazawa University
My research interest is braille in the linguistic landscape. The 'linguistic landscape' usually refers to the different languages on signs in urban landscapes, such as signs in English, Chinese, Japanese and Italian in my hometown Melbourne, Australia.
Although braille isn't a language, I realized that having braille signs around a city is not only important for Blind people, but also serves as a marker of the diversity of the community. This is a relatively new research area for me, and I'm looking forward to meeting new contacts and potential collaborators at this conference!
Jerry Kuns

Mobility and Wayfinding Consultant

Mobility and Wayfinding
Jerry Kuns has been involved in employment development and placement of blind people since the mid 1960's, as a rehabilitation counselor and supervisor with the California Department of Rehabilitation from 1966-1975 and as an employment development specialist and project manager with sensory access foundation through 1986. He has worked with information access issues since the mid 1970's. He was employed by Humanware Inc from the late 1980's through the early 2000's and spent his remaining years as an adaptive technology specialist with the California Department of Education, retiring in 2014. He continues to work tirelessly to promote braille literacy and the use of information access tools in education and employment.
Frank Laemers
Steve Landau

Tactile designer

Touch Graphics Inc
Steve founded Touch Graphics Inc in 1998. Since then, the company has focused on developing new methods for printing raised-line and textured maps, signs, exhibits and classroom aids. All of these products present spatial concepts in forms that are accessible to the largest possible audience, through universal design practices.
Sara Larkin

Statewide Math Consultant

Iowa Educational Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired
Dr. Patricia Leader

Adjunct Lecturer

San Francisco State University
I am a Vision/O & M Specialist, since 1978. Although now retired, I continue to provide consultation/services to several schools. I teach braille at SFSU, to help prepare new TVIs. I am the Lead Contest Developer for the National Braille Challenge, a program of Braille Institute of America. I coordinate the development team and write some of the contests. I am highly interested in tactile graphics
Annemiek van Leendert

projectleader, researcher and itinerant teacher

Royal Dutch Visio
Why do so many Braille readers struggle with mathematics? It’s not due to a lack of talent or interest—but because they are being taught with methods designed for sighted students. Most teachers are rarely equipped with the tools, knowledge, or strategies to effectively teach mathematics to students who rely on Braille. This gap in teacher preparation is a serious barrier to inclusive education - and it is exactly the problem I want to solve.
I have worked at Royal Visio for over 30 years, and I am an expert in mathematics for Braille readers. My passion lies in empowering blind and visually impaired students to reach their full mathematical potential by transforming how we teach them. My PhD focused on how Braille readers can better read and understand algebraic expressions, and I am currently engaged in postdoctoral research on TacTiles—an innovative tactile system designed to support algebra learning through touch. I collaborate closely with Dr. Anna Shvarts of the Freudenthal Institute in the Netherlands.
Pauline Maas

Teacher Digital Literacy

Royal Dutch Visio
Teacher Digital Literacy bij Royal Visio; Queen of the micro:bit; Author "The invent to Learn Guide to the microbit" ; microbitchampion, microbit101.nl; Foundation CodeKlas; codekinderen.nl & 4pip.nl
Ana Rebolo Maderuelo

TEACHER IN ACCEDO GROUP

ONCE. NATIONAL ORGANIZATION OF THE SPANISH BLIND
Teacher specializing in Early Childhood education with experience in students with special educational needs. Member of the ACCEDO Group of ONCE, group that works on accessibility for digital educational content for visually impaired learners: researches, advises, trains and practices with tools and resources to enhance the accessibility on educational contents to guarantee educational inclusion.
Tobias Mahnke

Teacher

Deutsche Blindenstudienanstalt e. V. (blista)
Tobias studied Chemistry in Marburg and worked in chemical research there for 4 years after his graduation. Subsequently, he switched to teacher training with the subjects Biology and Chemistry. By chance, he came to the German Blind Institute (blista) in Marburg and obtained his Master's degree in Pedagogy for the Blind and Visually Impaired while working. Later, he took over the management of the center for tactile media and models there together with his colleague Tanja Schapat. His interests focus primarily on the development of didactic concepts and materials for science education.
Julie Majzel

Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments

Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired
Dr. Julie Majzel specializes in Reading, Language, and Literacy and is a certified teacher of students with visual impairments. She is a Curriculum Lead Teacher at Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired. Julie is also the co-author of Essential Tools of the Trade: A Guide for Completing Functional Vision, Non-Visual Skills, Learning Media, and Expanded Core Curriculum Evaluations, and primary author of The Sciences of Literacy: What Teachers of Students with Visual Impairment and Orientation and Mobility Specialists Need to Know. On a personal note, Julie is the mother of a daughter who is deafblind. Therefore, her passion for tactile reading is both professional and personal.
Sofi Malmgren

Advicor

The National Agency for Special Needs Education and Schools, SPSM
In 2004, I encountered deafblindness for the first time when I started working in a preschool with a little boy with congenital deafblindness. I followed him and four other pupils with congenital deafblindness throughout their school years. An exciting journey both on a personal and professional level.

Now, as a counsellor at The National Agency for Special Needs Education and Schools, SPSM, I meet children with deafblindness of different ages in preschools and schools.

At Stockholm University, I have taken several courses on visual impairment, learning media assessment and Braille.
The field of Braille and congenital deafblindness is very exciting.
Dipendra Manocha

Director Developing Countries Program,

DAISY Consortium
Mr Dipendra Manocha is on a mission to help persons with visual disabilities to lead life with dignity. Since 1993, he is facilitating their inclusion in education, livelihood and daily living activities through appropriate use of technology solutions. He is Director developing countries programme of the DAISY Consortium. He is member executive committee of libraries for Print Disabilities section of IFLA, CSO representative on the Working Group to implement the Incheon Strategy and Jakarta declaration in Asia-Pacific Region (UNESCAP) and member of the World Braille Council. He is the designated focal person of DAISY Consortium to provide training and technical support in capacity building programs of the Accessible Books Consortium of WIPO, that has implemented this program in 36 countries in Asia, Africa and South America.
Sonali Marathe

President, Round Table on Information Access, Manager, Accessibility & Inclusion

NextSense
Sonali Marathe is the Manager of Accessible Information Service at NextSense and the President of the Round Table on Information Access for People with Print Disabilities. She is a passionate advocate for access to information, with her work extending into children's literacy projects, creating opportunities for young learners through accessible educational resources.
Sonali has led initiatives in braille education, tactile graphics, inclusive publishing, and improving the discoverability of books in alternative formats. Recognized for her expertise, she was invited to a United Nations expert panel for the creation of accessible books.
Angel David MARTIN-BLAS

Tactile Materials Department

ONCE - Servicio Bibliográfico
Working since 1998 at ONCE's Servicio Bibliográfico in Madrid. I am responsible for the Tactile Materials Production Department, where we design and create all types of tactile elements for our affiliates using both traditional and modern technologies.
Momoko Mashio

Master's Student

University of Tsukuba, Japan
Ms. Momoko MASHIO is a master’s student at Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Japan. Hers major is special needs education and she is researching on math teaching material for children with visual impairment.
Mitsunobu Matsuo
Haruka Matsuo
Eleanor Mayes

Designer, Media and Accessible Design Lab (MAD Lab)

LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired, San Francisco
With a background in materials engineering and accessible design, Eleanor creates tactile media that furthers accessibility by augmenting the information landscape. She specializes in 2.5D design, transforming visual graphics into tangible formats while working closely with blind individuals to develop bespoke designs that prioritize the broader blind community. Her work supports MAD Lab’s mission to improve access to information for blind and low-vision individuals through tactile graphics, maps, and other resources. Passionate about equity, Eleanor centers her design practice around disabled, BIPOC, and LGBTQ+ communities, advocating for collaborative, inclusive approaches in design and engineering to promote a more just and accessible future.
Tessa McCarthy

Associate Professor

University of Pittsburgh
Dr. Tessa McCarthy is an Associate Professor at the University of Pittsburgh, where she has been teaching O&M courses for a decade. She is certified as both a teacher of students with visual impairments and an orientation and mobility specialist, with experience as an itinerant teacher and at a school for the blind. Dr. McCarthy holds degrees from the University of Kentucky, the University of Louisville, and Vanderbilt University, where her dissertation focused on teaching street-crossing skills to blind students using verbal rehearsal and graduated guidance. She resides in Pittsburgh with her husband, their nine-year-old son, and two dogs.
Gwyneth McCormack

Teacher of Vision Impairment - Director of Positive Eye

Positive Eye Ltd
After many years as a Qualified Teacher of Vision Impairments in the UK, Gwyn founded Positive Eye to provide solution-focused programs, courses, and resources worldwide.
Through Positive Eye Gwyn has been inspiring caregivers and practitioners, while developing their skills, understanding, and strategies, since 2008. Gwyn uses her creativity, and extensive teaching experience to develop sought after and popular programmes.
She uses simple, easy approaches, doable and possible by everyone. Her enthusiasm and passion easily help her to inspire educators to make learning fun and accessible.
By promoting inclusion and engagement, she improves outcomes for children with vision impairments.
Rolf Arne Mellem

Senior Advisor in accessibility

MediaLT
Rolf Arne brings over three decades of expertise in braille and assistive technologies, working with tools such as braille embossers and braille displays since 1992.
He has been a member of the Norwegian Braille Authority since 2012 and currently serves as a web accessibility expert at MediaLT, helping to make digital solutions more inclusive for all.
Pooran Memari

Researcher in Computer Graphics

CNRS, Ecole Polytechnique, IP-Paris, Inria
Trudy van de Merbel

Social Haptic Communication teacher

Bartiméus
For more than 10 years, I have been a Social Haptic Communication instructor. After attending various workshops by the founders of SHC, I became very enthusiastic about the possibilities. From the start, I have been closely involved with the Dutch SHC working group, which has developed a wonderful course. Together with a co-instructor who is expert by experience, I have been passionately teaching the course for many years.
In collaboration with the Technical University of Eindhoven, we are exploring ways to make SHC accessible to a larger audience, utilizing vibrotactile technology.
Fabienne Meyer

Team member PPKS

PPKS
When Fabienne Meyer worked as a Visual Designer (FH) and artistic researcher at the Institute of Design Research at Bern University of the Arts, she co-founded the international research project Punkt, Punkt, Komma, Strich, to introduce written language acquisition for blind pre-school children as well as children with and without visual impairments. She is also a founding member of the non-profit association PPKS.
Currently she is working in an inclusive learning project for young people located in West Wales, which she co-founded. With a holistic approach to education, nurturing and empower young people within a nature-rich environment to thrive and reach their full potential.
Basile Mignonneau

Head of the production departement

Association Valentin Haüy
After 9 years in publishing and digital publishing, I joined the Valentin Haüy Association in 2020 to put my skills and knowledge to the benefit of people with sight disabilities.
I'm now working to improve the numbers of adapted books in France through semi-automatic solutions to bring more adapted books (Full Daisy and Digital braille) to our users (17k people).
Kazunori Minatani

Professor

National Center for University Entrance Examinations
Kazunori Minatani is a Professor at the National Center for University Entrance Examinations in Japan. He specializes in developing accessible testing environment for visually impaired students, including the use of 3D-printed objects and digital tools. Dr. Minatani has contributed significantly to the reform of Japan's university entrance examination system, ensuring inclusivity and equal opportunities for all examinees. His work is recognized internationally, and he actively participates in projects and events related to assistive technology and disability inclusion.
Shinji Miyasaka

Associate Professor

Institute of Art and Design, University of Tsukuba
Associate Professor at the University of Tsukuba, Faculty of Art and Design. Ph.D. in Art. Specializes in sculpture, focusing on figurative techniques, modern Japanese sculpture history, and art appreciation. Exhibits at Nitten and curates tactile exhibitions for visually impaired audiences, advancing research on multisensory art appreciation.
Hisae Miyauchi

Researcher

University of Tsukuba, Japan
Dr. Hisae Miyauchi is an Associate Professor at the University of Tsukuba, Division of Disability Sciences, Japan. She serves as the Principal Investigator for the four-year, Japanese Ministry of Education-funded project, "Inclusive Graphicacy Tools and Techniques for Promoting Access to STEM Education”. The project addresses the global challenge of exclusion of students with blindness from the STEM field, involving researchers with expertise in mathematics and visual impairment from the US, Europe, and Asia.
Rolf Mjønes

Research Audiologist

Eikholt national centre
Rolf Mjønes is an audiologist that wrote his thesis on auditory processing disorders. He is a hearing aid user and has hearing rehabilitation as his professional interest, which he combines with a personal interest in new technology at his position as a research audiologist at Eikholt National Center for the Deafblind. He has given many lectures on topics such as audiovisual speech perception and combined sensory loss for various academic and educational institutions and conferences related to the field of audiology.
Antje Mönnig

Tactile Graphic Designer

German Centre for Accessible Reading (dzb lesen)
Antje studied Communication Design at Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design Halle.
2014 she graduated with her master thesis „Unmöglich. Aber machbar. Inklusion für blinde und sehbehinderte Schüler“. The book was published by The German Centre for Accessible Reading (dzb lesen) and has received various awards like the Sächsischer Staatspreis für Design.
Since 2016 she has worked at the dzb lesen in the product development department. Her focus at the dzb lesen is on the conception and design of tactile children's books and she regularly trains special needs teachers and affected families in workshops for tactile books.
Antje is also co-founder of the non-profit organization einfach machbar e.V. www.einfachmachbar.de. An organisation that, among workshops, in its latest project supports families with visually impaired or blind newborns.
Mayu Mori

Lecturer

Hiroshima University
I am a Lecturer in the Teacher Training Course for Special Needs Education, Hiroshima University, Japan.
Sabrina Morisson

graphic designer

Idéographik Bretagne
Sabrina Morisson is a graphic designer for 20 years. In 2014, she explored ways to support individuals with special needs in accessing information. She trained in creating tactile images and voice-compatible files with Dreaming fingers, and the Nazareth and Louis Braille Institute. She deepened her knowledge of cognitive ergonomics, audiodescription and immersed herself in the sensory world of non-vision.
Sarah Morley Wilkins

Project Manager

The DAISY Consortium
Freelance Project Manager and User Experience Consultant.
Working with DAISY Consortium and WIPO Accessible Books Consortium.
Albina Moscicka

Associate Professor

Military University of Technology in Warsaw, Poland
I am an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geodesy, Military University of Technology, Warsaw, Poland. I hold an MSc in Geodesy and Cartography, a PhD and Habilitation in Technical Sciences in the discipline of Geodesy and Cartography. I have gained professional experience at Stanford University (USA), University of Stuttgart (Germany) and as a key expert in cartography in EU-funded projects in Dushanbe (Tajikistan). At MUT I teach students in cartography and GIS applications. My research interests focus on the use of geo-information technologies in the humanities, especially in the field of management, access and popularization of movable cultural heritage, as well as spatial analysis and tactile mapping. I am interested in politics, cooking and Georgian wines.
Moe Nakajima

Master's Student

University of Tsukuba, Japan
Ms. Moe NAKAJIMA is a master’s student at Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Japan. Hers major is special needs education and she is researching on Social studies for blind children, especially map learning.
Julian Nauta

Productmanager

Dedicon
As product manager of braille books and tactile drawings, I am responsible for the customer research, innovation and development of these products. I do this by working with various internal and external stakeholders and multidisciplinary teams. I conduct customer research and advise the company and management on what is needed to make our products even better suited to our customer's needs.
I have a background in product design and regularly tapp into the principles of design thinking in my work.
Solène Négrerie

Tactile designer

Les Doigts Qui Rêvent
Solène Négrerie is Artistic Director and tactile designer at Les Doigts Qui Rêvent. She creates sensory books combining textures, Braille, and interaction for visually impaired children. She has worked on over 80 projects, including tactile adaptations, original creations, and mediation tools, often in collaboration with researchers.
Andréas Netthoevel

Professor for communication design

Institute of design research IDR, University of the Arts Bern
Andréas Netthoevel is Professor of Communication Design at the Bern University of the Arts and a member of the research team at the Institute of Design Research, where he co-initiated the international research project Punkt, Punkt, Komma, Strich, which introduces sighted and visually impaired people to written language acquisition together.
He is also co-owner of studio for communication design 2. stock süd in Biel (CH) and is a founding member of the non-profit association Punkt, Punkt, Komma, Strich. Netthoevel is a member of Alliance Graphique Internationale, Art Directors Club Switzerland, Swiss Graphic Designers Association and has received over fifty national and international awards.
Hannah O'Brien

Specialist Teacher - Vision Impairment

South Australian School and Services for Vision Impaired
Hannah is a Specialist Teacher (Vision Impairment) supporting blind and low vision (BLV) students in both regional and metropolitan South Australia. In mainstream schools, these students often represent a minority and have limited access to the enriching experiences that museums offer. With a strong interest in innovative technologies like 3D printing, Hannah is dedicated to creating multisensory learning resources that are universally accessible, regardless of location or disability.
Marie Oddoux

Founder

The braille Program
Marie Oddoux is the founder of The Braille Program.
Since 2019, with Marc Angelier, she is in charge of the creation and implementation of the global LEGO® Braille Bricks inclusive educational concept for the LEGO Foundation.
Marie is an occupational therapist specialised in braille. She has a degree in low vision rehabilitation.
With more than 20 years of experience in the field of blindness, she wrote books for children and inclusive methods to learn through touch.
She is a strong advocate for Braille and travels the world on training missions, particularly on inclusive education and visual impairment. She believes in the power of play, of learning through play for all children!
Kaia Odegaard

Senior Advisor and Illustrator

STATPED
Working as a tactile designer/illustrator at Statped/Norway since 2024
Background:
- Over 20 years of experience in illustration and educational resource design
- Teaching experience within arts and crafts
- Media production manager in higher education
I am particularly interested in finding flexible solutions to tactile challenges by experimenting with various materials and exploring educational tools that bridge the gap between digital and physical formats. I am curious about how to connect tactile illustrations with digital solutions and how to incorporate multiple senses into the learning experience.
Gun Olsson

Project manager

The National Agency for Special Needs Education and Schools, SPSM
Special education teacher, now project manager at the Swedish Agency. Producing books and learning material for Braille-reading students.
Solveig-Marie Oma

Church musician and project manager

KABB (Christian work among blind and visually impaired persons)
Solveig-Marie Oma is a church musician and accessibility advocate from Norway, currently based in Leipzig, Germany. She studied church music at the Arctic University of Norway and the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst, Stuttgart, graduating in 2021. Solveig works across several projects, including coordinating accessible hymn book production with KABB (Christian work among blind and visually impaired persons), consulting on music braille tools for the DAISY Consortium, and developing online music courses in Germany. She also performs organ concerts and teaches music braille. Her background includes work as an organist, choir conductor, and music teacher.
Noortje Opsteegh

Arts and Craft teacher

Royal Dutch Visio
Alice O'Reilly

Chief, Collections Division

National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, Library of Congress
Alice O’Reilly is the Chief of the Collections Division at the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, Library of Congress. She works with a fantastic team, creating accessible content in audio and braille format for people with print disabilities.
Alice has worked at NLS for almost 20 years in various roles, each focused on accessibility and content creation. Before coming to NLS, Alice studied at the School of Information at the University of Texas at Austin and earned her JD at the University of Oregon School of Law.
José María Ortiz

Head of the Consulting and Innovation Department of the ONCE Tiflotechnology and Innovation Center

ONCE. National Organization Of The Spanish Blind
Passionate about technology, I've been working for over 15 years to make the life more accessible for people with visual impairments. I love home automation, walking in the countryside, and enjoying nature with my family and friends.
Sabrina Panëels

Research engineer

CEA List
I am working as a researcher on the development of haptic interactions, i.e. interactions involving touch feedback, to convey information. This spans information about content, such as mathematical graphs, surrounding information when navigating an environment to social communication. I am particularly interested on how such technologies and feedback can support the visually impaired users.
I am currently coordinating the Horizon ABILITY project aimed at providing a haptic tablet and a novel 2D pin display, both leveraging AI capabilities, to support visually impaired users in accessing graphical digital content. I will be showcasing the progress of the tactile tablet at the Show & Tell.
Dan Patzelt

Founder

TactileImages
I am a social activist who has been fighting for 17 years to improve the quality of life of my fellow human beings.
For over 12 years, I have been fighting to increase the learning speed of the blind and deaf people globally by giving them independence in the learning process.
Nicolina Pernheim Goodrich
Ana Petrovic

Assistant Professor

Delft University of Technology
Ana is an Assistant Professor of Urban Studies at the Department of Urbanism of the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, at Delft University of Technology. Her research focuses on sociospatial inequalities and she teaches geodata analysis and cartography among other things. Her aim is to enhance the quality of life in urban environments and to make (cartographic) knowledge more accessible to visually impaired people.
Ana is herself a member of 'Oog in oog', Dutch association of people with prosthetic eyes.
Agnès Piquard-Kipffer

Associate Professor

INSEI
Agnès Piquard-Kipffer specializes in the study of multimodal language processes in inclusive education. She is an Associate Professor in Language Sciences at INSEI. Her previous affiliation with Loria (Inria, CNRS, UMR 7503) highlights her interdisciplinary approach, bridging linguistics, psychology, and computational sciences. Accredited by INSEI’s UNESCO Chair in Disability, Education, and Digital Technologies, she also collaborates internationally as an associate researcher at UFHB Abidjan, Republic of Côte d'Ivoire.
Additionally, her expertise in speech therapy and modern language teaching reinforces her applied research in language acquisition and accessibility. She is the co-author of language disorders tests.
Myrthe Plaisier

Assistant professor

Eindhoven University of Technology
Myrthe Plaisier is an assistant professor in the Human Technology Interaction group at Eindhoven University of Technology. She has been studying touch perception as wel as multisensory perception for many year. Recently she has started to apply her expertise for the development of assistive technology for people with a visual disability or a combined hearing and visual disability.
These technologies include vibrotactile displays as well as displays for relief drawings. She often collaborates with expertise centers and experience experts.
Eric de Quartel

Teacher, Developer

Bartiméus
Eric has been working at Bartiméus Education for 27 years, where he is dedicated to developing innovative solutions to provide students with visual impairments equal educational opportunities. He has initiated and implemented various ICT projects, including the development of BrailleStudio, a digital tool for learning braille. In addition, he designed adapted biology and gardening practice lessons and developed a special garden that allows students with visual impairments to explore and use it independently.
Eric’s driving force is to make education inclusive and accessible, using technology as a bridge to foster independence and participation.
Evert Rasing

Innovator for VI in education

Royal Dutch Visio
My name is Evert Rasing, i'm an innovator at Visio in the Netherlands. I work as a project manager to improve the accessibility for blind and low vision students. A lot of these projects are related to maths and calculators, but also do a lot of work in making 3D designed tools and educational materials, using modern production technologies like 3D printing and laser cutting.
Kirsten Rassmus-Gröhn

Associate professor

Lund University, Sweden
Kirsten is a researcher and teacher focusing on non-visual interaction, which involves interaction with sound and haptics (touch), especially in digital media.
Her research is interdisciplinary and involves methods for user participation in design processes, prototyping techniques, universal design, and the creation of new innovations and products.
In research projects, Kirsten works with user studies and co-design methods, designing and carrying out workshops, making simple prototypes with physical and/or digital material.
She also teaches courses in advanced interaction design, accessible digital technology, and software project courses.
John Ravenscroft

Professor of Childhood Visual Impairment

University of Edinburgh, The Scottish Sensory Centre Moray House School of Education and Sport
Professor John Ravenscroft
Professor John Ravenscroft, PhD (Chair of Childhood Visual Impairment) is Director of the Scottish Sensory Centre, University of Edinburgh. He is also Director of the Centre for Research in Education, Inclusion and Diversity (CREID). Currently, he is Editor in Chief of the British Journal of Visual Impairment and President of the International Council for Educators of Children with Visual Impairment (ICEVI) Europe).
Alexis Redford

University Instructor, Teacher of students with visual impairments (TSVI)

The University of Utah
Alexis Redford, Ph.D., M.Ed., is a teacher of students with visual impairments (TSVI) and an instructor at the University of Utah. Her work focuses on influencing practice, research, and policy in special education to improve student access, promote equity—particularly for students who are blind or have low vision, including those with additional disabilities—and enhance teacher preparation.
Additionally, through her work in implementation science, she aims to improve teachers' use of evidence-based practices (or usable innovations) by refining how TSVIs identify effective practices/tools/strategies and ensure they are implemented with fidelity to promote student and teacher success.
David Mr Renstrom

Programmer and Translator

Insyn Scandinavia AB
I work at Insyn Scandinavia and focus mainly on JAWS scripting and translation of software and manuals. I’m also an instructor and demonstrator. Blind since I was 3 years old and reading braille since I was 7.
Wendy Richards

Braille Music Teacher

Blind and Low Vision Education Network New Zealand (BLENNZ)
Dr Wendy Richards started working with young learners who are blind in 1999. She soon developed a passion for music literacy through Braille and recognised that a unique set of skills and cognitive functions are necessary for successful music making through Braille. This led her to pursue further study in this area and in 2020 she completed doctorate research with a thesis titled Music Braille Pedagogy: the Intersection of Blindness, Braille, Music Learning Theory, and Laban.
Wendy continues to work in this exciting area of music education at Blind and Low Vision Education Network New Zealand (BLENNZ) while also collaborating on a range of projects with adult musicians who use Braille.
Christophe Rigaud

AI Research Scientist

La Rochelle University
Christophe Rigaud (Ph.D.) is a researcher in document image analysis at the L3i laboratory and AI architect at Comix Suite company in La Rochelle, France. He received a double European PhD degree in computer science from the University of La Rochelle (France) and the Autonomous University of Barcelona (Spain) in 2014.
His research focuses on the analysis of comic book images by combining computer vision techniques and recent large language model capacities. He aims to find and develop methods to automatically describe comic book content for diverse application such as content retrieval, interactivity, translation, accessibility, audio description etc.
Patricia Ignacio da Rosa

Teacher

Instituto Benjamin Constant (IBC)
Aasha Rose

PhD student

University of Southern Queensland
Aasha started her PhD journey at the University of Southern Queensland in 2024, driven by a passion for advancing educational opportunities for people with blindness and low vision. Her research focuses on exploring quality of life for braille users.
With over 20 years as a dedicated educator, Aasha has witnessed the success of and barriers to inclusive education. Throughout her career she has championed the use of evidence based practices to support students with blindness and low vision.
However, she has often encountered a lack of high quality, robust literature and Aasha aims to bridge this gap by contributing new, rigorous knowledge to the field.
Susanna Ruohonen

Learning Material Designer

Accessibility Library Celia
I have many years of experience as a learning material designer at the Accessibility Library Celia in Finland.
Jackson Sanya Obale

Senior inclusive education officer

Ministry of education and sports
Tsuyoshi Sashima

Professor

University of Tsukuba
Tsuyoshi Sashima is a professor at the University of Tsukuba, teaching Psychology/Education of Visual Impairment and Psychology/Education of Multiple Disabilities.
His research focuses on the cognition of children with visual impairment, the expansion of tactile space, and the development of teaching materials that are easy to understand through touch. He has been teaching young children with visual impairment and children with multiple disabilities for over 40 years.
Dilana Schaafsma

Associate lector

Fontys University of Applied Sciences
Dilana Schaafsma works as an associate lector at Fontys University of Applied Sciences. There, she leads her own research line titled "Healthy Sexual Development". The mission of this research line is "to promote the sexual health of children, adolescents, and young adults, and to prevent unwanted experiences." Within this framework, there is specific attention for youth with disabilities.
In addition, she is Clinical Director of Happy Hearts, a program within the Special Olympics, where she and fellow volunteers provide education on relationships and sexuality to athletes with intellectual disabilities.
Tanja Schapat
Erich Schmid

Braille teacher

Austrian Federation of the Blind and Partially Sighted Persons (BSVÖ)
Erich has been blind from birth. He has become an expert in braille. Through his participation in Austrian, European and international standardization organizations, he has acquired knowledge about the coding of braille in various braille code tables in different countries.
In his work at the school for the blind in Vienna, he taught students about assistive devices for the blind and worked for many years as a teacher of information and communication technology.
Sonja Schmidt

Trainer for Braille teachers in the German Federation of the Blind and Partially Sighted

Deutscher Blinden und Sehbehindertenverband (DBSV)
Since 2022, I have been working for the German Federation of the Blind and Partially Sighted. We're currently building a nation-wide network of trained Braille teachers for adults.
As I am blind myself, I have been using Braille from a young age, and it's an honour for me to be able to make this important script accessible to more people in my country.
Lukas Schölch

Research Associate

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
Caroline Schürer

one person

Deutsches Zentrum für barrierefreies Lesen
Caroline Schürer studied library and information science. After holding various professional positions, including several years at the Goethe-Institut Buenos Aires, she has been working at dzb lesen since 2015.
At dzb lesen, she is responsible for reading promotion and supervises and develops exciting projects with children and young people.
Marie-Luise Schütt

Coordinator for accessible educational processes in schools and universities

Universität Hamburg
Marie-Luise Schütt has a doctorate in education for the blind and visually impaired and has already been involved in various international and national projects in this field of work. She has been working as a coordinator for accessible educational processes in schools and universities at the University of Hamburg since 2024.
Connor Scott-Gardner

Educational professional

Braille Working Group of the European Blind Union
Sota Sebata

Graduate student

Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba
Mr. Sota SEBATA is a master's student at Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Japan. His major is special needs education and he is researching on tactile symbols for children with multiple disabilities.
Anders Sennerö
Mattias Sikberg

Project manager

SPSM
I have a job with very varied content. I have fantastic colleagues, and several are attending this conference. I am responsible for being prepared to talk about the production of our tactile images.
Torbjørn Simmenes

Senior advisor

Statped
Torbjørn is working in the norwegian organitsation Statped. He is advising the staff in regular schools which hava braille students. He has been Working in Statped since 2021.
He is also a former primary school teacher in maths and other subjects with more than over 10 years experience. During these years ha has alson been working with a Braille student integrated in the class.
Bart Simons

Accessibility expert

Blindenzorg Licht en Liefde
I chair the Braille Authority for the Dutch language and am a member of the Braille working group of the European Blind Union (EBU). As an EBU representative in standardisation, I contribute to a European standard on tactile lettering (Braille and raised characters) in the built environment. I am a life long Braille reader and was among the first children to attend mainstream education. There I developed a strong interest in technology. After my studies of applied economics, I have been working in accessibility consultancy for 22 years.
Stephanie Simpson

Illustrator/Illustration lecturer

Red & Yellow Creative School of Business
Steph Simpson is an illustrator practicing under the name "Me and Norman".
She navigates the creative process through the eyes of her imaginary friend, Norman, who is responsible for the chaos and silliness in her work. With Norman's help, Steph feels fearless and is able to stare a blank page straight in the eye and conquer it. She is very focused on the process and place that she climbs into when illustrating – a world that she is unable to leave once the image starts to take form.
She also lectures illustration at Red & Yellow, Creative School of Business in Cape Town, South Africa. She encourages her students to experiment and “play until something happens”, to reach a creative solution.
Above all, she sees herself as a storyteller, extending to all spheres of her life - whether she is at her desk, in her home studio or in the classroom with her students. For her, "Illustration is visual storytelling and making images is a kind of game I play to amuse myself."
She completed a Masters in Visual Arts (UNISA 2024) along the topic of creativity and the significance of play and the imagination in spurring on creativity.
Marjan Sliepenbeek
Anita Steenvoorden

educational psychologist

Koninklijke Visio Amsterdam
Since 2016 Anita Steenvoorden has been working as an educational psychologist at the school of Royal Visio Amsterdam, a school for blind and visual impaired children. She started her career as a paediatric physiotherapist and specialized in Neurology en Sensory Information Processing.
At the Visio-school she works with students aged 4 to 20 years old, in both special primary education and special secondary education. The student population she works with is diverse: from those with normal learning abilities to those with severe multiple disabilities.
greg Stilson

Head Of Global Technology Innovation

American Printing House for the Blind (APH)
Greg Stilson has been building technology solutions for those who are blind or low vision for the past nearly 20 years. While at HumanWare, a leading assistive technology manufacturer, Greg lead the development of such products as the BrailleNote Touch braille tablet, Trekker Breeze talking GPS device, Brailliant braille displays, and VictorReader accessible audio book devices, among others. He spent two years with a startup company Aira, developing the Aira app and smart glasses platform, to create access to on-demand visual information.
In 2020 he joined APH to further develop access solutions for those who are blind at all stages of life, from education to leisure, culminating in the launch of the Monarch in 2024 as a first of its kind all-in-one tactile display.
Aoba Taniguchi

graduate student

University of Tsukuba
I'm a graduate student of University of Tsukuba. I major in education for children with visual imparment, and I'm researching developent of infants and children with visual impairment.
Tomoko Tateshita

Schoolteacher

Iwate Prefectural School for Ichinoseki-Seimei Special Needs Education
After receiving my Master's degree, I am currently working as a teacher in a special needs school. In graduate school, I specialized in education of children with visual impairments and researched materials and methods to promote the conceptual development of children with visual impairments.
Tactile Reading Team

Organisation

Dedicon, Visio, Bartiméus, CBB & Passend Lezen
Robinson Thamburaj

Associate Professor

Madras Christian College, India
Dr. Robinson Thamburaj is an Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Mathematics at Madras Christian College, India. He obtained PhD in Computer Mathematics from the University of Madras in 2001 and second PhD in Disability Sciences from the University of Tsukuba, Japan in 2006. His research interest includes Automata Theory, Image Analysis, Nature-inspired Computing, Tactile Geometry, and Inclusive Education. He has published about 80 research articles in reputed journals. Under his supervision 5 scholars completed their PhDs and 6 more are currently pursuing.
Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India conferred him with a National Award in 2005 for his contribution in the field of welfare of persons with disabilities.He availed patent on his assistive device Tactile Graphic Drawing Kit in 2023.
Certified and trained by Centre of Excellence in Science and Mathematics Education (CoSME), Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Pune he is a workshop trainer for college teachers
on Research Based Pedagogical Tools.
Géraud Tissier

ATAF Association des Transcripteurs-Adaptateurs Francophones (ATAF)
Michal Tkacik

Lead coordinator of the Braille Authority of Slovakia

the Braille Working Group of European Blind Union
Working in the Matej Hrebenda Slovak Library for the Blind as a lead coordinator of the Braille Authority of Slovakia and is currently elected as the Vice-President of the Slovak Blind and Partially Sighted Union. Studied the social and work psychologi and Comenius University. After studium worked as a CRM specialist in the insurance company. From 2021 continually working in area od braille advocacy, promotion and code rules development in Slovakia.
Filipa Tomaz

Architect and Educator, Head of Education Services

Lisbon Architecture Triennale
Graduated in Architecture and Master in Interaction Design, Filipa has consolidated experience in the practice of architecture in Portugal and the United States. Since 2012 she has been dedicated to developing educational programs using project-based learning and Maker-ed methodologies for STEAM non-formal education for children and youngsters. Over the last eight years she coordinates the educational service of the Lisbon Architecture Triennale, using her experience to promote education in, and through, architecture, through experiences that are inclusive to all.
Agnes Unterstab

Special education teacher

Nikolauspflege
Since studying special education in Heidelberg, I have been passionate about creating shared learning environments for blind and sighted children in mainstream elementary schools. With 20 years of professional experience, I am particularly interested in supporting blind and sighted children on a shared way to literacy.
Ida Utne
Miriam van Hees

Education Coordinator; development and Innovation

Royal Dutch Visio
Dorine in 't Veld

Productmanager tactile learning

Dedicon
My blind son (1988) in mainstream primary school wanted to work with computers, like his sighted peers. In secondary school he wanted to do math and science. He needed tactile graphics. Each time we had to pioneer. E.g.: there was no braille math code in The Netherlands, one could order only 50 tactile graphics per book.
From an archeologist and art historian I turned into a professional. First at Bartiméus Education for the VI and from 2011 until now at Dedicon.
My main focus was on how to explain concepts with the help of tactile graphics. In 2017 I did a project to set up the Dutch-Flemish Braille Authority and helped revising the 6 dot standard.
Floor Venderbosch

Teacher/ Lecturer/ Project member

Royal Dutch Visio
Hey! My name is Floor Venderbosch. I am a passionate math teacher for higher secondary education at Royal Visio Rotterdam and a math lecturer at the teachers department of Hogeschool Rotterdam. Besides this, I focus on developping and testing learning materials for students with a visual impairment.
My main focus is on creating inspiring, playful and creative learning materials for braille readers and low vision students for mathematics. I am very passionate about mathematics and like to inspire students to enjoy the subject as much as possible. Besides that, I really like coming with creative solutions for braille readers when they focus difficulties in math class. I would like to get in touch with other people that share this interest, no matter what school subject.
Théophile VIER

Ergonomist

Fondation IJA / Université Toulouse 2 Jean Jaurès
As an ergonomist for the IJA Foundation (in France), I am part of the CPV Laboratory, which fosters collaboration between researchers and practitioners. I have always worked at the intersection of fieldwork and research.
For the past few years, I’ve been involved in DERi, a project developing new forms of interactive tactile graphics. This work has deepened my appreciation for the extensive efforts behind creating educational materials for pupils with visual impairments.
When the opportunity arose to pursue a PhD, I saw it as a chance to explore the adaptation process further and to bring well-deserved recognition to the work behind it.
Marianne van der Vinne

Ambulant educational teacher / coach

Royal Dutch Visio
Marianne works as an itinerant teacher at Royal Dutch Visio in Rotterdam.
She guides students and also coaches teachers who have a visually impaired student in their group.
She mainly works in primary education.
Her expertise is adjusting the teaching methods and devising teaching materials and tactile children's books .
Andre Vurens
Jakub Wabinski

Assistant professor

Military University of Technology in Warsaw, Poland
Assistant Professor at the Military University of Technology in Warsaw, Poland, is a co-chair of the International Cartography Association (ICA) Working Group on Inclusive Cartography.
Jakub, whose research focuses on tactile map design, has a background in geospatial engineering and a passion for novel geovisualization methods.
In his free time, Jakub enjoys board games and exploring the outdoors.
Jakub Wabinski

Assistant professor

Military University of Technology in Warsaw, Poland
Co-chair of the ICA Working Group on Inclusive Cartography. Graduated from his BSc studies at the Maritime University of Szczecin in 2015 and MSc studies at the Military University of Technology in Warsaw in 2017. He worked as a postgraduate researcher at the Dublin Institute of Technology in Ireland (2017) and a courtesy research assistant at the University of Oregon in the United States (2020).
As a part of his doctorate, he has been working on the issue of tactile map design and the automation of tactile map production. He is also interested in novel cartographic presentation methods.
A board game enthusiast and a wanderer, he enjoys spending time in nature.
Tetsuya Watanabe

Professor

Niigata University
Tetsuya received a M.S. degree in Biomedical Engineering in 1993 and a Doctor's degree in Information System Engineering in 2001, both from Hokkaido University, Japan. He was at the National Institute of Vocational Rehabilitation from 1994 to 2001 and the National Institute of Special Needs Education from 2001 to 2009. He is now Professor at Niigata University and doing research in assistive technology for blind and visually impaired people.
His notable achievements include 95Reader, the first Japanese screen reader for Windows, Tamachiyomi, an open data set that explains Kanji, Chinese characters, tmacs, a web-based tactile map automated creation system, and tactile star wheel.
Björn Westling

Braille expert

The Swedish Agency for Accessible Media, MTM
Being long time responsible and administrator of the Swedish Braille Authority at MTM has given me deep knowledge in various parts of the tactile reading field.
Cofounder of the Tactile Reading conference which started in Stockholm 2017.
I am lecturer in Information design at Mälardalen university, Sweden, since 2019.
My skills and experience include project management, user-centered design processes, terminology, standardization, and more.
Emily White

Lecturer

University of Melbourne
Emily H. White, PhD (she/they) is a Lecturer (Teaching & Research) in the University of Melbourne Faculty of Education and serves as President of the International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment (ICEVI) – Pacific. A qualified specialist teacher in vision impairment and health/physical education, she has 20 years’ experience in disability-specific and inclusive education. Her work leverages expert knowledge, assessment, and technology to help teachers use evidence to provide an inclusive, equitable, and high-quality education for students with disability, particularly blindness, low vision, deafblindness, and multiple disabilities.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilyhwhite/
(Presentation title: Valuing the expertise of braille teachers to create an evidence-based developmental pathway for braille literacy)
Jesse Wienholts

Innovation at Sensotec

Sensotec
Jesse Wienholts works at Sensotec, driving innovation in braille technology and AI-powered accessibility tools. With a strong background in assistive technology, he gained extensive experience at Visio and Envision, focusing on the development and implementation of smart solutions for people with visual impairments. Jesse combines deep technological expertise with a passion for user-centered design, playing a key role in advancing inclusive innovation.
Dave Williams

Inclusive Design

RNIB
By working with RNIB, Braillists Foundation, DAISY, EBU Braille Working Group and ICEB I promote potential of blind and partially sighted people by developing accessible technology products and community media content.

Professional background in audio production, media relations, agile design and product testing.

I draw on lived experience as a blind parent, Six Star Marathon finisher and award-winning volunteer to promote blind people as full and active contributors at home, school, work and in the wider community.
Fabian Winter

Professor

University of Teacher Education in Special Needs Zuerich
My name is Fabian Winter, and I am a Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments (TSVI). I studied special education in Heidelberg and worked for several years as a research associate. For my dissertation on dual-media learners, I spent several months at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver, Canada. Since 2021, I have held a professorship at the University of Special Needs Education in Zurich, Switzerland. In this role, I lead the Swiss-German TSVI program. My research interests include literacy development, Braille, and intelligence assessment.
Øyvind Woie

Secretary General

KABB
Øyvind Woie is the Secretary General of KABB. With a strong background in journalism and leadership, Øyvind has also worked extensively on accessibility issues for the deaf community. He is deeply committed to finding and implementing innovative technical solutions that promote inclusion and improve the quality of life for people with disabilities.
Angela Wolf
Angela Wolf serves as the Director of Curriculum at the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired in Austin, TX. Angela is an accomplished educator with over fifteen years of teaching experience in general and special education. She is a Certified Principal as Instructional Leader and is certified in Early childhood through 4th grade education, English as a Second Language (ESL), Special Education, and Teaching Students with Visual Impairments. She was a Dean's Distinguished Graduate in the Liberal Arts Humanities program at the University of Texas at Austin, where she obtained a Bachelors of Arts in Humanities. Angela graduated from the Executive Masters in Public Leadership program at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at UT. She is currently leading a statewide project to develop a valid and reliable assessment tool for the Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC) and created the TEKS to ECC Connection Guide, ECC Plexus, and the Non-Visual Skills Assessment. Angela is a member of the 2024 Texas Governor's Committee on People with Disabilities K-12 Braille Literacy Subcommittee. Her lived experience as a blind person and braille reader fuels her passion for improvements in braille instruction. .
Chun-Hui Wu

Associate Professor

National Taipei University of Education, Taiwan
Dr. Chun-Hui Wu is an Associate Professor at the National Taipei University of Education, Taiwan. She works in the Department of Special Education, which primarily aims to train special education teachers. At the university, she mainly teaches courses related to visual impairment. Her research focuses on reading resources for individuals with visual impairments, tactile reading, practical studies on education and teaching for the visually impaired, as well as support and guidance for visually impaired students in higher education.
Miranda Zwijgers

Occupational Therapist

Royal Dutch Visio
I am an occupational therapist since 2001 and working for the Royal Dutch Visio since 2010. Started in Amsterdam I am know working for the Rehabilitation & Advice location in Rotterdam. I see as well children from 0-18 as people with visual and intellectual disabilities from 0 - 99+.
Recently I finished a master in Occupational Science and my Master's Thesis was focused on the occupational transitions for adults with the Usher syndrome type 2.
Over the years at Visio my expertise developed towards the topics sensory processing in relation to CVI and the use of touch, especially with children who are experiencing severe sightloss.
Brenda Zwijnenburg

itinerant teacher

Royal Dutch Visio
M. Balakrishnan
Chi Hoon Kim

Speakers

Keynotes

Cathelijne Denekamp

Astrid Kappers

Markus Lang

Jonathan Mosen

Dagmar Reinhardt

Eva Slootweg

Ans Withagen

Chairman & Sidekicks

Vincent Bijlo

Kristina Misiûnaité

Ronnie Overgoor

Jesse Wienholts

Speakers

Alies Aarts -van der Moer

Sarah Adams

Rebecca Adda

Vivian Aldridge

Fridtjof Åldstedt

Anna-Karin Andersson

Marc Angelier

Mayumi Aoyagi

Tim Arborealis Lötberg

Inez Aschenbrenner

David Austin

Sigrid Avsnes

Nasim Bagheri

Cécile Barichard

Frank ter Beek

Silje Benonisen

Silje Benonisen

Barbora Bertlová

Saskia Biesterbos

Lars Bjørndal

Robyn Black

Anneke Blok

Chantal te Boekhorst

Frouck de Boer

Anne Bottenheft

Islah Boutahar

Ruben Brandsma

Jaap Breider

Eva Cambeiro Andrade

Petr Cervenka

ChuYu Cheng

Ibrahim Cherradi

Anne Chotin

Vikram Choudhary

Irina Cirpus

Chris Clark-Bischke

Wilna Combrinck

Ann Conefrey

Hoëlle Corvest-Morel

Karen Croake

Ann Cunningham

Saskia Damen

Phia Damsma

Frances Mary D'Andrea

Devi Dawson

Reiner Delgado

Ilse Disseldorp

Judith Dixon

Christian Egli

Anders Eklund

Marc Elders

Linda Eriksson

Samantha Eyley

Yolanda Eys

Zahra Farmani

Julia Föcker

Erin Foley

Samuel Foulkes

Willow Free

Bert Frees

Regina (Gina) Fugate

Kanako Fukuda

Martin Gaberthüel

Mathieu Gaborit

Rita Gerkema-Nijhof