BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 23. bp today announced the successful completion of a social initiative aimed at promoting an inclusive society, advancing inclusive education, and strengthening the social integration of visually impaired people across Azerbaijan, Trend reports via the company.
The project focused on creating a contemporary library of national and international literature in Braille, designed to meet the reading needs of more than 40,000 visually impaired people in the country, including around 9,000 children.
Alongside developing a modern collection of literature in Azerbaijani and making it accessible through central libraries nationwide, the initiative also plays a crucial role in building a strong resource base that encourages sustainable Braille reading habits.
The project includes the publication of 19 contemporary Azerbaijani and international literary works in Braille. All titles were carefully selected to meet the reading interests of visually impaired audiences across the country. Among the featured authors are such renowned names as Isa Mughanna, Anar, Elchin, Sabir Ahmedli, Movlud Suleymanli, Chingiz Huseynov, Kobo Abe, Heinrich Heine, Oscar Wilde, Ali Kerim, Vagif Samadoglu, and many others.
“We are proud to make knowledge and culture accessible to thousands of visually impaired people across Azerbaijan. Inclusion and equal opportunities are at the heart of our social investment strategy, and this project reflects our commitment to creating positive change in the communities," said Bakhtiyar Aslanbayli, bp’s vice president for the Caspian region.
Addressing the event held today to publicly present the books, Bakhtiyar Aslanbayli noted: “We are proud to make knowledge and culture accessible to thousands of visually impaired people across Azerbaijan. Inclusion and equal opportunities are at the heart of our social investment strategy, and this project reflects our commitment to creating positive change in the communities.”
“By expanding access to literature in Braille, we aim to support equal participation in cultural and educational life and contribute to the development of a sustained reading culture in our native language. We believe this is a socially significant project that will benefit many vulnerable groups in our society and establish valuable experience,” Aslanbayli added.
The total value of the project was 133,000 AZN (USD 78,235), covering costs related to converting texts into Braille, editing and proofreading, layout and design, printing on special paper, and binding the 19 titles.
A total of 1,900 books—100 copies of each title—were produced.
The project was implemented by Azernashr.