Great toys for vision impaired children this National Play Day
Did you know that the first Wednesday of every August is National Play Day? To mark the occasion, blind writer Charlotte Bateman shares her memories of play as a child, and her top toy picks especially suited for children with sight loss. One of my happiest memories from childhood is spending endless hours just playing. I was born in 2001, before tablets and smartphones took over. Back then, it was all about toys. And as a blind child, I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Everything was tactile. I spent hours building Lego houses, [...]
Inclusive Voices short story competition for vision impaired young people
Celebrating Audio, Braille, and Community To mark HiVis Fortnight 2025, Calibre Audio is proud to relaunch the Inclusive Voices short story competition – a celebration of creativity, accessibility, and diverse storytelling. Whether you love to write poetry or prose, they're inviting entries from people of all ages and abilities. Craft a story of up to 550 words that includes at least one of our themes: Audio, Braille, and Community. Who Can Enter? Everyone is welcome! Calibre encourages entries from: People with print disabilities, including current and potential Calibre members. Budding writers of all ages, with or without a [...]
The world of radio – connection & community for blind & partially sighted people
By Scarlett Humphrey Everyone is familiar with the radio - it’s often on in the car, used as a background noise, or turned on to listen to specific shows. With so much choice now available to listen to and watch on so many streaming platforms though, the world of radio can easily be thought of as slipping away. But for many it still stands strong, bringing with it a sense of connection and community. I class myself in this bracket, an avid listener and radio enthusiast… and so do many other blind and partially sighted people. But [...]
Experiencing nature as a blind person
By Grace Hill Across June The Wildlife Trusts have been getting people involved and engaged in nature for 30 Days Wild. Grace shares her thoughts on exploring nature with sight loss. Hello, I'm Grace and I'm a VICTA Changemaker, and today I'm going to offer some insight into my experience of nature as a blind person. So we often talk about how nature can help our mental health, how going out in nature can help us clear our heads and connect with the world around us. And that is completely true, but there are downsides... [...]
Blind sports – follow Abu on social media
Hi I’m Abu-bakr Ishtiaq and I’m a proud registered blind athlete with the Lancashire Lions. I play a wide variety of blind sports, from cricket to baseball, goalball to athletics, tennis, and more. If it’s a sport for the blind, chances are, I’ve played it! What I want to tell you is simple: if I can do it, you can too! Whether you have fully blind, partially sighted, or just starting your journey there is a sport out there waiting for you trust me once you find your passion, there’s no stopping you. So if [...]
Using technology & cooking when you are vision impaired
By Ikra Shakoor Hi, my name is Ikra Shakoor, I am 27 years old and from Bradford. I have a condition called Bardet Biedal Syndrone which is a rare genetic condition which can affect different part of your body and I also have an eye condition called RP and cataracts. I wanted to share how I use technology and cook in a every day life as a blind person. Accessible Technology A helpful event for accessibility and technology which I attend in Leeds is Sight Village. It's a great event and there is lots of [...]
Celebrating our love of books together!
Let's celebrate all of our entries! We'd like to say a massive thank you to all the children who entered our World Book Day celebration! Here is the final line up of submissions where you’ve dressed up and told us about your favourite books. All of the children who took part this year received a a free Voxblock audiobook reader so you can continue to explore your love of literacy! Catherine from the VICTA team has also selected some of her favourite entries to receive a pair of POGS The Elephant headphones, we’ll be in touch soon if you [...]
Hear from some of our World Book Day Competition Entrants!
Here are some of our little bookworms' favourite stories! “My favourite book is The Rainbow Fish because it was not kind and then it was kind in the end.” - Gabriella “So my book review is about Harry Potter. What I like about it is Rubeus Hagrid because he is really kind to Harry and he helps Harry a lot in all of the seven books. If you’ve not read them they’re really good. And what I don’t like about it is Lord Voldemort because he’s [...]
Join blind artist & VICTA Changemaker Ruqaiya’s on a tour of her exhibition
Join VICTA Changemaker and blind artist Ruqaiya Asim for a tour of her current exhibition 'Can You See Me Now?' The exhibition is all about spreading disability awareness and sharing Ruqaiya's experiences of how she navigates the world as a blind person. Ruqaiya talks you through the features she's put in place to make sure her art is accessible for you to experience if you have a vision impairment. You can still catch 'Can You See Me Now' in person until 29 March Opening hours: Monday to Saturday, from 9 am – 5 pm. Location: [...]
Join our World Book Day Celebration
Sorry our Voxblock offer has reached capacity and is now closed. If you would like to be added to a waiting list should more devices become available, or would like to tell us about your love of books for your chance to win a set of POGS headphones, please email students@victa.org.uk. Hi, I’m Catherine and I have been working for VICTA since November 2024. As a child I was a huge Jacqueline Wilson and Cathy Cassidy fan. I really enjoyed reading books about little girls my own age and imagining what it would be like [...]
