History

Illustrated Books for Little Blind Children Regional Charity Foundation

The Foundation’s History (Illustrated history is available in Russian...)

1994

The Foundation was established on February 16, 1994.
The Illustrated Books for Little Blind Children project got the support of:

- the Russian Federation Commission for UNESCO;

- the Special Needs Education Institute of the Russian Academy of Education;

- the Russian State Library for the Blind;

- the Women’s Union of Russia.

The project was included in the program of a World Decade for Cultural Development.
Data for more than 4000 partially sighted children in Moscow was collected.
The first donation for book publishing was received.

1995

The Foundation’s activity was viewed favorably by:

- Mamadou Barry, the Head of the Disabled Persons Unit of the United Nations Centre for Social Policy and Development, and Roudolf Hoffman, the Head of UNICEF’s Regional Office for CEE/CIS;

- The Institute of Psychology of the Russian Academy of Education.

A seminar was held for teachers in special child-care centers and boarding schools in Moscow to discuss the use of illustrated books for teaching children with low vision. Specialists from the Institute of Psychology of the Russian Academy of Education and the officers of the Educational Department of the city of Moscow took part.
The first books were issued and the event “Strana Chitalya” was arranged at one of the child-care centers in Moscow, at which the benefactors gave books to the children.

1996

The seminar “Integrated Education of Visually Impaired Children” was held. Audrey Flintoft, the curator of learning programs for children with low vision, took part, as well as methodologists and visual impairment specialists from the child-care centers of Moscow, the officers of the Special Needs Education Institute of the Russian Academy of Education and the RF Education Ministry.
3 years of the Foundation’s activity was summarized: 90% of the Foundation’s support came from sponsors and 10% from the state. On average, each participant signed up for the editing of 5 book sets, and the maximum donation funded the editing of 200 book sets.
Sets of tactile illustrated books were published within the “Books for Gift” program. The books were given to the visually impaired children of special child-care centers in Moscow.

1997

The Video International Company created an infomercial about the Foundation’s activity that was broadcast from 1997 to 1999 by ORT, TBC, and NTV channels.
Information about the Foundation’s activity was publicized in more than 30 periodicals.
The creation of a database of special child-care centers for visually impaired children of all Russian regions was started.
A lot of visually impaired children from all over Russia subscribed to the book sets.

1998

The forwarding of books to special child-care centers in a number of regions of Russia was arranged with the support of The Russian Post.
The first events to give books to the children in regional child-care centers of Russia were organized: the Foundation’s officers and sponsors officially gave the books to children in the cities of Salekhard and Noyabrsk.
The first award ceremony was held to hand out certificates to the participants of the “Books for Gift” program. 1999
The Foundation reported on its book-publishing activity at the First Europe Assembly for Tactile Books in Dijon (France). The organizer of the Assembly was Philippe Claudet, the president of the publishing house «Les Doigts Qui Rêvent», France http://www.ldqr.org/.
Books created by the Foundation started spreading outside Russia: children with low vision from Ukraine, Belorussia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan received the book sets as gifts.
The newspaper Face of the Friends was issued, which became the monthly paper of the Illustrated Books for Little Blind Children project.
The book-giving events at child-care centers were named “Welcome Book!”

2000

The Foundation’s activity got the approval of the Russian Cultural Foundation.
The Foundation took part in the International Conference concerned with book publishing for blind children held at the Russian State Library for the Blind.
The Foundation took part in the International Conference “Information Resources of Special Libraries for Handicapped Persons: Production and Dissemination.”
A book-giving event was held for the visually impaired children of Kharkiv (Ukraine), in which Mr. Vyacheslav Temnikov, the plenipotentiary of the President, took part.

2001

The Foundation took part in the XIV Moscow International Book Fair.
The Foundation’s website was created.
The Foundation received a grateful letter from the Department of Education and Science of Kiev for the Foundation’s support for the children of Ukraine: 300 children from the child-care centers of Kiev got the books as gifts from the Foundation and sponsors.

2002

The project for publishing books for visually impaired children received approval at the 31st session of the UNESCO General Conference.
The Foundation’s activity was endorsed by the Russian Federation Education Ministry.

2003

A competition was held to choose the best methodology for using the books published by the Foundation.
The first books for totally blind children were debuted with the use of special technologies alongside the issue of books for visually impaired children.

2004

The Foundation’s activity got the approval of the Department of Church Charity and Community Service of the Moscow Patriarchate.
A competition took place to create the best children’s book cutout among the visual impairment specialists and child-care assistants.

2005

The Foundation’s activity was endorsed by the Publishing Council of the Russian Orthodox Church.
The Chairman of the Board, Alexander Degen, took part in a formal reception in the Kremlin, arranged by the Russian Government to launch the Year of Charity in Russia.
The Foundation took part in the Cow Parade 2005 as donee.
An exhibition devoted to the Foundation’s 10th anniversary was opened at the Russian Museum of Donors and Benefactors.
That was the first time that two sets of books were issued – one set for under-fives and the other for over-fives.
The book set was issued with an accompanying audiotape with music pieces by Russian and foreign composers.

2006

The staff of the Foundation were invited by a donor of the Foundation, NGK Itera OOO, to the new-year performance of the Moscow State Circus located at the Vernadsky Prospect.

2007

An exhibition of blind children’s works and a photographic exhibition were held at the premises of the International Fund for Slavonic Literature and Culture, arranged to coincide with the Foundation’s 12th anniversary. A meeting with donors and benefactors of the Foundation took place at the same time to award medals for active participation in “Books for Gift” programs.

2008

Moscow Public Relations Committee supported the Foundation’s activity.
The Foundation took part in the annual Charity in Russia conference.
The first 3-D playing set was issued. This is a colorful packet for books that can be transformed into a theater scene and a set of paper dolls that can be used for playing theater.

2009

The Moscow Government gave its first support to the Foundation for issuing the book sets to the visually impaired children of Moscow.
The National Charity Fund gave a grant for issuing books of Korney Tchukovsky fairy tales for blind children.
The Foundation’s 3×6 information posters were placed all over Moscow with the support of the Russ Outdoor company.
The Foundation’s books were presented on the Moscow Government exhibition stand within the framework of the IV Saint Petersburg International Book Salon. • A book-giving event was arranged at the Christ the Savior Cathedral, in which the Mayor of Moscow and Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill took part.

2010

The Foundation’s officers took part in a workshop called “Tactile hand-made books as a tool of bibliotherapy and intelligence of children with special educational needs,” arranged at Tula’s regional library for the blind.
The Foundation’s information posters were placed on Moscow municipal transport as charitable acts.
A “Welcome Book!” event for partially sighted children took place in the city of Shklov in Belarus in which the donors and the Foundation’s officers participated. • An event to give books to the children of special correction child-care centers of Moscow was arranged at the Christ the Savior Cathedral.

2011

Within the framework of the NONFICTION Festival, the illustrator of the Foundation, Maria Pokrovskaya, was awarded the Diploma for Original Publishing Projects for her work on the books for visually impaired children.
The Foundation took part in the “Train of Hope” campaign run by Radio Russia.
The Foundation received a grant to issue the fairy-tale book of Samuil Marshak to blind children. The grant was given by the Arts, Science and Sports Charity Foundation.
The updated version of the Foundation’s website was launched -www.благотворительность.рф
The Foundation’s books were presented on the Moscow Government exhibition stand within the framework of Celebration Days of Moscow in Berlin (Germany). • Books were given to partially sighted children at the 24th Moscow International Book Fair. • The “Book for Gift” Our Ancient Capital was issued to the partially sighted children of Moscow from the Mayor of Moscow. The book-giving event took place at the Christ the Savior Cathedral.

2012

The Foundation took part in the International Paris Book Salon (Salon du livre), and the book Our Ancient Capital was presented at the Institute of Tactile Teaching in France.
The book Our Ancient Capital, with an appendix in French, was given to pupils of the school attached to the Institute of Tactile Teaching in France.
The “Books for Gift” program was accepted by the Russian Peace Foundation.
The Foundation’s products were presented in the House of Moscow at the exhibition of the Moscow Department of Media and Advertising in Yerevan (Armenia).
The book Borodino was issued as a gift from the Mayor of Moscow and given to the children. The event coincided with the 200th anniversary of the Patriotic War of 1812.
Three book sets were issued within one year for the first time: (1) a book set for under-fives, (2) a book set for over-fives, and (3) a book set “Tactile Speaking Azbuka,” which consists of an electronic “reading pen” that reproduces music and text audio files coded in the book pages.

2013

The Foundation’s officers made a visit to the Center of Pedagogy for Blind and Visually Impaired attached to the Institute for the Blind in Palermo (Italy) for the purpose of sharing experience.
Books were given to the children from the correctional child-care centers of Moscow at the Christ the Savior Cathedral, ITAR-TASS Press-center, the Russian Cultural Foundation.
The Foundation received a grant for issuing the book set Merry Count with the reading pen. The grant was given by the National Charity Foundation.
The second issue of the book set Merry Count was produced.

2014

The Illustrated Books for Little Blind Children Charity Foundation celebrated its 20th anniversary.