International White Cane Safety Day

On October 15, the world community celebrates International White Cane Day, the establishment of which was facilitated by the efforts of the International Federation of the Blind The white cane symbolizes people who are deprived of the joy of seeing In many European countries and the United States, the middle of the last century was marked by the intensification of social government policies aimed at studying issues of improving the quality of life of people with disabilities The outreach campaign resulted in the announcement of White Cane Day It was first celebrated in the USA in 1964 Then this important initiative was picked up by other countries, and it acquired the status of a world date in 1970 There are about 170 million people on the planet who have lost their sight due to various circumstances, or who have been blind since birth Thus, it is important to draw the attention of the world community to the special needs of the blind The white cane, as a kind of assistant to a blind person, appeared in 1921 The idea of ​​its creation belongs to the blind Briton James Bigs Having become blind as a result of an accident, he was forced to adapt to an independent life in the conditions that fate presented to him Bigs realized that with his usual black walking cane he was no different from other passers-by, so he decided to modernize it Painted white, the cane attracted the attention of others, which is especially important - drivers, performed a signaling function, thus providing Bigs with more confident movement and safety on the road James began to advise this useful innovation to his “friends in misfortune” The successful invention spread throughout England, other countries of Europe and America In the 30s of the last century, active public activities aimed at the use of a white cane were launched in France One of the associates of this movement was Gwillie d’Herbemont, who paid great attention to helping the blind Over time, the white cane has evolved from a signal about a blind person into an effective means of orientation for the blind For example, a long gun made it possible to study the road more thoroughly and carefully and adhere to landmarks The sound of the impact and the sliding of the white assistant over the surface help the blind person to determine the presence of houses, trees, parked cars, steps, curbs, holes, and, therefore, to avoid obstacles along the route The instrument for the blind was constantly modernized, qualitatively transforming Wooden, cane, and bamboo products were replaced by steel, aluminum, fiberglass, and composite materials They became lighter, but at the same time much stronger The latest developments are electronic sensors that are equipped with “helpers” of the blind Innovations are endowed with the ability to detect obstacles at a distance, informing their owner about them using a sound signal So far, new scientific achievements in the field of transforming canes for the blind have not become widespread, since they have not yet reached perfection, and are also quite expensive But there is no doubt that progress will move to help people with special needs At the same time, the white cane will remain a symbol of a blind person The main purpose of including this day in the international calendar is to remind the world community about the problems of people who, due to limited or lost vision, are deprived of the opportunity to contemplate the beauty of the world around them, to admire the riches of nature and architecture It is the duty and responsibility of society to take care of them, to promote mainstreaming, integration and adaptation of people with special visual abilities in modern society Traditionally, on this day, charity events, tournaments and competitions are held among people who are deprived of the ability to see, but selflessly want to live and enjoy our wonderful life It is symbolic that the motto of this day is three important words: “Equality Tolerance Integration"