The world’s first photography exhibition for blind people began in Florence (Italy) in October 2006, as part of the inauguration of the ‘Museo Nazionale Alinari della Fotografia’ or the National museum Alinari of Photography.

The photo (tactile) exhibition has showcased the works of pioneers, the Alinari brothers. Leopoldo, Giuseppe and Romualdo Alinari founded their photography business in Florence (Italy) in 1852, making it the oldest firm in the world working in the field of photography.

40 mountaineers from Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Korea and Malaysia, will climb the tallest (12,966 feet) peak in Southeast Asia – Mt. Yushan. They are being led by David Chang.

Chang and his fellow climbers are blind, but that isn’t stopping them from scaling Southeast Asia’s highest mountain.

Through this adventure, Chang hopes to put Taiwan on the map by showcasing his determination in ascending Yushan by foot.

The apartment seems like any other model home at first. Then you hear the microwave and the bathroom scale talk.The new apartment, built inside the American Foundation for the Blind, Dallas, (U.S.), offices is filled with gadgets and design features to help visually impaired people live as independently as possible.

The model home includes a living room, dining area, kitchen, bedroom, closet and bathroom. It offers ideas on how to make daily life more manageable for visually impaired people.

Twenty visually impaired players engaged the reigning world junior rapid chess champion in simultaneous chess, recently in Hyderabad. “Initially I thought it would be pretty easy. But I was taken aback by their wonderful aptitude for the game," said Pendyala Harikrishna. He was in for some real surprise as they lay some `traps' on their specially designed chessboards.

Amruta Bhople is 21 years old, a gold medalist graduate in English literature who has overcome the obstacles of bias and doubt that so often limit the capabilities of visually impaired people.

With an immense interest and determination, she applied for an audition and screen test, organised by BCN, a local news channel in Nagpur. Right from the first test onwards she realised that she could not only make it to the top but be better than the most. Such was her confidence.

N.L.B., based in Stockport(U.K.), is the main provider of leisure reading material for blind and partially sighted people.

It is also one of the few organisations dedicated towards producing books in formats of Braille, audio and giant print, for people with visual impairments.

The Audio Journal is a radio reading service based at Central Massachusetts (U.S.) that reads out printed information to blind, visually impaired or print-disabled people.

With 150 volunteers, Audio Journal broadcasts 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They read out wide range of publications such as The Boston Globe, The Boston Herald, U.S.A. Today, The Christian Science Monitor, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal etc. Job opportunities, T.V. listings and obituaries are read as well.

A former soldier in U.K. nicknamed ‘The Cannonball’ has set his second blind speed ski record.

Kevin Alderton, hurtled down an indoor slope in Landgraaf in the Netherlands, at 56.36 miles per hour. Alderton (35) skis with the aid of a guide who sends him commands via a radio link.

This November, at the ‘Johannesburg (South Africa) Art Gallery’, visually impaired people were given an opportunity to discover the world of art.

The workshop saw participants explore alphabets in Braille, artist Willem Boshoff's sculptural pieces among other things. The event also had participants create original art piece in clay based on their experience and imagination.