Connecting the World with Dots: Julie Woods’ Braille Project Reaches UNESCO Cities of Literature

By Julie Woods | Posted: Thursday Sep 04, 2025

One of the reasons that blind woman Julie Woods set her goal to write 1 million names in Braille was to raise awareness of Braille, to tell the story of Louis Braille and to connect the world with dots.

 

To help her, the Dunedin UNESCO City of Literature wrote to other Cities of Literature around the world asking them if they would like their names in Braille. As a result, 61 names in Braille have been sent to seven UNESCO Cities of Literature around the world including, Bucheon in the Republic of Korea, Dublin in Ireland, Durban in South Africa, Edinburgh in Scotland, Ljubljana in Slovenia, Slemani in Iraq, and Wroclaw in Poland.

 

Soyoung, Anne-Marie, Cyril, Keira, Damjan, Shamal and Jaga were just seven of the 61 names that were written for the seven countries, taking the 1 million names in Braille total to 38,917.  

 

As well as a card saying “Kia ora from New Zealand”, a note from Nicky Page and Anne Shelah at the Dunedin UNESCO City of Literature accompanied the names.

 

All Cities of Literature received their name in Braille, as well as the name of their country too.

 

This is not the first time that blind woman has teamed up with the Dunedin UNESCO City of Literature. Names in Braille were sent to 22 Cities of Literature to celebrate World Braille Day 2024 and 2025.

 

World Braille Day is held every year on January 4, the birthday of Louis Braille, the inventor of the raised dot system of reading and writing for use by the blind.

 

It is hoped that names will arrive by World Braille Day 2026, so more people around the world can celebrate the little French boy who changed the world with his dots.

If you would like to help Julie reach her 1 Million Names in Braille goal, please reach out to her here: Shop | That Blind Woman NZ