Publishing Department

Head of Centre:
PhDr. Jiri Reichel

Adress:
Krakovská 21
Praha 1
PSC 110 00

Phone: + 420 221 462 176

It is claimed that 80 to 85% of information is obtained by means of vision. When the vision is seriously damaged or even lost, the afflicted individual may be exposed to considerable information deficit. According to official estimates, some 60,000 people in this country are affected by the above described condition; their main problem is that they cannot read normally-sized and coloured print.

One of the main Mission Goals of Czech Blind United is to effectively alleviate, reduce and overcome information barriers as well as to arm the blind and partially-blind with the necessary knowledge and skills. It is a well-known fact that access to information positively influences the lives of visually-impaired subscribers, expands their educational, occupational and social horizons, thus creating crucial conditions for their social emancipation and integration.

The principal component of the CBU's Publishing Department is made up of the ZORA Editorial Division. ZORA and other magazines for the blind are published in several formats:

in Braille (ZORA has been with us since 1917);
in large-print (since 1965);
on tape (since 1969);
on diskette (since 1997).

Regular ZORA sections deal with the following topics:

organized blind movement at home and abroad;
social rehabilitation;
education;
job opportunities;
blindness-related social and legal matters;
ophthalmology;
adaptive equipment;
culture;
sports.

Apart from producing a truly interest-focussed magazine for the blind, the Publishing Department is instrumental in relieving the already cited information deficit caused by visual impairment. This aim is being achieved by regular publication of general interest magazines and other periodicals categorized according to age, professional and leisure needs.