Visit of the Visually Impaired to Niavaran Museums and Launch of the Museum Accessibility System
Organizing special tourism tours for visitors with visual impairments is one of the initiatives carried out as part of the launch of the museum system for the visually impaired, coinciding with visits to the Niavaran museum complex.
According to the Public Relations Office of the Niavaran Cultural-Historical Complex, in order to enhance the experience of the blind and visually impaired using the museum visitation system—unveiled last year in October during White Cane Safety Week—the complex has organized several tourism tours specifically for this group of museum visitors.
According to this report, officials from the Iranian Association of the Blind and 36 blind and visually impaired members of the association, accompanied by Niavaran complex officials, visited the museums of the complex. During their visit, they learned how to use the museum system for the visually impaired and visualized selected objects by touching 2D printed images of these items.
The system provides descriptive information about the museums, key objects, and historical events from the Qajar and Pahlavi periods. This information is made accessible to the blind using the Braille Display Device 4 and text-to-speech software, available in both audio and Braille formats.
During their visit, the Iranian Association of the Blind also unveiled the “Soroush 2” device (a system for conveying visual concepts to the blind) developed by the knowledge-based company Pactus, as a pilot project for the first time. This device presents the spatial layout of different sections of the Niavaran complex in raised format on a tactile map using marked symbols. Blind users can access detailed information about each section by tapping on the raised shapes on the map, which will then be played in audio format.
At the end of the visit, officials and members of the Iranian Association of the Blind expressed their satisfaction with the tour and appreciation for the Niavaran Cultural-Historical Complex’s special attention to adapting museums for people with disabilities, especially those with visual impairments.
Watch and download the visit clip:
