Our winter braille programs for children and youth are now open for registration! These programs focus on building braille literacy skills with fun activities, prizes, and opportunities to connect with peers.
Current Programs
Braille Art Competition
January 1– 31, 2026
A fast and fun way to kick off a year of Braille Literacy in January 2026! We’re looking for tactile, fun, and creative artworks that feature braille. Show us your craftiest creations! Create your name or a few of your favourite words in braille! Instead of fingertip-sized dots, think big and creative, maybe Timbit or basketball braille. Open to elementary and secondary students across Canada, English and French entries welcome. For students curious about braille and those who already use it!
Competition Categories
- Category 1 – Braille your name: Create your name in braille in the most creative way possible. Anything goes! Use materials that have texture or a tactile feature, get inventive with objects to represent braille dots and make your design pop.
- Category 2 – Favourite Word: Choose one of your favourite words and bring it to life in braille! Show us what your chosen word means to you through texture, colour, or design. Remember, this is a tactile and braille art competition, your entry should include both tactile and braille elements.
Terms and conditions
- This competition is open to Canadian residents eligible for CNIB services
- You may submit multiple entries but you are eligible to win only one prize.
- Entries will be judged by CNIB staff. The judge’s decision will be final.
- By entering the competition, you agree to you/your child’s first name and photo of entry being used on CNIB's website and social media. Please do not include faces in any photos that you submit.
- The competition closes on January, 31 2026 at 12:00 a.m. Eastern Time.
Registration required. To register, please complete the CNIB Auto Registration Form.
For more information, please contact Attila Mihaly, Coordinator, Braille Literacy and Learning Academy at attila.mihaly@cnib.ca or call 1-800-563-2642.
Braille Quest
January 1-March 31, 2026
Braille Quest: a fun braille literacy adventure (with prizes!) Put your braille skills to the test, at home or school! Complete fun challenges for a chance to win a prize.
Who can participate?
- Elementary and secondary students across Canada who are learning or using braille.
- All braille reading and writing skill levels are welcome!
- Materials available in English or French, in uncontracted or contracted braille.
How it works
- Register by January 15 to receive your Braille Quest package in the mail in early January. You have until mid-March to participate.
- Take part in as many Quest activities as you like, do a few or complete them all! Activities will cover a range of interests from arts and crafts to reading comprehension, experiments, and creative writing.
- Activities can be done at home or at school.
- Participate independently or with support from family members or teachers.
- Complete your Quest, whether it’s art, creative writing, or reading comprehension, anytime before March 31, 2026.
Braille Quest 2026 Theme: Music!
Prizes!
Everyone who is registered, participates, and reports back after completing a Quest will be entered into our Prize Draw! As long as you report back that you’ve completed a Braille Quest, you’ll be eligible for the Prize Draw!
Registration required. To register, please complete the CNIB Auto Registration Form.
For more information, please contact Attila Mihaly, Coordinator, Braille Literacy and Learning Academy at attila.mihaly@cnib.ca or call 1-800-563-2642.
Ontario Regional Braille Challenge
The Braille Institute's Braille Challenge is the only academic competition of its kind in North America for students who are blind or partially sighted. Contestants compete in regional preliminary Braille Challenge events from January through March, and the top 50 students (10 in each category) with the highest scores are then invited to compete in the finals.
Who can participate?
Elementary and secondary students in Ontario who read or write braille. Testing is also available in other provinces through their regional competitions. Test your braille skills in the Ontario Regional Braille Challenge 2026! Encourage your students to take part in this exciting literacy event that celebrates braille reading and writing skills.
Deadlines:
- Registration deadline: January 9, 2026.
- Testing window: February 23 – March 6, 2026.
- Materials will be sent directly to your student’s TVI, and testing takes place at school.
The Ontario Regional Braille Challenge motto is: TEST WITHOUT STRESS – Keep Calm, Braille On, and have fun!
Students can look forward to:
- Access to practice tests to help them prepare.
- Plenty of support for students, families, and TVIs.
- A Braille Challenge kit from CNIB with everything needed — including fun swag!
- Convenient testing at your school, anytime between February 23 and March 6, 2026.
- Once testing is complete, simply return the materials to CNIB for marking.
Other Regional Braille Challenge Events
Outside of Ontario, there may be other organizations that run regional Braille Challenge events. To learn more, please visit the Braille Institute – Braille Challenge list of regional events.
Registration required. To register, please complete the CNIB Auto Registration Form.
For more information, please contact Karen Brophey, Central Lead, Literacy at karen.brophey@cnib.ca or call 647-302-4047.
CNIB Braille Creative Writing Contest
Deadline for submissions: May 31, 2026
It’s never too early to start thinking about the CNIB Braille Creative Writing Contest! There are cash prizes for this bilingual program and the deadline for submissions is May 31. We accept original stories or poems written at any time during this school year, as long as they are submitted in braille. This program is offered across Canada, in English and French. Learn more about the Braille Creative Writing Contest.
Writing with Feeling: Braille Writers' Retreat
August 31-September 5, 2026 at CNIB Lake Joe
Love to write? Join CNIB’s Writer’s Retreat for kids and teens with sight loss! Connect with young writers from across Canada, get tips from professional authors, and take part in fun, braille-themed and accessible activities.
Whether you're a new braille user with a passion for creative writing or crafting a poem, story, or essay for the CNIB Braille Creative Writing Contest, we welcome you to join our annual Writing with Feeling retreat at CNIB Lake Joe in Muskoka, Ontario.
If you are creative, love reading, writing, and talking about books (as much as you enjoy spending time on the beach or trying new activities such as tandem biking or rock wall climbing), this writers retreat is perfect for you. At the retreat, attendees will meet other young writers with sight loss from across Canada and experiences such as campfires and canoeing are combined with custom-designed programs like braille scavenger hunts and creative writing workshops. All program materials are offered in both uncontracted and contracted braille.
What you need to know:
- Writing with Feeling is a camp program held at CNIB Lake Joe Camp in MacTier, Ontario (Muskoka). CNIB Lake Joe is a one-of-a-kind accessible camp that stretches over 12.5 acres on the northwest corner of beautiful Lake Joseph.
- Accommodation and meals at the camp will be provided.
- In most cases, a parent/caregiver is required to accompany youth to this program.
Registration required. To register, please complete the CNIB Auto Registration Form.
For more information, please contact Attila Mihaly, Coordinator, Braille Literacy and Learning Academy at attila.mihaly@cnib.ca or call 1-800-563-2642.