Network
Networking is crucial for exchanging and expanding knowledge and experience. Below you find activities you can join:
Contents
Tactile Media Alliance
Some of the most heard remarks at the Tactile Reading Conference in Amsterdam in 2025 were: 'We should meet more often!" and "I wish I had known this before...".
The Tactile Media Alliance (TMA) is an important initiative to bring all knowledge and experience in the field of tactile reading together.
A must read: The Tactile Media Alliance: Rescuing Touch in a World of
screens.
More information about Tactile Media Alliance:
- Become a member
- Newsletter Archive
- Link to the next Tactile Talk, first Thursday of each month at 12pm CST
- Featured Members
At the monthly Tactile Talks new developments, important principles and practical know-how are shared. Shortlist to recordings and meeting notes.
Working Group Orthogonal Projection
This working group participates in the Tactile Media Alliance. It was formed at the Table Talk 'Orthogonal Projection', led by Dorine in 't Veld at the Tactile Reading Congress 2025. The goals are:
- Forming a common/shared ‘vision’ on orthogonal projection in the context of tactile images:
- What is it, definitions
- Domains and degrees of complexity
- How to draw
- How to teach (to whom)
- Explanation: what and how
- Train AI to make and explain orthogonal projection
- Collaboration on projects, publications and products
Next meeting: Orthogonal projection – a key principle for understanding tactile images
- Thursday, 10 September 2026
- 19:00 (Amsterdam time)
- online
Please contact me for more information on the working group and/or the meeting.
Working Group Ending the Tactile Book & Image Famine
This working group participates in the Tactile Media Alliance. It was formed at the Table Talk 'Let's set an end to the tactile book famine', led by Hoelle Corvest, at the Tactile Reading Congress 2025. The goals are:
- affordability of tactile books and images
- international cooperation where large amount reduce the cost price per item
- increase findability and nearby availability
Next meeting:
- Thursday, 2 April 2026
- 19:00 (Amsterdam time)
- Online
Please contact me for more information on the working group and/or the meeting.
Working Group Design Practices
This working group was formed at the Table Talk on Design Practices, led by Cécile Barichard of the Association des Transcripteurs-Adaptateurs Francophones (ATAF), at the Tactile Reading Congress 2025. The goals are:
- to establish common practices in order to more easily reuse and exchange designs
- international cooperation In France ATAF already is actively exchanging good practices and questions between designers of tactile images.
Their first meeting was on 16 December 2025. If you are interested, please send a mail to Cécile Barichard at contact@transcripteur.fr.
HandsSeeMath
With Emanuela Ughi, I'm working on a book or toolkit that will playfully introduce young and old to everyday concepts, like: 'what is a point', 'what is a line', 'what is a straight line'? How do you know that lines are parallel?'
Experts are already beginning to suspect that Euclid's geometric mathematics lies deeply hidden at its foundation. So, it's fun: children grasp all sorts of everyday concepts and unknowingly lay an important foundation for geometry, a discipline that has the (unjustified) reputation of being difficult for those who cannot see (well). For older readers, a QR code leads to Euclid himself...
We intend to make a tactile book or kit with texts in several languages via QR (also for younger readers; printing must be done at home / in your own country)
Contact me if you'd like to learn more or participate.
HandsSeeArt
I'm collaborating with Hoëlle Corvest and her team on how to further develop the Projet de l'art and how the truly fantastic Olymp Touch, Amazonia Touch, and other publications can reach end users. Contact me if you'd like to learn more or get involved.
Here is a presentation about the project for French readers and here is a French summary of the project.
Other
If you have started or want to start a an initiative and look for participants: let me know and I will add it on this page.