Diversity and Inclusion

Welcome to our wiki page! We are BJEA-China, a group of dedicated and passionate students. The Inclusivity Award was established in 2020 with the goal of breaking down barriers for underrepresented groups in the field of science. This year, BJEA-China has chosen to focus on the visually impaired community.

One of our team members has firsthand experience working with the visually impaired community doing volunteer work, and she has brought to our attention: the misconception that most visually impaired individuals face in China, which is that they are only suited to careers as massage therapists.

In fact, with the latest advancements in technology, adequately trained visually impaired individuals can handle various tasks, especially with the assistance of screen-reading software. Many visually impaired individuals are now pursuing rewarding careers in software development, translation, editing, piano teaching, and more.

We were excited to learn that the top-tier international journal "Cell" has published a paper on a groundbreaking scientific achievement: Ae CD research team led by Professor Daniel Yoshor from Baylor College of Medicine in the United States has successfully used dynamic stimulation of visual cortex to produce vision of forms in blind humans. Although this technology is not yet perfect and practical, it offers hope for the visually impaired. We believe that the dream of visually impaired individuals to see the world is within reach.

We conducted a comprehensive study on public awareness of visual impaired individuals by administering a questionnaire to 532 participants from all across China. To gain deeper insights, we also conducted interviews with more than 20 visually impaired youths.

Our efforts in assisting the visually impaired community have not only gained recognition within the blind community but have also served as an inspiration to the younger generation. Furthermore, they have had a positive impact at multiple levels, spanning from our school and local community to the city and even on a broader scale. In our school, our activities have had an impact on both students and educators. We organized an event called “A Dark Hour for the Blind”, involving participants from various grade levels. Additionally, we created display boards to introduce blind scientists to students, raising their awareness of and respect for the visually impaired community.

Firstly, we designed Braille picture books and composed a song to convey biological knowledge. We set up an official account dedicated to our activities and celebrated blind scientists to expand our influence. Furthermore, we created a wiki compatible with screen reading systems. And we have developed "Glimmer Lab," an Audio-accessible interactive game designed to simulate biological scientific experiments, enabling visually impaired students to experience laboratory settings and engage in scientific exploration.

Our innovations reached far and wide, with a wide media coverage in more than 10 influential media outlets, including China Daily, People's Daily, China Radio International, China Culture and NetEase, Taiwan News, Jimu News, AsiaNet, China Culture, News Reader, along with some related website such as China Music Education Network and China Vision, a UK charity organization.

Through these media coverage, the impact of our project has not only been spread within China but has also reached a global audience, highlighting the importance of promoting inclusivity and accessibility.

Promoting inclusivity itself is a big challenge. Through thoughtful consideration, we are increasingly aware of the urgency of helping visually impaired individuals overcome the "invisible" barriers in science education and expanding their access to this field. This is a crucial step in creating a more harmonious and inclusive society. Only by doing so can we work together to create a more harmonious world.

Before commencing our inclusivity project, it was essential to thoroughly understand the current challenges we face. Our insights have been shaped through meaningful interactions with the visually impaired community, and we are also deeply concerned about the growing prevalence of myopia among the youth.

First and foremost, a significant societal challenge lies in the pervasive lack of awareness regarding the substantial difficulties faced by visually impaired individuals. According to a 2019 report by the World Health Organization (WHO), At present at least 2.2 billion people around the world have a vision impairment, of whom at least 1 billion have a vision impairment that could have been prevented or is yet to be addressed. [1]. Despite these staggering numbers, this demographic encounters formidable barriers in areas such as education, career opportunities, and social integration. They contend with higher unemployment rates and limited access to quality education, perpetuating inequality. Addressing this disparity is paramount to ensuring equal opportunities and resources for all, irrespective of visual impairments.

Additionally, the global surge in myopia, including among young people, presents another pressing cause for concern. As per the National Health Commission's data, the prevalence of myopia among Chinese children and teenagers in 2020 stood at a staggering 52.7 percent [2]. This marked a 2.5 percentage point increase from 2019 while remaining 0.9 percentage points lower than the 2018 figures [3]. This concerning trend continues to exacerbate. Therefore, it is imperative to not only address the challenges faced by the visually impaired but also to confront the growing myopia problem to safeguard the health and development of youth.

To gain a comprehensive understanding of the requirements, we conducted thorough background research using various methods. We recognized the challenges faced by visually impaired individuals in education and careers.

To better understand their needs and struggles, we visited China Braille Library in Beijing, China's only such specialist facility. During this visit, we engaged in face-to-face discussions and interviews with visually impaired children. These candid dialogues not only enriched our understanding of their genuine perspectives and difficulties but also served as a driving force for our project. Furthermore, our efforts garnered the attention of multiple media outlets, thereby amplifying the awareness surrounding the challenges confronted by the visually impaired within our society.

Meanwhile, we designed a questionnaire survey to assess the public's awareness concerning visually impaired individuals and collect suggestions from respondents. This survey allowed our team to develop more targeted solutions to promote societal inclusivity and safeguarding the well-being and growth of our youth.

First and foremost, 523 people participated in the questionnaire. It gives us more specific details, and we can analyze the meaning and circumstances behind the results. Also, the gender of the questionnaire participants is almost equal, which we can safely point out that the result has avoided the error of gender difference.

question 1: Your gender


question 2: Your age

By considering the age of people, we can better understand the response from a diverse group, which is more accurate. The distribution is in the range of 31-40; the people in this group attained one-third of the questionnaire, and it has suitable working experience and productivity, which means these people are most likely to be involved in the working area of scientific research.

question 3: Your education background

Our population's educational background is distributed across various levels, which is very suitable for our research.

question 4: Are you engaged in scientific research?

According to data, ore than half of the participants do not have a job or major that is related to scientific research, so only 46% of people have a certain level of accurate information and the truth. However, we can also obtain information from the other group; they can provide the idea and concept that has the highest and truest expression without any intervention by staying away from a certain area.

question 5: People with visual impairment should have equal opportunities to participate in scientific research as people without visual impairment

One-third of participants chose partial agreement, and about 40 percent of participants selected disagree and neutrality. In fact, people with visual impairment are supposed to have an equal opportunity to attach the scientific research area. It is true that visual disability has a negative impact, but it still highly depends on the scientific research ability. Thus, everyone is equally given the opportunity to do it.

question 6: Do you think that providing more scientific research tools and technologies adapted to the needs of people with visual impairment will help advance their development in the field?

Fifty percent of people agree with the statement; also, more people come up to neutrality from disagreement, which shows hesitation in their response, and the reason might be they are not familiar with the operation of the job of scientific research that we already mentioned above, more than help participants are unrelated to this area.

question 7: What do you think are the main challenges that people with visual impairment face in the field of scientific research? [Multiple choice]

There are multiple challenges for people with visual impairment, and most responses to this question think that the main challenge is the prejudice and discrimination against them. This response has a similarity, and also demonstrates question 5, that half of the participants think the people with visual disability did not have an equal chance with the able-body person. Moreover, participants also think there is a lack of tools and technology to help them with scientific work.

question 8: What do you think are the key measures to improve opportunities for people with visual impairment to participate in research? [Multiple choice]

The response has an equal distribution that provides the specific tools and equipment as assistance, offers certain materials to support them taking part in the work, and promotes the scientific area access and connectivity. We believe these suggestions are beneficial to people with visual impairment.

question 9: Do you consider providing special training and support when hiring researchers with visual impairment?

About 60 percent of participants would like to offer assistance to people with sight disability when they are inviting applications for jobs, which can bring a lot of aid to them. In this way, they can increase their efficiency.

question 10: Do you know about the important achievements of visual impairment researchers in your field?

More than 50 percent of participants know that accomplishments in the area are from the people who are disabled with sight. It demonstrates that these people are not as good as normal people, even if they are better. Therefore, we should stop discriminating against them and provide some assistance in order to achieve the target with better cooperation.

question 11: Do you think that society's prejudice against people with visual impairments affects their progress in their field?

Most people think that discrimination against people who have a visual impairment can harm their development. It is worth acknowledging that it will cause some negative influences on them, such as they might get less chance to perform, less work to do, and fewer resources compared to the normal person.

question 12: Do you know the national support policy for the visually impaired?

Almost 80 percent of participants were aware of the policy for helping people with visual impairment, but some of them had not heard about it. For the sake of assisting these special people and having better development together, the policy should be more popular to keep their rights well-balanced.

Based on the above response and information with analysis, we can safely draw that people with visual impairments are easily discriminant, and the resources provided are not equal to them as able-body persons. However, most participants point out that these people have good achievements in certain areas, and they might perform better if they are treated as normal people and offered some specific assistance. Meanwhile, each country should also publish some policy and system to help them, show that it is committed to the equalization of each person, and also boost the future development of the country. Based on these findings, we decided to address discrimination by raising awareness and understanding of the visually impaired and designing products to help them learn about science

We have frequently visited visually impaired youngsters, engaging with them in face-to-face interactions to obtain a deeper understanding of their current educational environment in China. These conversations have yielded invaluable insight into their perspectives, real-world challenges and demands in science education.

Through these interactions, we have discovered that their strong desire to engage with science and to have educational opportunities that are on par with their sighted peers. Unfortunately, traditional teaching approaches heavily reliant on visual components pose significant disadvantages for visually impaired students.

In response to these challenges, we have taken proactive measures such as innovative teaching methodologies. Our goal is to provide enhanced educational support tailored to the unique needs of visually impaired students.

Moreover, throughout our visits to the China Braille Library, we've organized several science storytelling sessions for visually impaired children, allowing us to impart essential scientific knowledge, thereby enhancing their educational experience. It's been truly gratifying to witness their eagerness to hear captivating science stories.

Our efforts have drawn the interest and recognition of China Daily, the leading English-language media group in China, as our story has been published in both the print and the website of China Daily, and it has been reposted by more than 10 famous media outlets, including People's Daily, China Radio International, NetEase, Taiwan News, Jimu News, AsiaNet, China Culture, News Reader, along with some related website such as China Music Education Network and China Vision, a UK charity organization.


Picture. 1 Interviewing a visually impaired girl (left) in the China Braille Library

Picture. 2 Interviewing Teacher Luo (Left) in the China Braille Library

Picture. 3 Media coverage including newspaper, website and social media platforms.

To cater to the learning demands of visually impaired and severely myopic pupils, we have compatible with reading mode feature into our Wiki page, providing visually challenged students auditory access to the contents. With a simple click, the page converts text into speech, allowing visually challenged students to learn by listening.

We have put a lot of effort into developing Braille picture books for biology, addressing the educational requirements of visually impaired students. These books offer a more intuitive and engaging means for visually challenged students to delve into the world of biology through Braille. Complex concepts such as cells and DNA become comprehensible through tactile exploration, enhancing the enjoyment and effectiveness of the learning process.

This experiential learning approach can not only spark the enthusiasm of the visually impaired for studying science. It can also provide them with a profound understanding of the essence of science. Furthermore, it can help bolster their self-confidence by offering them a window into the realm of science. This creative teaching method not only inspires blind students to be more active and involved in their education but also raises awareness of the academic needs to support visually impaired students. It underscores the significance of accommodating diverse learning styles and fostering an inclusive educational environment.


Picture. 4 The braille picture books that we designed

We have composed biology-themed songs with catchy melodies and lyrics that incorporate scientific knowledge. These innovative songs allow visually impaired students to easily memorize scientific content through their sense of hearing. This creative learning approach aims to nurture their interest in science and inspire their curiosity for future exploration.


Picture. 5 Music score for synthbio

As the team members had little prior exposure to the visually impaired community, we organized an activity called "One Hour in Darkness". Taking into consideration both amusement and safety in the activity, participants were required to complete various tasks with a blindfold.

The event aimed to boost awareness among the participants of the challenges faced by the visually impaired community. The activity involved initiatives such as improving tactile pathways, enhancing accessibility facilities, and using technology to aid their integration. Additionally, the event successfully educated young individuals about vision preservation, healthy eye habits. It also aimed to inspire volunteerism, combat biases and empower the visually impaired.

In the first stage, students cooperated in pairs, with one blindfolded, walking, and the other providing guidance to navigate potential hazards on the ground. This task may seem simple, but the students lacked experience in walking in the dark. On-site feedback revealed that blindfolded students generally lacked a sense of security, and some felt uneasy. Every step forward seemed to be accompanied by a sense of inner struggle, but they eventually completed the task with the assistance of their partners.

In the second stage, blindfolded participants attempted to walk in a straight line, which initially seemed easy. However, without their vision, they walked clumsily, deviating from the path and stumbling. This highlights how our brains rely on visual input for walking adjustments. To adapt, students explored alternatives navigation signs such as sound cues and tactile feedback, which challenged their balance and coordination, emphasizing the significance of vision for movement.

In the third stage, "Opening Blind Boxes," groups of three participants reached into boxes to identify differences based on size, shape, and weight. The absence of sight heightened their fear of the unknown, causing unease even with ordinary food items such as tofu, winter melon, and loach. This experience deepened their empathy for the visually impaired community and underscored the need for an accessible and inclusive environment in daily life.

In the final game, "Blindfolded Hide-and-Seek," three students acted as "seekers" while blindfolded, and the others evaded them within a designated area. The blindfolded participants relied on hearing to locate others and used their hands to gauge distance, all while navigating carefully. This experience enabled participants to grasp the challenges and bravery of living with visual impairment, fostering a deeper appreciation for the needs of visually impaired individuals.

Through this series of blindfolded games, students could develop a deep understanding of the real lives and daily challenges faced by the visually impaired community. The event helped eliminate any biases they may have had, deepens their perception of the world, and sparked their interest in caring for the visually impaired community.

One of the participants said, "Even though it was just a few minutes of being blindfolded, it generated a lot of fear and discomfort in me. It's really tough for the visually impaired community to move around. As a teenager, I will cherish my current living conditions and cultivate good eye habits. I also hope that I can do something for the visually impaired community."






Picture. 6- 10 Photo of "An Dark Hour for the Blind" Activity

We have written articles on our official WeChat account, introducing the lives of notable blind scientists such as Louis Braille and Geerat J. Vermeij. And we have created display boards showcasing the achievements of renowned blind scientists from history, with the aim of inspiring young visually impaired individuals to pursue careers in science. This initiative has also encouraged increased public awareness and inclusivity toward the visually impaired community.


Picture. 11 Articles posted by our official Wechat Account



Picture. 12-14 Display boards showcasing the achievements of renowned blind scientists from history

We have developed "Glimmer Lab," an Audio-accessible interactive game designed to simulate biological scientific experiments, enabling visually impaired students to experience laboratory settings and engage in scientific exploration. Through this online game, individuals with visual impairments can simulate immersive scientific experiments using sound interaction and screen clicking, for example, clicking the mouse to weigh 2 grams of coarse salt on a tray balance. This allows them to expand their knowledge through auditory cues, providing an engaging and educational experience. The game includes three experiments: the reaction between sodium and water, crude salt purification, and agarose gel electrophoresis.

The entire interface is presented against a black background, and the illustrations utilize vibrant, saturated colors to heighten visual contrast. This design is intended to offer color-enhancement benefits to individuals with partial visual impairments, enabling them to more effectively discern the reactions and colors of the elements. This novel tool is designed to bridge the gap in science education for visually impaired students. The audio game allows students to navigate virtual laboratories, conduct experiments, and immerse themselves in lifelike lab settings through auditory cues. Despite the absence of visual clues, visually challenged students can use virtual equipment to conduct experiments, gaining practical skills and insights. These tools may also aid blind students and researchers by promoting inclusivity and collaboration in scientific research and teaching.







Picture 15-19. Game interface of "Glimmer Lab"

After eight months of dedicated effort, our team's mission is to help remove the "invisible" barriers to science education for the visually impaired, inspiring them to pursue their passions in the realm of science through the initiatives we've outlined. We take great pride in the belief that our endeavors will empower visually impaired individuals to unleash their potential in the field of science, inspiring them to pursue careers in this domain.

Through our collective efforts, we aspire to transform the realm of science into a more inclusive domain, where everyone enjoys equal opportunities to participate and contribute to the creation of a brighter world. We are confident that by promoting inclusive education and innovative learning methods, we will ignite the spark of scientific curiosity in every inquisitive mind, thereby illuminating our world through the power of inclusivity.

Additionally, we hope that the products we've created, such as the laboratory game and Braille picture books, will leave a lasting impression and continue to be valuable resources for years to come.

[1] World Health Organization (WHO). (2019). World Report on Vision.
https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/world-report-on-vision

[2] Myopia in Chinese Adolescents: Its Influencing Factors and Correlation with Physical Activities
Yao Yin, 1 Cheng Qiu,corresponding author 2 and Yufei Qicorresponding author 3
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9433230/

[3] Early care for childhood myopia called key
https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202306/15/WS648a3b02a31033ad3f7bc479.html