“The opening of the Tactual Museum of the Lighthouse of the Blind in Kallithea was held on Friday morning by the President of the Hellenic Republic, Kostis Stephanopoulos.

Mr. Stephanopoulos was given a tour of the renovated and enriched areas/halls of the Museum, accompanied by politicians and representatives of the associations/unions of the visually impaired, admired the exhibits and found out the significance of the Museum for the blind, when a blind little girl read to him a statue inscription through the Braille system.

A bit earlier, the President of the Lighthouse for the Blind, K. Kolokas, had offered to the President of the Hellenic Republic a sculpture by Roukoutakis entitled “The blind football player”.

As Mr. Kolokas explained in his short speech, the Μuseum has been housed in the original building of the Lighthouse for the Blind since 1994, when it was founded. It closed in 1999 due to earthquake damage. It was renovated, enriched and today it is reopening. It includes exact copies of important artworks, which the blind can “see”, as well as read as adjacent inscriptions, by Touch.

Mr. Kolokas briefly referred to the work, action and development of the Lighthouse for the Blind οf Greece, which has been under operation since 1946, while he also praised the law 612/97, by which blind people of any age are guaranteed the right to retirement after 15 years of work.
Present at the opening were the Deputy Ministers of: Education G. Kalos, Health G. Konstantopoulos and the Interior Ap. Andreoulakos. There were also representatives from the official opposition, such as the Meber of the Parliament Ch. Protopapas and the former Members L. Kanellopoulos and P. Kouroumplis. Also, the former Olympic Games Commissioner Kostas Kartalis attended the event, since the expansion and enrichment of the Museum includes special exhibits from the ancient and modern Olympic Games.”