Bringing vision to the blind

'IMAGE WHISPERERS': MUSEUM OFFERS NEW PROMPTER SERVICE TO VISUALLY IMPAIRED

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"They are our eyes," said Karin happily after releasing the arm of one of the specialized "image whisperers" guiding her and other blind people around Geneva's Red Cross museum.

The museum has been offering its new image prompter service to the visually impaired since late last year.

Karin, who did not want to give her last name, was one of four blind visitors to the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum last Sunday.

The middle-aged woman, who was blinded by illness in her teens, said she was thrilled with her appointed whisperer, Alice Baronnet.

"It was great," she said after the visit.

"Just a wonderful experience, a wonderful encounter."

Baronnet, a spokesperson for the museum who was among nearly 30 art specialists, guides and artists who last October underwent the necessary training to become an image prompter, was also happy with the experience.

"It's very important for us to be as inclusive as possible," she said.

During the visit, each pair moved around at will.

Entering a darkened room with black walls, Waltraud Quiblier, a retired teacher who gradually lost her vision, listened intently to her whisperer, Cecile Crassier Mokdad.