The prize was created by the Norwegian Association of the Blind to increase the focus on braille and contribute to more access to and better reach of this tool, which is so important to many blind and partially sighted people.
The award ceremony took place at the Norwegian Association of the Blind’s head office in Oslo and State Secretary of the Ministry of Culture and Equality, Erlend K. Hanstveit, presented the award. He emphasized the importance of braille to equalize differences and ensure participation, freedom of expression and independence for the blind and partially sighted.
Prytz was a happy and proud award winner who said that he did not expect the award, but that it was nice to receive it. He also thanked everyone who had supported him in his work with braille. He also told a little about his own history with braille, which he learned before he started school, and which had done a lot for him in his life.
He was particularly happy to have contributed to creating the first draft of the Sami alphabet in braille, which was later adopted as a standard by the Sami Language Council. He also helped develop a Norwegian 8-point standard and several other standards in Norwegian Braille through his work as head of the Public Committee for Braille for 25 years. Lastly, he participated in international standardization work through the World Braille Council.