Assemblies 2018: Accessible Books Consortium Praised by WIPO DG

24 سبتمبر 2018

In his welcoming remarks to the 2018 WIPO Assemblies of Member States, WIPO’s Director General, Mr. Francis Gurry, explained that the Accessible Books Consortium (ABC) is a successful, active and growing public-private partnership, which embraces the spirit of the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals.  ABC, which is led by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), brings together governments, the UN system, civil society and the private sector. 

ABC was launched in June 2014 and is one global initiative to implement the Marrakesh VIP Treaty at an operational level. This WIPO-administered Treaty makes possible the production and transfer of accessible books across national boundaries for the benefit of people who are blind, have low vision or are otherwise print disabled. Currently 42 member states have ratified the Treaty, which came into force in September 2016. 

Mr. Gurry said the Marrakesh VIP Treaty was “the fastest moving of the WIPO treaties, not only in the past year, but most probably in the history of the Organization.” With the expected accession of the European Union shortly, the number of countries embracing the Treaty will reach almost 70.

Proven success

ABC has shown itself to be an effective international alliance of relevant state and non-state actors with the goal of increasing the number of books worldwide in accessible formats - such as braille, audio, e-text, large print.  Its activities are strategically aligned with a disability-inclusive 2030 U.N. Agenda particularly through its support of Sustainable Development Goal No. 4 on Quality Education. 

(Photo: Tiflonexos)

Students at the School for the Blind Helen Keller Paraná, located in the Northeast of Argentina, receive reading devices funded by ABC and distributed through ABC’s partner Tiflonexos.

Participants at an ABC training session on the latest accessible book production techniques held in Vietnam.

Students at the School for the Blind Helen Keller Paraná
(Photo: Sao Mai Vocational and Assistive Technology Center for the Blind)

ABC activities have delivered the following results this past year through its three main activities:

ABC Global Book Service:

  • 43 libraries for the blind (known as authorized entities under the Marrakesh VIP Treaty) have joined the ABC Global Book Service, an increase of 72% since September 2017.
  • a cumulative total of 233,000 accessible format copies of titles downloaded from the Service were supplied to individual patrons through participating authorized entities since the launch of ABC.

Capacity building:

  • Over 5000 accessible educational materials in national languages for primary, secondary and tertiary students have been produced to date through funding provided by ABC via its training and technical assistance activities in 12 developing and least developed countries. Over half of the capacity building funding came from a generous contribution from IP Australia funds in trust.

Inclusive publishing:

  • ABC encourages publishers to adopt “born accessible” practices through its promotion of the ABC Charter for Accessible Publishing and the annual ABC International Excellence Award for Accessible Publishing, which recognizes leadership and achievements in advancing the accessibility of digital publications. Hachette Livre, France and the DAISY Forum of India were the winners in 2018.

About the Accessible Books Consortium

ABC partners include the following umbrella organizations:

  • The DAISY Consortium;
  • The International Authors Forum;
  • The International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment;
  • The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions;
  • The International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organisations;
  • The International Publishers Association;
  • Sightsavers; and
  • The World Blind Union.

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