Minhaz Uddin from Chattogram, Bangladesh, remembers the exhaustion. Not from studying, but from waiting. Waiting for a friend to have time to read his textbook aloud. Waiting for a volunteer to show up. Waiting while his classmates moved ahead, their eyes skimming pages he couldn't access.
For years, Minhaz lived in educational limbo. His mind was sharp, his determination strong, but his textbooks were not accessible. As a young man with visual impairment, Minhaz faced what millions around the world still endure: a "book famine."
For most people, reading a book is simple. A student opens a textbook, a child enjoys a storybook, a teacher reviews a lesson plan without a second thought. But for Minhaz and many others with visual impairment and print disabilities in Bangladesh, accessing that same information was a daily struggle - one that threatened to derail dreams and limit futures.
Then something changed.
Through an initiative led by Young Power in Social Action (YPSA), working with the Accessible Books Consortium (ABC) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and funded by the Australian Government, Minhaz received accessible digital books. More importantly, he learned how to use screen reader software and reading applications on devices he already owned.
His mobile phone became his library. His computer became his classroom.
"For years, I studied by waiting for someone else to have time to read to me. Today, I can open a book whenever I want, study at my own pace, and even help other students learn the same technology. Accessible books didn't just improve my education, they gave me confidence and independence."
For the first time, Minhaz could study independently. The transformation was profound, not just in his grades, which improved, but in how he saw himself. Confidence replaced frustration. Independence replaced dependence. He gained admission to university, and today, he helps other students with visual impairments learn the same technology that changed his life.
A dream postponed, then reignited
Hundreds of kilometers away, in rural Bangladesh, Nargis Akter was preparing to give up.
The young woman with print disability had fought to stay in school, but the barriers were becoming insurmountable. Without accessible study materials, she depended entirely on family members to read everything aloud. It was unsustainable. Her dream of education, and of one day becoming a teacher herself, seemed to be slipping away.
Then the YPSA ABC-WIPO project reached her community.
Nargis received audio books and accessible digital learning materials. She received training on accessible reading tools and educational applications. Suddenly, learning became possible again, not as a favor granted by others' schedules, but as something she could pursue on her own terms.
"There was a time when I thought I would have to leave my education behind because I couldn't access my books. Receiving accessible reading materials from YPSA showed me that my disability was never the problem, the lack of access was. Now I can continue my studies with confidence and work toward my dream of becoming a teacher."
Today, Nargis is back in school, working toward her dream of becoming a teacher who will champion inclusive education in her community. Her journey illustrates something powerful: when women and girls with disabilities gain access to education, they don't just learn, they lead.
The famine few talk about
These two stories are playing out against a backdrop that remains largely invisible to those who've never faced it. Across the world, millions of people with visual impairment and print disabilities still encounter what experts call a "book famine", a severe shortage of books available in formats they can use independently.
The formats exist: Braille books, audio books, accessible PDFs and e-books, DAISY talking books, large print materials, and screen reader-friendly digital content. But in Bangladesh and many other countries, the vast majority of educational materials have simply never been converted.
The impact ripples through every aspect of life. Without accessible books, students often depend entirely on others to read lessons aloud, limiting both independence and learning opportunities.
Building solutions, changing lives
Funded by the Australian Government and implemented by YPSA in collaboration with ABC and WIPO, the project is addressing this challenge head-on. The initiative produces accessible textbooks and digital books, but it goes further, training students and teachers on how to use accessible reading devices and applications, and conducting awareness activities with educational institutions, libraries and organizations.
Bangladesh's ratification of the Marrakesh Treaty marked an important step toward improving access to published works for persons who are blind, visually impaired or otherwise print disabled. However, translating the Treaty into meaningful change requires continued efforts to ensure its effective implementation in practice and to expand the availability of accessible books and reading technologies throughout the country.
Opening futures
Back in Chattogram, Minhaz now mentors other students, showing them how to navigate screen readers and digital libraries. In her rural community, Nargis studies with newfound independence, one step closer to the classroom where she'll one day teach.
Their stories remind us that accessible reading materials are more than books in different formats. They create opportunities for equal participation in education, employment, and society. They restore dignity. They build confidence. They open futures that once seemed closed.
About ABC
The Accessible Books Consortium (ABC) is a public-private partnership led by WIPO that, together with its many partners around the world, has had real impact over the past decade. Since its inception, the ABC Global Book Service catalogue has quadrupled in size to over one million titles thanks to the inclusion of the collections of participating authorized entities. ABC delivered a total of 240,500 accessible digital files from the ABC catalogue to persons with print disabilities through its authorized entities in 2025. In addition, through ABC’s training and technical assistance partners, more than 24,000 textbooks have been made accessible in over 40 low-income countries, improving access to education for thousands of young people. ABC was established in June 2014 to implement the goals of the Marrakesh Treaty.
About WIPO
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is the global forum for intellectual property policy, services, information and cooperation. A specialized agency of the United Nations, WIPO assists its 194 member states in developing a balanced international IP legal framework to meet society's evolving needs. It provides business services for obtaining IP rights in multiple countries and resolving disputes. It delivers capacity-building programs to help developing countries benefit from using IP. And it provides free access to unique knowledge banks of IP information.