Join the Accessible Books Consortium – Three Fellowships have opened for 2021!

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), a United Nations specialized agency, and its partners created the Accessible Books Consortium (ABC) in 2014 to help implement the Marrakesh Treaty at a practical level.

WIPO has established three fellowships to assist with ABC activities, which will provide Fellows with experience to strengthen their knowledge and competence in their field. WIPO is now accepting applications for 2021.

ABC seeks to increase the number of books in accessible formats - such as Braille, audio, e-text, large print – and to make them available to people who are blind, visually impaired or otherwise print disabled (“the print disabled”).

ABC works in three areas, namely:

• Capacity building – training and funding is provided by ABC in developing and least developed countries for the production of educational books in accessible formats.
• ABC Global Book Service – a global library catalogue of accessible formats that enables participating libraries for the blind from around the world to share items in their collections and distribute accessible titles obtained through ABC to their patrons.
• Accessible publishing – the promotion of accessible book production techniques within the publishing industry so that e-books are usable by both sighted people and those with print disabilities.

Requirements and application form

If you are interested in the fellowships, please read the attached requirements carefully and complete the attached application form .

How to apply?

Interested candidates should send the following documents to ABC.Fellows@wipo.int by Monday, March 1, 2021, before 6:00 p.m. Geneva time:

• the application form ;
• a covering letter, expressing your interest in the fellowship; and
• a curriculum vitae (résumé).