Blind people read books too!

Blind and partially sighted people enjoy reading books just as much as the rest of us. However, only 5% of books are ever published in formats that blind and partially sighted people can read, such as audio, braille and large print.

Today, 23^rd April 2008, saw the launch, in Amsterdam, of the World Blind Union’s International Right to Read Campaign, which will advocate globally for accessible books. The event was organised in close collaboration with the Secretariat of the Amsterdam 2008 World Book Capital which celebrates reading this year with the theme “open book”.

Mrs Judith Belinfante, Chair of the Amsterdam 2008 WBC Foundation and Mr Mauro Rossi, UNESCO’s Chief Delegate to the Amsterdam WBC Launch, attended the WBU Right to Read Press Conference and heard Dr William Rowland, President of the World Blind Union, explain

“For far too long the book has been closed for blind people. The International Right to Read Campaign aims to open it”.

Bente Dahl Rathje, Chair of the IFLA Libraries for the Blind Section, added

“Libraries exist to serve ALL members of the public. However, we need more books to be published in braille, audio and large print in order to fully achieve our mission”.

Anne Bergman, Director of the Federation of European Publishers, also spoke at the event, and underlined the will of publishers to work with visually impaired people to publish more books which blind people can read.

The International Right to Read Alliance is a partnership between the World Blind Union and the Libraries for the Blind Section of the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA), and it will work with publishers, booksellers, libraries and many others to create a world where blind people can read the same book at the same time and for the same price as everyone else.

WBU, working with its 160 National Member Organisations, will be establishing National Right to Read Alliances, bringing together stakeholders, including librarians, University Disabled Students Support Teams, Ministries of Education Special Education Units and other Service Providers, all of whom have an interest in promoting the need for accessibility for visually impaired people. The campaign will pursue four main objectives, namely:-

• To work proactively with publishers to help them publish many more accessible books
• To form National Right to Read Alliances to give visibility to the visually impaired reading community
• To lobby, in the 120 countries that currently do not have copyright legislation on exceptions, governments to enact copyright exceptions for the visually impaired people. Such legislation would facilitate the production of accessible formats, such as audio, braille and large print without the need to re-clear copyright
• To field test, in the 60 countries that already have copyright legislation for exceptions for visually impaired people, the cross border export/import of accessible formats created under these exceptions to validate the compatibility of exceptions of different legal jurisdictions. Evidence gained from these field trials will be presented to both Publishers and the World Intellectual Property Organisation’s Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights.

During the event WBU demonstrated the world’s first fully accessible book ‘Blindness and the Visionary’ by Sir John Coles. Published in 2006, this biography of Sir John Wilson, founder of Sightsavers International http://www.sightsavers.org is published by Giles de la Mare http://www.gilesdelamare.co.uk and provides, tucked into every copy, on a Daisy CD an audio copy of the book and special formats for printing the book in braille and large print. In recognition of the world’s first ‘same day same cost book’ the WBU has welcomed Giles de la Mare as a ‘Pioneer Publisher’ and gratefully appreciates its offer to support the International Right to Read Campaign.

Later in the evening, at the official launch party of Amsterdam 2008 World Book Capital, William Rowland presented a copy of the book to both Her Royal Highness Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands”, Patron of UNESCO Amsterdam WBC 2008 and to Mr Job Cohen, the Mayor of Amsterdam, whose wife is visually impaired.

For more details, contact:

Christopher Friend
Chair
WBU Copyright and Right to Read Working Group
cfriend@sightsavers.org
+44 1444 446663:
Mobile/SMS +44 7919 552 170