[PDFlist] Video and news item re Marrakesh Treaty celebration on 12 July

[Faatino Utumapu]

Thanks for this

Unfortunately the email just received now.

 

From: PDFlist <pdflist-bounces at lists.pacificdisability.org> On Behalf Of
Martine.the1 at xtra.co.nz
Sent: Friday, 14 July 2023 5:15 am
To: blindcitizensnz-blinddiscuss at groups.io
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Subject: [PDFlist] Video and news item re Marrakesh Treaty celebration on
12 July

 

People,

Find below the video link for the Marrakesh Treaty event on July 12 in the
WIPO Conference Hall. 

 

https://webcast.wipo.int/video/OTHER_CELEBRATION_OF_1_2023-07-12_AM_120134

 

I assure all the speeches are very short; most of us got told we’ve got 2
minutes! 😊

Here also is the news item relating to the 10th anniversary celebration of
the Marrakesh Treaty that took place this morning in the WIPO Conference
Hall during the WIPO Assemblies of Member States.  

 

https://www.wipo.int/marrakesh_treaty/en/news/2023/news_0004.html


Stakeholders Celebrate 10 Year Anniversary of Adoption of Landmark
Marrakesh Treaty


July 12, 2023

Ten years after the gavel came down, member states and key stakeholders
came together during the WIPO General Assembly to commemorate the ten year
anniversary of the landmark
<https://www.wipo.int/meetings/en/doc_details.jsp?doc_id=245323> Marrakesh
Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons who are Blind,
Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled, WIPO’s fastest growing
treaty.

(WIPO/MARTIN)

 <https://www.wipo.int/about-wipo/en/dg_tang/> WIPO Director General Daren
Tang said the Marrakesh Treaty is not just a legal text but "also about
opportunity. Opportunity for schoolchildren with visual impairments or
disabilities to study at the same pace as their peers. Opportunity for
people in this community to pursue careers otherwise closed off to them. And
opportunities for the global community to support one another through the
cross-border exchange and movement of accessible format works.”

Mr. Tang said the Treaty is "well on its way to becoming a global Treaty.”
He also noted that the Marrakesh Treaty "has been our pioneer in partnering
with NGOs to create impact on the ground.”   

The Director General spoke of how new technologies can expand the reach and
quicken the pace of the work of the
<https://www.accessiblebooksconsortium.org/en/web/abc/> Accessible Books
Consortium (ABC). He referred to an agreement recently concluded with Tata
Consultancy Services in India around a new software solution that will be
deployed to ABC’s partners in developing and least developed countries. This
software will assist in increasing the number of accessible books to persons
who are blind or otherwise print disabled.

Speaking at the ceremony, Ms. Martine Abel-Williamson, World Blind Union
(WBU) President, recalled the WBU’s pivotal role in advocating for the
Treaty and ongoing efforts to ensure its full implementation. Referring to a
gap between ratification and implementation in some member states, she
called on the international community to redouble our efforts and work
collaboratively to bridge this implementation gap, ensuring that the
Marrakesh Treaty's transformative potential becomes a reality for all.

(WIPO/MARTIN)

(WIPO/MARTIN)

After her experience as a blind child growing up in South Africa with
little access to textbooks, Ms. Praveena Sukhraj-Ely, Principal Officer and
Treasurer, International Council for Education of People with Visual
Impairment, saw the adoption of the Treaty as "a watershed moment in the
journey to access, inclusion, and participation for persons with visual and
print disabilities.” She urged the disability community to continue to
advocate for the Treaty’s ratification and implementation.

Blind due to a land mine explosion when he was nine, Mr. Dang Hoai Phúc,
Executive Director, Sao Mai Vocational and Assistive Technology Center for
the Blind, and a musician, shared his joy that his country had recently
ratified and implemented the provisions of the Treaty that will now
facilitate cross-border exchange of accessible books and braille music
scores through ABC.

Mr. Hugo Setzer, CEO, Manual Moderno and Past President, International
Publishers Association (IPA), said the IPA has supported the treaty since
its adoption and a vast array of publishers all over the world support the
Treaty’s goals and are working on accessible publishing. He said everyone
should be committed to continue working in this direction. In underlining
this, he cited a Buddhist proverb:  "if you are facing in the right
direction, all you have to do is keep on walking.”

(WIPO/MARTIN)

Children’s book author Tony Bradman, speaking on behalf of the
International Authors Forum (IAF), lauded the Treaty’s great achievements to
this point and urged all stakeholders to continue their support, noting "we
should recognize that such agreements bring one thing above all, and that is
hope for the future.”

The Treaty, which has 93 contracting parties covering 119 countries,
addresses the “book famine” by requiring its contracting parties to adopt
national law provisions that permit the reproduction, distribution and
making available of published works in accessible formats through
limitations and exceptions to the rights of copyright holders.

It also provides for the exchange of these accessible format works across
borders by organizations that serve people who are blind, or otherwise print
disabled. It harmonizes limitations and exceptions so that these
organizations can operate across borders. This sharing of works in
accessible formats increases the overall number of works available,
eliminating duplication and increasing efficiency. Instead of five countries
producing accessible versions of the same work, each of the five countries
is able to produce an accessible version of a different work, which can then
be shared with each of the other countries.


Further Information


*  <https://www.flickr.com/photos/wipo/sets/72177720309676953> Photos on
Flickr

 

We would be grateful if you could disseminate widely.

Martine

Martine Abel-Williamson – WBU president 

 

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