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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body bgcolor=white lang=EN-NZ link=blue vlink=purple style='word-wrap:break-word'><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>Hi all,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>Circulating this notice to all in my role as Accessible Books Consortium (ABC) Board Member:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>Please find below the link as well as the content pasted, to the ABC news item, calling for nominations for the 2021 ABC International Excellence Award for Accessible Publishing. There will be two awards, one re accessible publishing and one to do with a project initiative in that space. You’ll also be able to see more info about the work of the ABC. Grateful if you can circulate and tweet to the news item. See also the LinkedIn post, which we would invite you to share widely.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'><a href="https://www.accessiblebooksconsortium.org/news/en/2021/news_0005.html">https://www.accessiblebooksconsortium.org/news/en/2021/news_0005.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/wipo_call-for-nominations-abc-international-excellence-activity-6783319521580077056-EGvf">https://www.linkedin.com/posts/wipo_call-for-nominations-abc-international-excellence-activity-6783319521580077056-EGvf</a> <b><o:p></o:p></b></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><h1 style='mso-margin-top-alt:0cm;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0cm;background:#FAFAFA'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'>The ABC award will be presented for the first time at a ceremony at the Frankfurt Book Fair on October 20, 2021. WIPO </span><span style='font-size:24.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#3B3B3B'>Accessible Books Consortium International Excellence Award 2021: Call for Nominations<o:p></o:p></span></h1><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt;background:#FAFAFA'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#8C8E8D'>April 1, 2021<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:24.0pt;background:#FAFAFA'><span style='font-size:17.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#3B3B3B'>Nominations are now open for the Accessible Book Consortium’s (ABC) International Excellence Award for Accessible Publishing, which recognizes a publisher and a project initiative that each demonstrate outstanding leadership and achievements in advancing the accessibility of commercial e-books or other digital publications for persons who are blind, visually impaired or otherwise print-disabled.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='background:#FAFAFA'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#3B3B3B'>The winners of this prestigious annual award will be announced during a ceremony on October 20, 2021 to be held for the first time at the Frankfurt Book Fair (FBF). The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and FBF signed an agreement for collaboration between the two organizations in 2020, including a provision on the issue of accessibility.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='background:#EEEEEE'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#3B3B3B'>Nominations in the publisher and project initiative categories should be completed on the attached application form </span><span style='color:black'><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shapetype id="_x0000_t75" coordsize="21600,21600" o:spt="75" o:preferrelative="t" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" filled="f" stroked="f">
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</v:shapetype><v:shape id="Rectangle_x0020_2" o:spid="_x0000_s1026" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="DOC, title goes here" href="https://www.accessiblebooksconsortium.org/docs/nomination_form_for_abc_international_excellence_award_2021.docx" title=""DOC, Nomination Application Form"" style='width:24pt;height:24pt;visibility:visible;mso-left-percent:-10001;mso-top-percent:-10001;mso-position-horizontal:absolute;mso-position-horizontal-relative:char;mso-position-vertical:absolute;mso-position-vertical-relative:line;mso-left-percent:-10001;mso-top-percent:-10001' o:button="t">
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</v:shape><![endif]--><![if !vml]><span style='mso-ignore:vglayout'><a href="https://www.accessiblebooksconsortium.org/docs/nomination_form_for_abc_international_excellence_award_2021.docx"><img border=0 width=32 height=32 style='width:.3333in;height:.3333in' src="cid:image001.png@01D74EAE.F68730D0" alt="DOC, title goes here" title=""DOC, Nomination Application Form"" v:shapes="Rectangle_x0020_2"></a></span><![endif]></span><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#3B3B3B'> and mailed to <a href="mailto:Accessible.Books@wipo.int"><span style='color:#972A0D;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0cm;text-decoration:none'>Accessible.Books@wipo.int</span></a> by Wednesday, June 30, 2021.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:24.0pt;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0cm;background:#FAFAFA'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#3B3B3B'>Past ABC award winners in the publisher category include Macmillan Learning (2020), EDITORIAL 5 (2019), Hachette Livre (2018), SAGE Publishing (2017), Elsevier (2016) and Cambridge University Press (2015). Winners in the project initiative category include the LIA Foundation - Italy (2020), ekitabu - Kenya (2019), Daisy Forum of India (2018), Tilfolexos - Argentina (2017), Action on Disability Rights and Development – Nepal (2016) and Young Power in Social Action – Bangladesh (2015).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><img border=0 width=840 height=499 style='width:8.75in;height:5.2in' id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image002.jpg@01D74EAD.EA306D70">Photo of the 2020 ABC International Excellence Award.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt;background:#FAFAFA'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#3B3B3B'>The final decision of the selection panel, composed of experts in the field of accessibility, will be based on the following criteria:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:48.0pt;text-indent:-18.0pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2;background:#FAFAFA'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Symbol;color:#3B3B3B'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>·<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#3B3B3B'>an organization-wide commitment to making content available in accessible formats;<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:48.0pt;text-indent:-18.0pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2;background:#FAFAFA'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Symbol;color:#3B3B3B'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>·<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#3B3B3B'>accessibility standards built into production systems to make books accessible on, or close to, publication date;<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:48.0pt;text-indent:-18.0pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2;background:#FAFAFA'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Symbol;color:#3B3B3B'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>·<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#3B3B3B'>collaboration with partners in the supply chain to ensure that accessibility is maintained in delivering the product to the print disabled end-user;<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:48.0pt;text-indent:-18.0pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2;background:#FAFAFA'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Symbol;color:#3B3B3B'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>·<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#3B3B3B'>innovative practices established to advance the accessibility of e-books and digital publications; and<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:48.0pt;text-indent:-18.0pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2;background:#FAFAFA'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Symbol;color:#3B3B3B'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>·<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#3B3B3B'>widespread positive impact on persons who are blind, visually impaired or otherwise print-disabled.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt;background:#FAFAFA'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#3B3B3B'>ABC encourages nominations of companies, organizations or individuals based in developing or least-developed countries.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm'><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:36.0pt;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0cm;background:#FAFAFA'><b><span style='font-size:20.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#3B3B3B'>Background<o:p></o:p></span></b></p></div><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt;background:#FAFAFA'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#3B3B3B'>According to a 2018 World Health Organization estimate, approximately 253 million people are blind or visually impaired world-wide. More than 90% of these are resident in developing countries, where the World Blind Union (WBU) estimates that people who are blind have only a one in ten chance of going to school or getting a job. A lack of accessible books remains a very real barrier to getting an education and leading an independent, productive life. The WBU estimates that less than 10% of all published materials can be read by blind or low-vision people.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm'><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:36.0pt;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0cm;background:#FAFAFA'><b><span style='font-size:20.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#3B3B3B'>About ABC<o:p></o:p></span></b></p></div><p class=MsoNormal style='background:#FAFAFA'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#3B3B3B'>The <a href="https://www.accessiblebooksconsortium.org/portal/en/index.html"><span style='color:#972A0D;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0cm;text-decoration:none'>Accessible Books Consortium (ABC)</span></a> is a public–private partnership led by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) that brings together all of the key players – organizations representing people who are blind, visually impaired or otherwise print-disabled, authors, publishers, collective management organizations, libraries and other authorized entities, as well as standards bodies. ABC was established in June 2014 to implement the goals of the <a href="https://www.wipo.int/marrakesh_treaty/en/" target="_blank"><span style='color:#972A0D;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0cm;text-decoration:none'>Marrakesh Treaty</span></a>. Through an effective international alliance of relevant state and non-state actors, ABC seeks to increase, and distribute, the number of books worldwide in accessible formats - such as Braille, audio, e-text and large print.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='background:#FAFAFA'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#3B3B3B'><a href="https://www3.wipo.int/newsletters/en/#abc_news"><span style='color:#972A0D;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0cm;text-decoration:none'>Subscribe to receive regular ABC news updates</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div></body></html>