Shortlist Announced for the 2022 ABC International Excellence Award for Accessible Publishing

The list of finalists for the 2022 ABC International Excellence Award for Accessible Publishing in both the publisher and initiative categories has been released by WIPO’s Accessible Books Consortium.

Finalists in the publisher category are Constantine Editores (Mexico), Kogan Page (UK) and the University of Michigan Press (USA).

In the initiative category, the short-listed nominees are the Accessibility Task Force of the German Publishers and Booksellers Association (Germany), Mr. Ashoka Bandula Weerawardana of the DAISY Lanka Foundation (Sri Lanka), the Dorina Nowill Foundation for the Blind (Brazil) and the Kalimat Foundation (United Arab Emirates).

ABC award nominees were judged on the criteria of outstanding leadership and achievements in improving the accessibility of e-books or other digital publications for persons who are blind, have low vision, are dyslexic or have mobility impairments that impact their ability to read the printed word. The finalists were selected by an expert jury composed of representatives of publishers, standards bodies and organizations representing people who are visually impaired, as well as accessibility experts.

This on-site accessibility seminar entitled “Accessible Publishing for People with Print Disabilities: A Latin American Perspective” starts at noon on Tuesday, November 29, 2022 in Room 7 of the National Pavilion and is open to all persons attending the Fair.

Seminar Moderator:

• Mr. Hugo SETZER, President, Mexican Publishers Association (CANIEM) and CEO, Manual Moderno, Mexico

Speakers:

• Mr. Julián CALDERAZI, Accessibility Expert and Team Leader, DigitalBe, Argentina
• Mr. Julio César CANIZÁLEZ, Regional President, Latin America, International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment
• Ms. Karine PANSA, President-Elect, International Publishers Association and Publishing Director, Girassol Brasil Edições, Brazil
• Ms. Camerina A. ROBLES CUÉLLAR, President, Discapacitados Visuales IAP, Mexico
• Ms. Alma BAGUNDO MEDINA, Accessible Books Consortium, World Intellectual Property Organization

No registration is required to attend the accessibility seminar, which is co-organized by WIPO’s Accessible Books Consortium, the Mexican Publishers Association (CANIEM), the International Publishers Association and the Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL).

Background

According to a 2017 study published in The Lancet, approximately 253 million people are blind or visually impaired world-wide. Nearly 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.

About ABC

The Accessible Books Consortium (ABC) 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 Marrakesh Treaty. 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.

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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 193 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.

About the Mexican Publishers Association (CANIEM)

The Mexican Publishers Association (CANIEM) is the only organization in Mexico that represents and defends, since 1964, the interests of book and periodicals publishers, with over 200 members. It is a member of the International Publishers Association.

About the International Publishers Association

The International Publishers Association (IPA) is the world's largest federation of national, regional and specialist publishers' associations.

About the Guadalajara International Book Fair

The Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL) is the most important publishing gathering in Ibero-America. Created 36 years ago by the University of Guadalajara, the Fair is aimed at professionals and the general public alike, a characteristic that sets it apart from other book fairs around the globe. Whilst retaining its original purpose as a business gathering, the FIL is also a vibrant cultural festival centered on literature, offering a program featuring authors from all continents and languages, and serving a forum for academic discussion of the major issues of our times.

For nine days, the book industry makes Guadalajara its beating heart and the whole city is filled with music, arts, cinema and theatre from the featured Guest of Honor, which, this year, is Sharjah and Arab Culture.