The Accessible Books Consortium is now accepting Fellowship applications!

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has established fellowships to assist with the activities of the Accessible Books Consortium (ABC), a public – private partnership led by WIPO to help implement the objectives of the Marrakesh Treaty at a practical level. WIPO is now accepting applications for an ABC Fellowship to start in the summer of 2023.

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 Fellows are involved in the following:

• ABC Global Book Service (“the Service”), a centralized catalogue of over 830,000 accessible format books allowing for the international exchange amongst organizations serving people who are print disabled, known as Authorized Entities (“AEs”);
• training and technical assistance provided to AEs, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and publishers for the production of accessible format books in developing and least developed countries;
• the promotion of inclusive publishing practices with publishers;
• producing communications content about ABC activities that is suitable for use on a variety of digital platforms.

Requirements and application form

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

Application Form Terms of Reference

How to apply?

Interested candidates should send the following documents to our email address by Monday, July 3, 2023:

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

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.