Organizations for the Blind in Latin America Call for More Accessible Books to be Delivered to People who are Print Disabled

During a workshop held in Lima, Peru at the Congress of the Latin American Union of the Blind (ULAC), delegates from organizations for the blind from across the region shared their experiences and challenges faced in obtaining accessible books for persons with print disabilities. The workshop was organized by WIPO’s Accessible Books Consortium (ABC) and ULAC.

Representatives from associations for the blind from 19 Latin American countries discussed strategies for promoting the objectives of the Marrakesh Treaty, which makes the production and international transfer of specially adapted books such as braille, audio and e-text for people who are blind, visually impaired or otherwise print disabled easier. WIPO’s Accessible Books Consortium’s Global  Book Service, seeks to increase and deliver accessible books to people who are print disabled around the world free of charge. 

Mr. German Bautista from Mexico, a lawyer by profession, and the recently elected Second Vice President of ULAC, has been promoting the Treaty in his country for the past eight years. He expressed his excitement at the news that the ABC Global Book Service catalogue had reached more than 1,000,000 titles in accessible formats, of which 70,000 were in Spanish. 

He further stressed the importance of countries not only ratifying the Marrakesh Treaty, but ensuring that people with print disabilities can benefit from the humanitarian goals of the Treaty. In his words, implementing also means materializing: to have the measures and mechanisms in place to enable end users with print disabilities to read. He stressed that the right to read is a human right.

Pablo Lecuona, President of Tiflonexos and a passionate advocate for the Marrakesh Treaty in Latin America, emphasized the need to enhance digital distribution methods. He called for greater efforts to make reading devices more affordable, ensuring that even resource-limited organizations can obtain and read accessible books. While he acknowledged the progress in Argentina, Mr. Lecuona pointed out that cross-border exchange of accessible titles within the region remains a significant challenge.

Professor Martin Moscoso, former Director of the Peruvian Copyright Office, highlighted that while most Latin American countries were early ratifiers of the Treaty, effective implementation in the region remains a challenge. He emphasized the need to renew strategies for national-level implementation, noting that people with print disabilities should understand the Treaty to better advocate for their rights. He also underscored the importance of establishing cross-sectoral working groups to plan and monitor the progress of the Marrakesh Treaty’s implementation, which would contribute significantly to the exchange and distribution of accessible books throughout Latin America.

Mr. Santiago Streeter and Ms. Lery Munar Espinosa of ABC presented the work of the Accessible Books Consortium in Latin America, encouraging organizations to increase their use of the ABC Global Book Service. It now contains over 70,000 accessible titles in Spanish, most of which were contributed by the Spanish National Organization of the Blind (ONCE), a long-standing member of ABC. Mr. Streeter and Ms. Munar Espinosa also encouraged organizations for the blind to promote the ABC Global Book Service to people who are print disabled in their countries, as most are unaware of these resources, which are provided free of charge.

Delegates agreed on several priorities: spreading the word about accessible books, improving distribution systems, and encouraging authors and publishers to embrace accessible formats.

Delegates expressed interest in the activities of the Accessible Books Consortium. As the workshop concluded, one thing was clear: there’s plenty of work ahead—but also a shared commitment to making books accessible for everyone.

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 WIPO that, together with its many partners around the world, has had real impact over the past decade.  Since its inception, the ABC Global Book Service catalogue has quadrupled in size to nearly one million titles thanks to the inclusion of the collections of participating authorized entities. ABC delivered a total of 164,000 accessible digital files from the ABC catalogue to persons with print disabilities through its authorized entities in 2023. In addition, through ABC’s training and technical assistance partners, almost 20,000 textbooks have been made accessible in over 40 low-income countries, improving access to education for thousands of young people. ABC was established in June 2014 to implement the goals of the Marrakesh Treaty.

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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.