About the Webinar
In June of 2013, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) agreed to a landmark treaty in Marrakesh, Morocco to Facilitate Access to Published Works by Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled. This treaty outlined for the first time a set of principles regarding the rights of the print-disabled to have all content made equally accessible for them. The opportunities afforded by digital content distribution to provide accessibility functionality built-in from the start of a publisher’s production process and then be carried throughout the distribution process are tremendous.
This session will provide an overview of the treaty, discuss its potential implications, and describe how standardized technology can facilitate access to the visually-impaired community.
Event Sessions
Introduction
Speaker
Setting the Standards: Identifying Rights for Print-disabled and Visually Impaired
Speaker
George Kerscher will present the background on standards that lead up to the Marrakesh Treaty. It was not until there were worldwide standards in place that an international treaty became feasible. He will go on to explain the convergence of DAISY and IDPF standards. Finally he will discuss a variety of issues in the overlapping space between commercial availability and the cross border exchange of titles through the Marrakesh exception.
Making History in Marrakesh: How the Blind Led Everyone Else
Speaker
The Marrakesh Treaty for the Visually Impaired was signed on June 28, 2013, establishing a new UN treaty on copyright exceptions for persons who are blind or have certain other disabilities. The Marrakesh Treaty though focused on the rights of the users, proved controversial, facing opposition from the motion picture industry and other patent owners. Thiru Balasubramaniam and Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) played a major role in the development and negotiation of the treaty, beginning with the drafting of the original treaty text in KEI's Washington, DC offices in July 2008, and his presentation will focus on what was achieved and what was not achieved in the negotiations, and on continuing efforts to promote access to knowledge.
Walking the Walk: A Publisher’s Perspective on Moving from Aspiration to Reality in Making Content Accessible
Speaker
Making content, products and services accessible is core to Pearson’s mission to help people of all ages and abilities to make measureable progress in their lives through learning. While content accessibility has been limited through traditional print based products, the advances in digital delivery have put these goals squarely in sight. Challenges remain, however, as accessibility guidelines have to be implemented at the content creation, design, product and platform technology levels to achieve the goal. Even as technology solutions emerge, issues of cost and limitations of legacy platforms can slow progress. And while assistive technology like text-to-speech readers and keyboard navigation makes educational content more accessible than ever before, the advent of rich, interactive digital content and functionality like drag-and-drop risks leaving that community behind again unless accessibility metadata can be provided to assistive technologies.
Standards-driven workflows aligned with industry accessibility standards such was WAI-ARIA, and WCAG 2.O give publishers an opportunity to plan, create, and deliver accessible products and services in an efficient, cost-effective manner that supports disabled users while providing a rich, flexible, and adaptive learning experience for all. This presentation will outline how Pearson is incorporating standards into its production strategies and how efforts such as EDUPUB are putting accessibility at the center of industry standards development.
Additional Information
- Registration closes at 12:00 p.m. (ET) on April 9, 2014. Cancellations made by April 2, 2014 will receive a refund, less a $25 cancellation. After that date, there are no refunds.
- Registrants will receive detailed instructions about accessing the webinar via e-mail the Monday prior to the event. (Anyone registering between Monday and the close of registration will receive the message shortly after the registration is received, within normal business hours.) Due to the widespread use of spam blockers, filters, out of office messages, etc., it is your responsibility to contact the NISO office if you do not receive login instructions before the start of the webinar.
- If you have not received your Login Instruction email by 10:00 a.m. (ET) on the Tuesday before the webinar, at please contact the NISO office or email Juliana Wood, Educational Programs Manager at jwood@niso.org for immediate assistance.
- Registration is per site (access for one computer) and includes access to the online recorded archive of the webinar. You may have as many people as you like from the registrant's organization view the webinar from that one connection. If you need additional connections, you will need to enter a separate registration for each connection needed.
- If you are registering someone else from your organization, either use that person's e-mail address when registering or contact the NISO office to provide alternate contact information.
- Library Standards Alliance (LSA) members receive one free webinar connection as part of their membership. You do not need to register for the event for this free connection. Your webinar contact will receive the login instructions the Monday before the event. You may have as many people as you like from the member's library view the webinar from that one connection. If you need additional connections beyond the free one, then you will need to enter a paid registration (at the member rate) for each additional connection required.
- Webinar presentation slides and Q&A will be posted to the site following the live webinar.
- Registrants and LSA member webinar contacts will receive an e-mail message containing access information to the archived webinar recording within 48 hours after the event. This recording access is only to be used by the registrant's or member's organization.