Make reading materials accessible to blind persons
This year, World Copyright Day falls on April 23. It is another day that presents us with the opportunity to consider whether published works are accessed by all sections of the social collective of Ghana.
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Last year, the world took a huge step towards equalisation of opportunities for persons who were blind, partially sighted or otherwise reading disabled. On September 30, 2016, the Marrakesh Treaty entered into force and became a part of international law. However, this historic step taken by the world community unfortunately does not apply to Ghana. The Marrakesh treaty is relevant only to those nations that have achieved ratification.
Accessible formats
This treaty allows blind and reading-disabled persons to put published works in accessible formats like braille, large print and audio where they are not available commercially. This will give blind persons a chance to read the information provided to everyone else.
This year’s World Book and Copyright Day shines a light on access to books. However, for this to be truly meaningful, it must also consider access to books by blind persons. Unfortunately, blind and reading-disabled persons virtually do not have access to the books in the libraries, universities and schools, the communities and even the bookshops. It is estimated that less than five per cent of all published works are accessible to blind and reading-disabled persons. It is this situation that the Marrakesh Treaty seeks to address.
Ratification and implementation of the Marrakesh Treaty
Dear readers, it is apparent that one way Ghana can improve access to information for blind and reading-disabled persons is by the ratification and implementation of the Marrakesh Treaty. Blind and partially sighted people the world over, suffer from a “book famine”, in which only a small percentage of published works are ever made in accessible formats such as braille, large print or audio. It is time we as a nation take steps to end this unnecessary book famine in our country.
End the book famine
The Ghana Blind Union calls upon all parliamentarians, Ministers of State and well-meaning Ghanaians to help end the book famine by ratifying the Marrakesh Treaty.
The treaty will increase access to published works in two important ways: Firstly, it enables the production of works into accessible formats for non-profit distribution.
Secondly, the treaty allows cross-border sharing of accessible books and other printed materials. This allows countries with large collections of accessible books to share them with blind and print-disabled people in countries with fewer resources.
Additionally, this will also help to avoid the needless duplication of reproduction efforts in different countries.
Let’s ratify the Marrakesh Treaty now!!
