Back from Marrakesh: Implementing an Accessible Content World

Introduction

Setting the Standards: Identifying Rights for Print-disabled and Visually Impaired

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

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

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.