The video features notable figures like Fernando Pinto da Silva from the French Federation for Blind and Partially Sighted People and Marc Aufrant from the Association Valentin Haüy (AVH). You can watch the video here.
Monica Halil Lövblad, Head of ABC, stated: “This video is set in a French historical context. We see the resting place of Louis Braille; this great innovator of the 19th century was the Steve Jobs of his day. He lost his sight at a very early age and created the braille system of reading and writing when he was just 16 years old. The end of this year marks the 200th anniversary of the invention of braille. We also see the French National Institute of Blind Youth, which is the successor to the first school for the blind ever established in the world in the 18th century, and where both Fernando and Marc, the protagonists of our video, studied when they were young.”
In conjunction with its anniversary celebrations, the ABC is calling for nominations for the 2024 ABC International Excellence Award for Accessible Publishing. This prestigious award recognizes exemplary leadership and achievements in making digital publications accessible to those who are blind, have low vision, dyslexia, or other print disabilities.
The award features two categories: publisher and project initiative. The winners will be honored at the International Publishers Congress Gala Dinner on December 4, 2024, hosted by the Guadalajara International Book Fair in Mexico.
Read more on the call for nominations here.
Earlier in July the ABC announced that it had reached one million titles available for cross-border exchange under the framework of the Marrakesh Treaty following the signature of an agreement with the Royal National Institute of the Blind in the UK.
As the ABC looks ahead, it emphasizes the forthcoming European Accessibility Act, which mandates that by June 28, 2025, all publishers in the EU will produce “born accessible” books, enhancing the accessibility of e-books for the blind and visually impaired.