6th Africa Forum, Kampala, Uganda

INTEREST GROUP MEETINGS (16:30 – 18:00)

8th AFUB General Assembly (Victoria Hall)

FORUM GALA – MANGO GARDEN (19:00 – 21:00)

THURSDAY 8^TH OCTOBER 2015

STRENGTHENING PARTNERSHIPS FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

PLENARY SESSION – VICTORIA HALL (9.00 – 10.00 A.M)

SESSION CHAIR
Hon. Nyombi Thembo

Minister of State for Communication (ICT)

Republic Of Uganda.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Prof. Ruth Okediji

Professor of Copyright Law

University of Minnesota, USA
CONTEXT SPEAKERS
Dr. Penny Hartin

Chief Executive Officer, World Blind Union

Canada.
Richard Orme

Executive Director, DAISY Consortium

United Kingdom.

PANEL SESSIONS (11:00 - 12:30 P.M)

Making Books Accessible To All (Victoria Hall)

Panel Char: Dr. Penny Hartin, CEO World Blind Union, Canada.
Kit, Confidence and Content- Accessing A Better Education.

R. Orme, DAISY Consortium, UK.

[e-mail]
ICEVI is a global association of individuals and organizations that promotes equal access to appropriate education for all children and youth with visual impairment so that they may achieve their full potential. Despite the progress made towards the 2015 MDG of universal primary education, too many blind and partially sighted children do not have the textbooks they need in accessible formats. In a strategic project with the DAISY Consortium, and working with some of the world’s leading experts, ICEVI has proposed a model to plan and implement initiatives to improve educational outcomes for blind and low vision learners. The model will be presented together with examples of pilot projects and an update on the progress to attract financial and political support for this initiative.
“Charter for Accessible Publishing”: What Practical Steps in Africa Beyond 2015?

Dr N. Fraasen, Publishers’ Association of South Africa, South Africa.

[e-mail]
“Our objective is to make our e-books accessible to all.” This challenge is now in the court of publishers world-wide. On 30 June 2014, the Accessible Books Consortium, under the auspices of the World Intellectual Property Organisation, launched the “Charter for Accessible Publishing”. Might this Charter be merely a feel-good undertaking but lie dormant in publishing managers’ desks? How can rights users and rights owners, by following the Charter, work together at a practical and sustainable level to provide services and improve the lives of persons with print disabilities? What are the implications for networking, capacity building and legal systems? This presentation, from a publishing perspective, will consider these questions within an African context.
Developing Countries Alliance Working to Fill Identified Gaps in Holistic Solution of Accessible Books.

D. Manocha, DAISY Consortium/DAISY Forum of India, India.

[e-mail]
Production of digital master and distribution formats, Distribution system, assistive technology for end users and trainings are all integral components of holistic solution for accessible books. This presentation will define components of holistic solution for getting books in Braille, talking books and accessible e-text, share key findings of the survey to identify the gaps, present components and activities of plan to work on solution in any specific country, and, share some examples of projects based on this plan. It will also share information about some key resources such as an online library platform that can be shared by several countries in their projects and invite organizations to be part of several projects that complement each other and contribute to the holistic solution.
How The Accessible Books Consortium (ABC) Initiative Can Help Enable Access To Printed And Copyright Educational Materials
Stephen King; Accessible Book Consortium, Switzerland.

[e-mail]

The Accessible Books Consortium (ABC) is a multi-stakeholder entity that was launched in June 2014. www.accessiblebooksconsortium.org. ABC was created to help implement the objectives of the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled. This panel will look at how the Accessible Book Consortium can help work with local publishers, educational establishments, libraries and specialist producers to improve access to curriculum materials; both locally produced and available from across international borders.

Increasing The Role Of Libraries In Promoting Access To Information