Today
the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) starts its two week (17th -28th of June) Diplomatic
Conference to conclude a Treaty to facilitate access to published
works by visually impaired persons and persons with print disabilities, in
Marrakesh, Morocco.
An
IFLA delegation, including representatives from the CLM Committee and the
Section for Libraries Serving Persons with Print Disabilities will be present
during the negotiations for the Treaty during this time. IFLA representatives
will be joined by colleagues from Electronic Information for Libraries (EIFL) and the Library
Copyright Alliance (LCA). Prior to the conference, IFLA and other leading library
organisations have issued a statement stressing the
importance of a workable Treaty. Libraries will be at the heart of implementing
the Treaty and need an suitable framework to best serve their visually impaired
and print disabled users. We hope that the coming two weeks in Marrakesh will
be successful and that an effective treaty will be concluded.
You
can follow the meeting via livestream, textstream or on Twitter (hashtags: #WIPO or #books4blindtreaty). We will be
providing more feedback as the Conference continues.
