Google.org has announced DAISY Consortium as a winner of the Google Impact Challenge: Disabilities. Vision Australia is a core member of the Consortium.
Organisations receiving this award tackle some of the world's toughest human challenges. The grant will help create e-books that can be read by anyone, regardless of their disability.
According to the World Blind Union, less than 10 percent of publications are available in formats usable by people with blindness, low vision or other reading disabilities. However, the publishing industry is at a tipping point. E-books have opened the door to a future where it’s possible for all new digital books to be “born accessible”, so they can be viewed enlarged on a screen, read aloud with a synthetic voice, or displayed on an electronic braille device.
The grant will accelerate the DAISY Consortium’s work to develop baseline requirements for accessible books. This will include supporting guidelines, accessibility certification and new tools that help publishers check essential accessibility of their publications. Furthermore, reading systems will be evaluated to review their support for the Accessibility Baseline.
“At Google.org, we support organisations that offer innovative solutions to complex challenges. We’re thrilled to back DAISY Consortium as they help build a world that works for everyone,” said Brigitte Gosselink, Head of the Google Impact Challenge: Disabilities.
George Kerscher, Chief Innovation Officer of the DAISY Consortium and President of the IDPF Board of Directors said:
"Evolving the relationship between digital publications, reading systems, and Assistive Technology in the print-disabled community has been the focus of DAISY for decades. The Google Impact Challenge strategically addresses the long-term, changing nature of the civil right to access information. Society will not change overnight. Project supported by Google.org marks the tipping point where millions of digital publications meeting a baseline requirement for accessibility, will enter the hands of blind and print-disabled people around the world.”
Visit inclusivepublishing.org to check for updates and learn more.
About the DAISY Consortium
The DAISY Consortium is a global partnership of organizations committed to creating the best way to read and publish for everyone.
The Consortium contributes expertise in standards working groups that are engaged in Inclusive Publishing and develops guidelines and checklists so that best practices are clear and widely available.
In addition, the Consortium tests and promotes reading systems that ensure the best possible reading experience with eyes, ears and fingers. The DAISY Consortium supports and helps to develop inclusive publishing ecosystem for everybody, including persons with disabilities.