With his stellar charisma in overdrive, Grammy winning singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder revealed in a video message posted on Friday that he offered to sing live for international negotiators currently participating in a conference that is being held in Morocco. The conference is all about solving the problem of insufficiency of books for the visually impaired. Factors such as royalties hinder the publishing of these books and they only have a few days to solve the issue before the conference ends.
The proposed treaty encompasses two significant points concerning the visually impaired. The first ones deal with limitations and exceptions regarding the copyright law insofar as to allow the visually impaired to reproduce materials in a format that is convenient for their usage. The second point is to prepare a structure wherein said materials are readily available and could be shared internationally.
Books for the visually impaired
Even though there are many available materials for the visually impaired to use, the current supply is fairly insufficient to accommodate every blind person in a particular country. Statistics show that there are relatively few publications providing reading materials for the blind in Braille format, recording, and electronic texts.
According to the president of the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), Dr. Marc Maurer, a consensus must be reached at the conference quickly with regard to the issue. Dr. Fredric Schroeder is quite worried that there is a risk the conference might end without a treaty if it pushes on for too long. Dr. Schroder is a former VP of the World Blind Union and former VP of the NFB as well.
Below par
In some parts of the world, especially those in poor countries, the Blind can access only 1% of published materials such as audio books and texts in Braille. This number is low compared to the US where about 5% of the said materials are readily available. With the number of visually impaired persons needing reading materials increasing annually, it is only to be expected that the volume of materials increase in parallel. The reason why the conference in Morocco is being held is for the supply to meet the demand.
The National Federation of the Blind in partnership with World Blind Union works hand in hand in supporting the international negotiators. Both organizations are hoping that the conference would conclude successfully with wonderful news to the community of visually impaired persons.
A light in the dark
Providing help and inspiration in the quest for support and care for the blind is Stevie Wonder. The artist is known not just for his popular songs but for his talent to play musical instruments such as the piano and harmonica despite his lack of sight.
Born blind, Wonder became active early in his church choir where he sang with promise. His break in the music industry came when Ronnie White of “The Miracles” saw a young Stevie Wonder perform at a friend’s house in 1961. Amazed by Wonder’s performance, he brought him to Motown where CEO Berry Gordy signed Wonder as a recording artist immediately after seeing him perform.
Photo Credit: Stevie Wonder
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