THE World Blind Union (WBU) 2013 said millions of books are published worldwide annually, but only between one and seven per cent of these books are made available to 285 million blind, visually-impaired and print-disabled persons (BVIPs).
Of this, 90 per cent live in a low-income environment in developing countries, based on data by the World Health Organisation factsheet on Visual Impairment and Blindness.
How do governments and countries resolve this education dilemma?
One way is to advocate for global adoption of an international agenda called “Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled”.
The treaty was adopted by member states of the World Intellectual Property Organisation in 2013 to address this glaring “book famine”.
The treaty is grounded in human rights principles advocated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
In fact, the treaty is considered to be the first treaty on a copyright perspective that includes a human rights dimension.
The treaty emphasises that copyright systems and intellectual property-related legislative tools are effective instruments in transforming barriers to improving access to books, including border transfer of books, and other printed works in an accessible format for BVIPs.
In Asean, in line with the wider goals of the Asean Economic Community, three countries have completed the accession process to the treaty: Singapore (accession March 30, 2015, in force Sept 30, 2016), the Philippines (accession Dec 18, 2018, in force March 18, 2019) and Thailand (accession Jan 28, 2019, in force April 28, 2019).
Other member states are contemplating the same direction.
The Malaysian Education Blueprint 2013-2025 does not neglect education for the blind.
Conceived in 2013, it proves for the visually impaired and print-disabled persons as well.
With a view to streamlining with the Fourth Industrial Revolution imperative and beyond, a new trademark bill, Trademarks Bill 2019 (TMA 2019), was passed by Parliament last year.
TMA 2019 is anticipated to bring big changes to the trademark regime in terms of trademark protection and enforcement for a new business promotion and marketing experience.
Education, industry and community advocates expect to see the same reformative approach for TMA 2019 to be applied to the old Copyright Act 1987 by incorporating the Marrakesh Treaty provisions in Malaysia.
It is understood that the Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia, with support from ministries and agencies, is working hard to see that Malaysia’s copyright law upholds the goals of the Marrakesh Treaty.
It hopes for access to knowledge and education for persons who are blind, visually impaired, or otherwise print disabled without discrimination.
The majority of educational books are not accessible to BVIPs.
They are inadequate and not BVIP-friendly, for instance, not in a Braille-friendly format.
The Marrakesh Treaty is gaining traction globally and it represents a change to greater access to publication for global knowledge and open education, not only for the blind, but also for the visually impaired and print-disabled persons.
For Malaysia and Asean, this will see wider social integration, multicultural participation, poverty alleviation and contributions to the economy of the 21st century.
IDA MADIEHA ABDUL GHANI AZMI AND JEONG CHUN PHUOC
Kuala Lumpur