Global community asked to ratify Marakesh Treaty as World Braille Day is observed

Sunday, January 4 was observed as World Braille Day.

The day is used each year to commemorate the birthday of a very intelligent young man, Louis Braille, the inventor of the Braille, who at the age of 15, devised the manual code of raised dots that represented printed words.
World Braille Day, therefore, recognises the contributions of Louis Braille, a French man, who became blind in an accident at a very young age. He put the written word at the fingertips of those without sight and through this and many new technologies, people who are blind can read through braille, large print and audio.
More than 200 years after his birth, his legacy of empowering people who are blind to read is felt keenly around the world. Access to the written word puts financial, social and personal independence within reach for people who are blind worldwide. Without that access, people who are blind are tragically excluded from employment and participation in society.
A statement issued in Accra by the Past Governor of District 403-A2 of Lions Clubs International (LCI), Lion (Mrs) Gloria Esi Lassey refers to an international conference in 2013 which formulated the Marrakesh Treaty.

Marrakesh Treaty
The Marrakesh Treaty seeks to facilitate access to published works for persons who are blind, visually impaired or otherwise print disabled with the aim of breaking down those barriers to accessible books for people who are blind.
The statement said more than 70 countries had already signed the treaty which is managed by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), which requires 20 nations to ratify to realise its promise to transform lives for the better.
“lmagine the benefits to our country and the world in general, if every person who is blind could access the written word to learn, work and contribute their full talents,” the statement noted, adding that allowing books and other media to cross international borders in accessible forms unleashed human potential.
According to the statement, India, EI Salvador, Uruguay and the United Arab Emirates have led the way in ratifying the treaty.
It said Ghana had already signed this treaty and stressed the need for the country to take a leading role by ratifying it and make more published works available to Ghanaians and others around the world who are blind.

World Blind Union
The World Blind Union, the statement noted, reports that only five per cent of the over one million books published each year are available in forms that people who are blind can read.
Many publishers see the value in providing every book to every person at the same time and price, the statement noted, adding, ratifying the Marrakesh Treaty, therefore, opens the door to that major goal of putting all published materials into the hands of millions which empowers them to meaningfully participate in society, politics, cultural events and the general economy.
Currently, the statement said, copyright laws create many barriers for accessible media to travel across national borders, even for people who can only use audible or braille materials. This negatively affects approximately 285 million people who are blind, including our own compatriots with visual impairments in Ghana.
Nothing more need be said than Braille's own words, "Braille is knowledge, and knowledge is power. Empower people who are blind. Ratify the Marrakesh Treaty,” the statement added.