Right to Read Campaign

Loyola College Chennai India

Cordially Invites you to be part of the

*Right to Read Campaign*

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*Date: 26th September 2009
Venue:   Sauliere Hall, Loyola College Hostel, Chennai, India*

*Time: 8:05 AM
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A nationwide campaign for the “Right to Read” (R2R) for persons with print
impairments is being launched in Chennai on 26th September under the
auspices of Loyola College. The main thrust of the campaign is to draw
attention of the Government towards the disabling framework of the Indian
Copyright Act 1957, which does not allow persons with print impairments to
convert reading matter into formats such as large print, audio, Braille or
any other electronic formats which can be accessed by them using assistive
technologies. As a result of this, visually challenged, dyslexic and
disabled persons who are unable to hold a printed book cannot read and have
access to information, which means that they are excluded from social and
cultural participation.



Loyola College Chennai is organizing the inaugural event to kick start the
campaign. The event is scheduled from 9 am to 1 pm on the 26th of September
and the registration begins from 08:00 am.  A number of dignitaries are
expected to support the event along with widespread public participation.
This event is open to all persons who want to support the campaign.

The event will shed light on the availability of accessible knowledge
resources for the print impaired, highlight specific challenges faced by
them in acquiring accessible materials and suggest solutions, showcase the
latest assistive technologies which are available to them to read books,
understand the legal complications which bring about this situation and
garner support from the public to bring about the necessary changes. The
event would conclude with a lively performance by an all blind orchestra
from Chennai.

India has nearly 70 million persons who are unable to read printed books
because of some form of disability. Our Copyright Act, 1957 does not permit
a person with print impairment to make an ‘accessible copy’ of a book in
order to be able to ‘read it’. However, it is neither feasible nor
practically possible for each print impaired person in the country to seek
permission from the copyright-holder every time he/she wants to read a book.


The Right to Read campaign seeks to petition the government with public
support to make the necessary changes to national Copyright law and support
the proposed Treaty for the blind tabled by the World Blind Union at an
international level.

The campaign seeks to achieve its objectives through Road-shows, Televised
debates, Nationwide public rallies, Online petitions, Audio-video clips
showcasing the difficulties faced by the persons with print impairment and
how technology developments help, and submission of a legal paper to the
government on international scenario and constitutional compulsions for the
amendment of the copyright law.

*Campaign Managers*

This initiative is a part of the global Right to Read campaign launched by
the World Blind Union.

Department of Sociology & The Resource Centre for Differently Abled (RCDA),
Loyola College Chennai is the local event manager for the inaugural event at
Chennai. The Center for Internet and Society, Daisy Forum of India, and
Bookbole will be involved in taking this to the other cities.

The Centre for Internet and Society(CIS) , India .The CIS critically engages
with concerns of digital pluralism, public accountability and pedagogic
practices, in the field of Internet and Society, with particular emphasis on
South-South dialogues and exchange. Through multidisciplinary research,
intervention, and collaboration, CIS seeks to explore, understand, and
affect the shape and form of the internet, and its relationship with the
political, cultural, and social milieu of our times.

Bookbole is an online community for accessible book lovers, which allows
users to build, share, and manage their personal library of accessible
books.  Bookbole.com has been created by Inclusive Planet, a social venture
involved in creating innovative web based products and services for the
differently-abled.

DAISY Forum of India is a forum of Not for Profit organizations from India
who are involved in production of books and reading materials in accessible
formats for persons who cannot read normal print. DAISY denotes the Digital
Accessible Information System.

Members of the Consortium actively promote the DAISY Standard for Digital
Talking Books because it promises to revolutionize the reading experience
for people who have reading disabilities. Specifically, the Consortium's
vision is that all published information is available to people with print
disabilities, at the same time and at no greater cost, in an accessible,
feature-rich, navigable format.



For Further Information Contact:-

Dr S Albonse Raj, Dept of Sociology 9444039788

Prof J Jerald Inico, RCDA, Loyola College 9444637478

Nirmita Narasimhan, CIS – 9343379422

Rahul Cherian, Bookbole – 9840357991



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National Conference on ICTs for the Differently- abled/ under privileged
communities in Education, Employment and Entrepreneurship 2009  (NCIDEEE
2009) during Dec 01-03, 2009
Conference Web site

http://www.loyolacollege.edu/NCIDEEE/home.html

Prof J. Jerald Inico M. Sc, M. Phil, MCP, MCSI, (Phd)
Faculty incharge, Resource Center for Differently abled ( RCDA), Loyola
College,
Founder & Former Student Branch Councilor  - LOYOLA COLLEGE - Computer
Society of India,
Coordinator - Programmes - Loyola College student Union,
Member, Loyola College Sports Committee,
Coordinator, Placement cell, Department of Computer Science,
Lecturer, Department of Computer Science,
LOYOLA COLLEGE,
CHENNAI - 34.

My profile:
http://www.loyolacollege.edu/profile/ComputerScience/Jerald.pdf
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