HOMECambridge University Press Has Signed an Agreement with the DAISY Forum of India
"Cambridge University Press has signed an agreement with a charity for the visually impaired in India, which will eventually give millions of readers with a visual impairment unique access to a range of educational materials. There are over 10 million visually impaired people in India and for many of them the only way they can access content in books is by other people reading to them.
A wide range of assistive technologies are available, including Braille and computers that can read electronic versions of books and study materials. However, Braille can take a very long time to read - one average 250-page book would convert to about four large Braille books – and content for computer software has not been of a very high standard in the past.
The DAISY Forum of India is a forum of not-for-profit organizations in India who are involved in the production of books and reading materials in accessible formats for people who cannot read normal print. They turn books into digital content, which can be read aloud by special software in computers and laptops.
Cambridge University Press has signed an agreement with the DAISY Forum, which will allow them to use the content in Cambridge books free of charge. This will save the forum thousands of pounds each year in copyright fees.
Manas Saikia, Managing Director of Cambridge University Press India Pvt Ltd said: “I am really proud to announce this agreement, as it will help the DAISY Forum in their vital work making educational content accessible to the visually impaired in India. Having a visual impairment can affect quality of life and it can also significantly reduce people’s exposure to decent educational materials. By donating Cambridge content, we are doing our bit to help change this problem, whilst also increasing people’s access to some excellent products.” More information is available in the Cambridge University Press announcement.
