Accessibility: Winners of the 2026 ABC International Excellence Awards announced: Zanichelli Editore S.p.A. (Italy) and Fundação Dorina Nowill para Cegos (Brazil)

The jury recognised Zanichelli Editore for its work in embedding accessibility into its core publishing processes, ensuring that educational materials are "born accessible" and available to a wide range of students and teachers with disabilities.

Accepting the award, Irene Enriques, Director General of Zanichelli Editores S.p.A, said: "Accessibility is not a recent trend, nor is it a niche project or a box to be ticked in order to fulfil legal obligations. It is a basic educational responsibility and the driving force behind our technical and editorial innovation".

According to the jury, Zanichelli's accessible publications ensure that students with print disabilities can obtain the same high-quality educational content as their peers, at the same time and without delay, helping to create a more equitable learning environment.

The Fundação Dorina Nowill para Cegos won in the initiative category. The jury, in particular, praised the "Dorina AI" platform, which uses artificial intelligence to assist in the creation of image descriptions, speeding up the process of distributing educational materials nationwide in Brazil and helping to ensure that thousands of students receive textbooks in accessible formats.

Alexandre Munck, CEO of the Fundação Dorina Nowill para Cegos, stated: "The recognition of Dorina AI through the ABC International Excellence Award for Accessible Publishing reinforces the potential of technology as a powerful ally for inclusion. Our commitment is to continue developing solutions that ensure blind and visually impaired individuals have full access to information."

Since 2015, the ABC International Excellence Awards have recognized outstanding leadership and achievement in accessible publishing. Winners are chosen by an expert jury composed of accessibility specialists, publishers, and organizations representing persons with print disabilities.

Background

According to a 2017 study published in The Lancet, approximately 253 million people are blind or visually impaired world-wide. Nearly 90% of these are resident in developing countries, where the World Blind Union (WBU) estimates that people who are blind have only a one in ten chance of going to school or getting a job. A lack of accessible books remains a very real barrier to getting an education and leading an independent, productive life.

About ABC

The Accessible Books Consortium (ABC) is a public-private partnership led by WIPO that, together with its many partners around the world, has had real impact over the past decade. Since its inception, the ABC Global Book Service catalogue has quadrupled in size to over one million titles thanks to the inclusion of the collections of participating authorized entities. ABC delivered a total of 225,000 accessible digital files from the ABC catalogue to persons with print disabilities through its authorized entities in 2024. In addition, through ABC's training and technical assistance partners, more than 20,000 textbooks have been made accessible in over 40 low-income countries, improving access to education for thousands of young people. ABC was established in June 2014 to implement the goals of the Marrakesh Treaty.

About WIPO

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is the global forum for intellectual property policy, services, information and cooperation. A specialized agency of the United Nations, WIPO assists its 193 member states in developing a balanced international IP legal framework to meet society's evolving needs. It provides business services for obtaining IP rights in multiple countries and resolving disputes. It delivers capacity-building programs to help developing countries benefit from using IP. And it provides free access to unique knowledge banks of IP information.

Image credits: WIPO/BERROD