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Soul legend Stevie Wonder has called on the international community to provide better accessibility to copyright protected works for visually impaired persons (VIPs).
Speaking as a UN Ambassador for Peace at the annual meeting of the UN agency, the World Intellectual Property Organisation Assemblies (WIPO), the "Superstition" singer launched his "declaration of freedom for people with disabilities", challenging delegates to make an agreement to boost access for VIPs by the end of the year, and promising a celebration concert if it is achieved.
WIPO member states are currently discussing the question of better access to copyright protected works for VIPs. Earlier this year, an online forum www.vision.org/forum was launched to raise awareness of the issue.
Addressing delegates from WIPO's 184 member states, Wonder called for an end to "the information deprivation that continues to keep the visually impaired in the dark". He added: "While I know it is critical not to act to the detriment of the authors who labour to create the great works that enlighten and nourish our minds, hearts and souls, we must develop a protocol that allows the easy import and export of copyright materials so that people with print disabilities can join the mainstream of the literate world."
The American singer, who has 49 top 40 hits, ended his presentation with a performance of "Ma Cherie Amour" and snippets of his other well known tracks such as "I Just Called to Say I Love You", making the point: "Do you know this? You know it because it is accessible to you. We must make the printed world accessible to every single person who has a visual disability or is blind, as well as understanding that this is our livelihood. It is so important that we do protect the copyright."