The Luz del Ciego Board of Trustees is certified as an authorized entity under the Marrakech Treaty

Users of the Patronato del Luz del Ciego have a new opportunity to access more than 635 thousand texts in accessible formats following the certification as an authorized entity under the Marrakech Treaty of this institution by the Ministry of Culture (MiCultura), which will allow them the cross-border exchange of these texts with authorized entities in other countries.

This is the third entity to accredit MiCultura in less than a year, after the Simón Bolívar Library of the University of Panama and the Ernesto J. Castillero National Library were certified.

After the certification, the Minister of Culture, Giselle González Villarrué highlighted that "this procedure has allowed the Republic of Panama to have, in just over eight months, three authorized entities."

Of these, the head of MiCultura said that “two have already started the process to become part of the Accessible Books Consortium (ABC) and are on the verge of making 635,000 books in different formats available to blind or visually impaired readers. accessible, thereby recognizing the legitimate right to read.

According to the resolution that formalizes this accreditation, it indicates that the National Directorate of Copyright confirmed that the Patronato Luz del Ciego has the necessary technological resources to provide works produced or adapted in an accessible format to people with visual disabilities, the same non-profit and for the purpose of education, because the board has a variety of titles in braille format in its library and a braille printer.

The Marrakesh Treaty, administered by WIPO, facilitates the production and international transfer of books specially adapted for blind and visually impaired people by establishing a set of limitations and exceptions to traditional copyright legislation.

The Treaty was adopted in Marrakesh on June 27, 2013, Panama ratified it on June 28, 2013 and entered into force on September 30, 2016.