For the 2023 edition of the Frankfurter Buchmesse (October 18th – 22nd), Fondazione LIA is organizing two professional events and two Readings in the dark to promote the theme of accessibility in publishing, with the collaboration of international partners and in the framework of Aldus UP, the European Book Fairs network promoting the internationalization of the book sector and the innovation of book fairs format.

From Inclusion to Innovation: How Accessibility is transforming the Book Value Chain

October 18th, 3 pm

Frankfurt Studio (Hall 4.0, room Europa)

In recent years, accessibility has emerged as a critical factor in transforming the book value chain. This seminar will explore the dynamic relationship between accessibility and innovation, examining how accessibility initiatives are reshaping the publishing industry and fostering inclusivity within the industry.

Through a series of success stories, this seminar will examine how accessibility-driven initiatives sparked innovation from content production to distribution and consumption.

Panel

Irene Enriques

General Manager at Zanichelli

Enriques will show the road the publishing house Zanichelli is going through, updating the internal working knowledge and rethinking the workflows, with the objective to produce complex school books in a born-accessible logic as much as possible.

Tobias Streitferdt

Director Metadata & Systems at Holtzbrinck Buchverlage GmbH

Streitferdt will talk about the commitment of the Holtzbrinck Buchverlage GmbH publishing group towards accessibility.

Michael Tamblyn

President and Chief Executive Officer at Rakuten Kobo

Tamblyn will talk about Kobo‘s efforts to make their reading ecosystem accessible and to make accessibility metadata available to readers providing information about the accessibility of a digital publication.

Porter Anderson

Editor in Chief at Publishing Perspective

Anderson will moderate the panel

The seminar is organized by Fondazione LIA in collaboration with the Frankfurter Buchmesse, Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels, the Federation of European Publishers, the International Publishers Association, in the framework of Aldus UP, co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union.

Accessibility networking event. Meet international colleagues and experts!

October 18, 4 pm

Hall 4, room Concorde

Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels, Fondazione LIA and Frankfurter Buchmesse are glad to invite you to a networking event with international colleagues and accessibility experts.

Keynote: Cristina Mussinelli, Secretary General Fondazione LIA

Join the international crowd of accessibility experts for a drink and a snack and find your peers to discuss challenges of inclusive publishing. Participants will have the chance to further discuss with accessibility experts from the previous seminar “From Inclusion to Innovation” and to talk about:

• How to kick-start your accessibility roadmap: publishers’ needs, skills, gaps
• How to assure the quality of your production and distribution flows: QA, tools, display of accessibility metadata
• What’s the cost of accessibility? Investments, disproportionate burden, backlist conversion

Photo credits: © Frankfurter Buchmesse