Rodolfo Masto is the new President of Fondazione LIA, he was elected by the assembly on December 18th. Masto is the former President of the Institute of the Blind in Milan, President of the National Federation of Institutions for the Blind and he has been a board member of LIA since 2018. He succeeds Mario Barbuto, President of the Italian Union of Blind and Visually Impaired (UICI), and he will lead LIA for the next three years:

“I intend to act in continuity and consolidate the work done in recent years, continuing the close collaboration with the Italian Publishers Association (AIE), UICI and all the associations that deal with disabilities, especially in view of the entry into force in 2025 of the European Accessibility Act, which will require, throughout the European Union, the entire digital publishing supply chain to be accessible.”

Masto also emphasized the value of LIA’s work for the community of people with any disability:

“They play a fundamental role in society through all the initiatives to include participation in cultural activities, as well as study and entertainment. LIA works in this sense, favoring and making possible the right to read of those with a disability, such as the more than 2 million blind and visually impaired people in Italy.”

There are more than 33 thousand accessible digital books in the LIA catalog at www.libriitalianiaccessibili.it. An achievement made possible thanks to the efforts of Italian publishers and the support of the Ministry of Culture.

Outgoing President Mario Barbuto wished the new President and the entire Board of directors well and confirmed UICI’s support for Fondazione LIA and its future initiatives, which he believes are fundamental to ensuring access to books and reading for all readers.

Best wishes for the new President Masto also came from Innocenzo Cipolletta, President of AIE:

“With LIA, our country can count on a structure at the forefront in Europe in accompanying publishers, but not only them, toward the new obligations of the European Accessibility Act. To the new leadership goes our full support for the continuation of a project that holds together technological innovation, inclusiveness and sustainability.”

The Board of directors was also elected by the gathered assembly on December 18th. Vincenzo Massa of UICI is joining the Board. The other confirmed members are: Federico Motta (Forma Edizioni), Giorgio Dossi (Centro Studi Erickson), Piero Attanasio (AIE). Cristina Mussinelli is confirmed as secretary general.