Press Release From The LIA Foundation in Italy

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Mario Barbuto Confirmed as President of Fondazione LIA

Barbuto: “We have come a long way and we are now looking ahead to the implementation of  the European Accessibility Act by 2025”. 

Levi (AIE): “LIA is a leader in the accessibility field in Europe, we are proud to be among the  founding members”.

Mario Barbuto, president of Italian Union of the Blind and Visually Impaired (UICI) has been confirmed  as President by the Board of directors of Fondazione LIA for the next three years. Italian Publishers  Association (AIE), UICI and the Foundation’s Assembly have as well confirmed the Board of directors,  composed of: Piero Attanasio (AIE), Giorgio Dossi (Centro Studi Erickson), Rodolfo Masto (Institute of  the Blind of Milan), Federico Motta (Forma Edizioni). Cristina Mussinelli was confirmed as Secretary  general. 

Fondazione LIA, a non-profit founded by AIE and UICI, deals with the digital accessibility of publishing  contents and works alongside Italian publishers to encourage best practices and innovations. The goal is  to allow visually impaired people to access the book production with the same reading quality and  possibility to choose among the latest published books as everyone else. 

“Fondazione LIA and UICI, of which I have been recently reconfirmed President, will continue to  contribute to the inclusion of the visually impaired people in the fields of culture, study and work,  through books” said Barbuto. 

“The results achieved by the Foundation are remarkable, but it is our responsibility to look ahead at what  remains to be done, in particular concerning the European Accessibility Act implementation” added  Barbuto. The European Accessibility Act requires that the entire publishing sector becomes accessible in  all the European Union by 2025. 

“I wish all the best for their work to Barbuto, the Board of directors and the LIA team – said Ricardo  Franco Levi, President of AIE –. We are extremely proud to be the founding members of this Foundation,  leader in Europe in the field of accessibility”. 

Fondazione LIA’s catalogue collects now 26,000 accessible digital books, available at  www.libriitalianiaccessibili.it. This achievement was possible thanks to the publishing houses members  of the Foundation and with the support of MIBAC – Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities.