Stevie Wonder has lobbied the United Nations over greater access to audio books.
Stevie Wonder was not born blind, but due to complications at birth he suffered detached retinas. Never enjoying the ability to see, the young Detroit musician refused to allow this to stand in his way.
A child star, Stevie Wonder scored countless hits before he was even 20 years old. Revolutionising the music industry in the 70s with a string of ambitious albums, the Motown icon is a simply a force of nature.
A life long campaigner of rights for the blind, Stevie Wonder recently lobbied the United Nations to increase access to audio books.
The soul legend spoke to the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), arguing passionately for unified copyright rules that would improve audiobook access for visually impaired people.
The WIPO has representatives from 184 nations, and was meeting to discuss possible changes and updates to copyright law. According to some blind groups, the current laws make it difficult for texts to be translated into audiobooks.
Speaking at the conference Stevie Wonder said: “We must declare a state of emergency and end the information deprivation”.
Making his point in ten minutes, the Motown icon at points hummed some of his biggest hits and explained that at “people know the songs because they were able to hear them”.
However other kinds of information is kept away from audio formats. “There are people who have probably even far more to offer than myself who are locked into this kind of prison because information is not available to them” he said.
Stevie Wonder left the representatives with a choice. If the WIPO fail to extend the laws then the icon will “write a song about what you didn’t do” however if they do pass the recommendations then “I’ll come back and do an incredible celebration concert.”
