National Federation of the Blind and Amazon Join Forces to Improve Accessible Reading Experiences for Blind and Low-Vision Students

Baltimore, Maryland (March 2, 2016): The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) and Amazon announced today that they will be working together to increase selection, enhance accessibility, and improve reading experiences for blind students, including those who have low vision or who are deaf-blind. Amazon and the National Federation of the Blind will collaborate on improvements to Amazon’s education content, platforms, and applications, and will meet on an ongoing basis to review progress and exchange ideas and feedback. Initial results of this collaboration are expected this year and beyond.

“We are seeing educational institutions embrace digital learning for its ease of access to a large selection of learning resources for students,” said Rohit Agarwal, General Manager, Amazon K-12 Education. “This shift provides a great opportunity to improve accessibility for blind students. By collaborating with the National Federation of the Blind, we hope to advance accessibility for all content, platforms and applications that Amazon develops to better serve K-12 and higher education students.”

“The National Federation of the Blind is dedicated to using our expertise in the development and implementation of built-in accessibility in technology to ensure that the blind have equal access to the information and tools we need to live the lives we want,” said Mark A. Riccobono, President of the National Federation of the Blind. “The NFB and Amazon have sought a productive collaboration to improve accessibility, and we now look forward to working together closely to improve the technologies that will make digital reading experiences better for all customers. The commitment that Amazon has made in this agreement brings us ever closer to the day when blind students of all ages will have the same digital reading experience and access to content as others, and demonstrates that access for the blind goes hand in hand with continued innovation in technology.”

CONTACT:

Chris Danielsen

Director of Public Relations

National Federation of the Blind

(410) 659-9314, extension 2330

(410) 262-1281 (Cell)

cdanielsen@nfb.org