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European Accessibility Act - Mainstreaming accessible ebook distribution: accessibility metadata ingestion and display

IN COLLABORATION WITH

With the European Accessibility Act in force since June 2025, ensuring the availability and visibility of accessibility metadata has become more important than ever. In today’s digital publishing landscape, accessibility metadata is delivered alongside core bibliographic information — such as title, author, and description — enabling retailers, libraries, and readers to identify whether a digital book meets their specific accessibility needs. However, the complexity and technical nature of this metadata can pose challenges, which the recent W3C User Experience Guides for Displaying Accessibility Metadata 2.0  address by offering practical guidance for user-friendly display.

This seminar will feature a roundtable discussion with representatives from Fondazione LIA, EDItEUR, Kobo, Bookwire, De Marque and Edigita, six key players leading the charge in accessible content distribution. Together, they will share how they are working to make accessibility metadata both visible and actionable, how they collaborate with publishers, and what lies ahead for the industry.

This session is tailored for publishing professionals working in editorial, digital distribution, content management, and accessibility. Join us for practical insights into how the publishing industry is adapting to meet both legal obligations and the real-world needs of readers with disabilities.

Agenda

  • Why accessibility metadata are so important?
  • Standards for accessibility metadata (ONIX for Books and EPUB Accessibility metadata)
  • How to display accessibility metadata? The Accessibility Metadata Display Guide for Digital Publications 2.0
  • Experiences, strategies, and challenges in implementing accessibility metadata across the digital publishing supply chain.

Seminar conducted within the project:

Speakers

Virginie Bouilhac
Director of Content Management for Rakuten Kobo. I have been working for Kobo for 12 years and I am deeply involved in making digital content discoverable, accessible and visible on Kobo platform. I lead a team of amazing people in France, Japan and Canada, all fully committed to make publishers content available on Kobo Store.
ONIX expert, I’m also, since many years, deeply involved in making accessibility a priority for Kobo but also for publishers by helping them understanding the requirements.


Gregorio Pellegrino
Gregorio Pellegrino, Chief Accessibility Officer at Fondazione LIA, is an Italian software engineer with a strong focus on improving digital accessibility for visually impaired individuals. His expertise is reflected in his co-editing of key industry documents, such as W3C EPUB Accessibility 1.1, the Accessibility Metadata Display Guide for Digital Publications 2.0, and the EPUB Accessibility - EU Accessibility Act Mapping. He is also technical leader of the DAISY Consortium's "Accessible EPUB from InDesign Expert Group," working with Adobe to enhance the accessibility of EPUBs exported from InDesign. Pellegrino's work with organizations like W3C, DAISY, and EDItEUR helps shape global accessibility standards. Through his consulting, training, and standards development efforts, he continues to support more inclusive reading experiences in digital publishing.


Nina Rubach
After completing her master's degree in book studies, Nina Rubach took up a position as Product Manager at Bookwire in 2018.
At Bookwire, today she is Senior Platform Product Manager and ONIX expert. In addition to her position at Bookwire, she is an active member of the Börsenverein's Accessibility Taskforce and interest group “product metadata”.
Besides her work, she is a book enthusiast, loves creative work and yoga.


Christopher Saynor
Chris works with EDItEUR's book publishing standards including ONIX, Thema and EDItX. He has been working particularly on the accessibility metadata in ONIX and contributing to the W3C Publishing CG accessibility task force. He joined EDItEUR in late 2016. For the previous eight years, he worked for GiantChair Inc. in Paris as a metadata specialist and project manager, and prior to that, he has a 20-year background in bookselling with Waterstones and WHSmith.

Seminar Information
SEPTEMBER 22, 2025
4.30pm - 6.00pm (CET)
Zoom Meetings

Regular Fee

250€ + VAT

Other Categories
100€ + VAT - Fondazione LIA members
220€ + VAT - FEP (Federation of European Publishers), IPA (International Publishers Association), STM (International Association of Scientific, Technical & Medical Publishers), BISG (Book Industry Study Group), EDItEUR members
 
The Fee includes

Seminar Slides


Closing date for registration

16/09/2025

For Italian Publishers

If you are an Italian publisher, please visit the dedicated course page.

CONTACTS

The training and formation is provided by EDISER, the service company of the AIE.

segreteria@ediser.it
02 89280801