Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

APRIL 30, 2012

The ESI Award recognizes outstanding individuals and organizations whose innovations blend methods from the worlds of business and philanthropy, and that challenge the status quo to create sustainable social value with a potential for large-scale impact.

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Award Lecture Social Student 154

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

MARCH 10, 2014

When Kevin was in kindergarten he had an organic brain injury, which forced him to have to relearn everything from walking to using the bathroom. We’re witnessing how data-driven insights are becoming a prerequisite in decision-making and in the practical work of policy and social service organizations.

Data 168

Data Classroom Measure Accessibility 168

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JULY 15, 2014

One year ago, on June 28, 2013, at a diplomatic conference in Marrakesh, Morocco, the World Intellectual Property Organization ( WIPO ) agreed on a historic international copyright exception for people with print disabilities.

Accessibility 194

Accessibility Celebrate United States Copyright 194

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

OCTOBER 20, 2012

Benetech applauds the efforts of philanthropic organizations and individuals who pay special attention to improving the very practice of philanthropy. Rather, the couple realized they improved their decision-making and got much more insight into prospective nonprofit grantee organizations by speaking to their founders and executives.

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Library Giving Camera Interview 158

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

MARCH 3, 2016

Our nonprofit organization operates Bookshare , the largest online library in the world that focuses on the needs of people with these disabilities. We know a great deal about this Treaty, which is designed to help people who are blind or have other disabilities that interfere with reading, such as dyslexia.

United States 100

United States Language Copyright Library 100

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

MARCH 13, 2014

And this creates serious personal threats in an era where numerous organizations around the world collect individually identifiable data that regularly leaks into other hands. Take for example a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) rights-focused organization with which we work.

Data 176

Data Empowerment United States Government 176

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

FEBRUARY 8, 2013

WBU is the global organization representing the estimated 285 million people worldwide with vision impairments. The organization’s priorities are decided upon at the WBU General Assembly, which is held every four years. I was honored to be part of a WBU-convened expert team that authored the original draft of the treaty.

Accessibility 155

Accessibility Global eBook Copyright 155

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JANUARY 17, 2014

And, Benetech is committed as an organization to all of these six principles. Accessibility However useful the Section 121 exception has been for Bookshare, it is very narrowly drawn to cover nonprofit organizations and government agencies with a primary purpose to serve people with disabilities. But, it’s not the only one!

Copyright 196

Copyright Law Accessibility Library 196

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

AUGUST 24, 2017

We are an organization that has been fighting to overcome the negative impact of DRM on accessibility for over a decade. We understand that the W3C has already made the decision to compromise and support DRM-related technology.

Media 114

Media Accessibility National Associations 114

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JUNE 24, 2010

In the statute: "authorized entity" means a nonprofit organization or a governmental agency that has a primary mission to provide specialized services relating to training, education, or adaptive reading or information access needs of blind or other persons with disabilities; In this case, authorized means authorized under the statute. (and

Authoring 150

Authoring Paraguay Law Copyright 150

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JANUARY 25, 2012

HRDAG designed a process to randomly sample the Archive and the archivists began using Benetech’s Martus software to organize and secure information generated from the samples. Benetech is proud to support this project and our ongoing work with the Archive to analyze the contents of the records.

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National Guatemala Texas Online 206

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

APRIL 18, 2014

Success in this position means you have built and delivered products that have scaled in the marketplace, understand the ins-and-outs of the technology sector, and are able to foster collaborative environments between diverse groups and organizations.

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Challenge Open Source Work Time 180

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

OCTOBER 30, 2014

As Vice President of Service Operations and CMS Web Development and General Manager of the Canadian MSO (Management Services Organization) partner, Mark saw the company through rapid subscription growth. that designs, develops, markets, and delivers interactive magazine content to consumers through the digital device of their choice.

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Award Roles Leadership Profile 186

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

AUGUST 10, 2015

It’s hard for most organizations to accommodate nonstandard approaches to work. Well, we’re a nonprofit: organized as a charity. Are you someone who is burning to make a difference? Someone who values doing good over a whopping salary? Do you want flexibility in your job? Benetech wants to hear from you! What’s the catch?

Help 100

Help Skills Job Professional 100

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

FEBRUARY 15, 2013

It’s a great resource for organizations that are engaged in spinning off sustainable projects, or that are considering similar strategies. We used it to review our planning as we wrapped up this move.

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Analysis Project Open Source Analytics 174

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

MAY 17, 2013

Just to give you a few examples: He is a co-founder of Teach a Man to Fish , a global network that promotes “education that pays for itself,” partnering with dozens of organizations around the world to establish self-sufficient schools in rural areas that teach independence and sustainability to young people from poor families. and Africa.

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Paraguay Award Africa Conservancy 142

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JUNE 12, 2014

As the parent nonprofit organization of the Bookshare online library, a leading provider of accessible books to people with print disabilities in the U.S., You can read more about our position in the Amicus Brief , which we filed jointly with our peer organization, Learning Ally. The Authors Guild then appealed the ruling.

Accessibility 205

Accessibility Copyright Law Library 205

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JUNE 16, 2011

Statement of Benetech to the 22nd Session of the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights at the World Intellectual Property Organization June 15, 2011, Geneva, Switzerland • Greetings from California’s Silicon Valley! Now, more than 30,000 current copyrighted books are available globally on Bookshare to thousands of users. •

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Qatar Accessibility People Copyright 154

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JUNE 22, 2013

Each new content delivery system is eagerly tested by technically oriented blind individuals or the organizations serving them, often to result in disappointment and widespread advice to avoid wasting limited resources on inaccessible content. And these irritations pale next to the denial of access for people with disabilities.

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Measure Technology Audio eBook 181

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

SEPTEMBER 8, 2013

Last week, the National Federation of the Blind and 22 organizations serving people with disabilities filed detailed objections to a petition from a group of makers of e-reader devices led by Amazon to be exempted from accessibility requirements under the relatively new Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act.

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Accessibility Amazon Library eBook 133

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

AUGUST 19, 2013

We’ve started a Benetech blog that will feature voices from across our organization (one that is separate from my personal Beneblog ). a nonprofit organization whose mission is to support the independence of people with disabilities by promoting the use and improving the availability of accessible information technology.

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Site Accessibility Press Ideas 158

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

NOVEMBER 14, 2011

The newly formed organization initially based its demands on select parts of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and on the Prisoners of Conscience campaign. As an organization that monitors the changing conditions of human rights, AI – like other human rights organizations – undoubtedly must also change.

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International Asia Global University 133

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

DECEMBER 17, 2015

The international legal landscape for people with these disabilities dramatically changed on June 28, 2013, when the World Intellectual Property Organization adopted the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled. delegation signing the treaty.

Copyright 100

Copyright Law Library eBook 100

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

MAY 7, 2012

But, unrestricted funding is far harder to raise, because the donor is investing in the leadership of the organization as opposed to a specific set of deliverables. But, many of the others were eager to think through the challenges of adapting this model to their organization, and how it might work well.

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Fund Social Liberia Money 154

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JUNE 8, 2015

Benetech is organized as a nonprofit, but run like a business. Whether you are a nonprofit leader with a track record of using technology to improve outcomes, or a for-profit tech leader with a history of commitment to social justice organizations, we want to see a commitment to both sides. You’ve come to the right place: Benetech.

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Technology Literacy Social Uganda 100

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JUNE 23, 2010

with print disabilities, with more than 70,000 copyrighted works in our library, the majority of which have been created under the US copyright exception by volunteers, mainly people with disabilities themselves, helping each other. • We now have global permissions for around 8,000 copyrighted books out of our 70,000. •

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South Africa Copyright Ghana India 150

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JUNE 13, 2011

Rob is also a lecturer at Stanford Law School where he teaches the Law of Nonprofit Organizations. I particularly have appreciated his help with the SF chapter of the Social Enterprise Alliance, a national organization I helped found and am now the immediate past chair.

San Francisco 140

San Francisco Law Lecture Advice 140

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

DECEMBER 10, 2011

Both organizations work in the Caribbean, where sexual minorities face widespread violence, bigotry and marginalization. The new Martus will harness today’s emerging technologies in order to ensure that human rights organizations, journalists and other social justice actors achieve more with the invaluable stories that they collect.

International 150

International Guatemala Colombia Analysis 150

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

MARCH 29, 2016

That’s why Benetech is organized as a nonprofit: we can afford to work on exciting problems. Unfortunately, the economic model that works so well for creating wealth, falls short when it comes to helping the poor. Communities that most need our help are often the least able to afford it. We just have to find a way to break- even!

Money 100

Money Children Problem Model 100

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JANUARY 28, 2012

Kar was a forensic anthropologist who specialized in human rights cases, and she was a founders of our Colombian partner organization EQUITAS ). Patrick Ball, Benetech's Chief Scientist I am terribly sad to learn today of the untimely death of a friend and mentor, Dr. Karen Ramey Burns.

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Colombia Guatemala Haiti Mentoring 133

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JANUARY 7, 2013

With this new copyright exemption, local Indian organizations serving people with disabilities can now provide accessible formats of any book or periodical in India, much like the Chafee Amendment allows us to do in the United Sates.

India 225

India Literacy United Kingdom United States 225

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JANUARY 18, 2012

Part of my objective was to show the unintended consequences of Internet censorship bills like SOPA and PIPA (SOPA's Senate buddy bill), responding to alerts from organizations I trust like the Electronic Frontier Foundation. In November, I wrote a blog post entitled: Why I’m Scared of the SOPA bill.

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Site Copyright Wikipedia Law 185

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

MAY 4, 2015

Tomorrow, Tuesday May 5, 2015, is Silicon Valley Gives day, where donors from around the world will find their contributions to organizations based here matched by local donors. We have incredibly generous matching grants from two of our dedicated tech entrepreneur supporters, Bernie Newcomb and Lata Krishnan.

Giving 100

Giving United States Student Grant 100

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

NOVEMBER 25, 2013

A free, open source software application that allows users anywhere in the world to securely gather and organize information about human rights violations, Martus enables human rights defenders on the front lines of fighting abuse to stay safe and protects the identities of those who would face violence and repression for telling their stories.

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Burma Analysis Guatemala Law 168

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

FEBRUARY 19, 2014

The nexus for this work is the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the United Nations agency that deals with such matters. Apparently, the particular kind of collective license that the publishers were discussing was different, and involved going through the eighty-plus special Reproduction Rights Organizations (RROs).

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Accessibility License Copyright Library 247

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JULY 3, 2013

As organizations,” Osborne said, “we must liberate spending to focus on the promotion, learning and innovation around braille,” and recognize that we ought to embrace today’s changing economics and technology so that braille can be part of an equation which delivers access to information for all, not just to those who can afford it.

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Literacy eBook Images Accessibility 208

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

FEBRUARY 25, 2015

Chuck and I were involved with the founding of the Social Enterprise Alliance (SEA) in 2000, the nation’s association for organizations using the tools of business to accomplish social good. Chuck was the second chair of SEA and I succeeded him as the third chair. I have half a dozen great connections as a result.

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Impact Colorado Social San Francisco 100