DAISY 10th Anniversary April 2006, Princeton
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
It is with a combination of passion and honor that I address you this
evening in celebration of the DAISY Consortium’s 10th Anniversary.
All of us here tonight are aware of the global importance of DAISY’s
mission. In an effort to foster this mission over the last ten years,
DAISY’s progress and accomplishments are many.
As I look out into the audience, I see examples of our history and our
future. DAISY’s association with each of you is a cherished and
priceless accomplishment. Some of you have been with DAISY from
the very beginning.
Hiroshi, Stephen, Kjell, and Bernhard…we must applaud you for
providing our genesis. You have been with DAISY from its inception.
Margaret, Francisco, Maarten, Elke, Keun Hae, Arne, Tim and John,
you have been instrumental in our formative years and have helped to
build the base for DAISY’s decade to come.
Therefore it would have been wonderful to overwhelm you with a
never ending flow of birthday presents. Indeed it would be appropriate
to simply disseminate presents and acknowledgements for everybody
present, members, friends, supporters, DAISY “observers”, our total
community.
Unfortunately, the budget of the Consortium is completely spoken for,
and therefore I have had to repeatedly struggle to decide who is going
to have a symbolic present at this historic occasion, and who is not.
In fact that is about the only thing I am entitled to decide upon - so I
will enjoy that much and turn back to this issue a little later. For now I
can disclose the secret that I have brought 4 “birthday” presents with
me and you can start wondering about who will most likely be the
happy recipients.
They could be individuals from different places around the world, for
our out reach is world-wide, as is the support given to the DC.
DAISY may be found on six continents and is produced in a multitude
of languages. Organizations and businesses that have joined DAISY
are representative of diverse cultures and demographics. DAISY is not
governed by social or economic status. DAISY is about sharing the
vision and believing in the commitment to create equal access.
DAISY is a better way to read and a better way to publish, and, DAISY
is still in the process of revolutionizing the reading experience with
open standards and an increasing number of playback devices and
reading systems.
As we look ahead, we know that there is still a great body of work to
be done. We are committed to working with our Members and Friends
in collaborative, proactive efforts. I’m pleased to recognize our
Friends who are present here, Humanware, Benetech, and Telex, in
these efforts.
DAISY was formed 10 years ago because there was a need. There was
a need for a better way, a better way to read and publish. I am proud
to say that with the help from all of you, we have continued to perfect
DAISY and make technological advances that keep DAISY in the
forefront, meeting the needs of our diverse world. We are working on
realistic advances that will truly allow DAISY to be adopted into the
mainstream. The outcomes of the Urakawa project will play a
significant role in this.
We realize that we all have different talents and skills. The beauty of
our collaborative efforts will be realized in our successes as a group of
people fostering a unified mission.
Today we are enjoying DAISY’s 10th anniversary party. As I
mentioned earlier, I have decided to take the opportunity to pay a
special tribute to four individuals, who I will ask to come up here and
receive a symbolic acknowledgement of their contribution:
Angey Johnson, Lynn Leith, George Kerscher, and John Churchill.
Angey Johnson, working for RFB&D – Thank you for your enthusiastic
and all round commitment to this arrangement. Every time I have
emailed you with one of my many questions and concerns, you have
answered and solved all kinds of problem, easily. You facilitated the
meeting processes over the past couple of days very professionally.
You have done a very good job. It has been a pleasure meeting you
and working with you.
Lynn Leith CNIB 50% and 50% DAISY Consortium. For as long as I
remember, Lynn has been with the DAISY Consortium. Lynn you are
doing a wonderful job. You are always contributing in a very qualified
and thorough manner. You are stable, you are flexible and you take
over and take part wherever needed, be it training, development of
production tools, drafting the Annual Reports or helping to establish a
Knowledge Network.
I have several times recognized the value of your approach to DAISY
and I appreciate it a lot. I am also fond of your abilities when it comes
to designing a garden and virtually make I flourish.
John Churchill, senior vice-president with RFB&D and on the DAISY
Board for as long as I can remember. John is a highly skilled engineer
by profession, but during his career he has extended his scope and
now he contributes in a variety of ways in terms of management,
leadership and political issues.
John is a multifaceted person who tends to be fairly modest and rather
quiet about all the different issues that may occupy his mind. Through
our years of acquaintance, I have however managed to draw some of
John’s ‘secrets’ from him. Therefore I know that he speaks Spanish
quite fluently, he works hard, he loves football and his family, and,
over the past couple of years he has also been focused upon healthy
living. He’s almost a vegetarian now, has trimmed down a great deal,
and runs 5 kilometers a day. I’ve even found out that John is a
motorcycle enthusiast. Well done, indeed.
I would like to thank you John for the beautiful arrangements that you
have provided us with. Thanks for good company, and for your high
spirits. It is a great pleasure working with you.
George Kerscher, a little bit of RFB&D and Secretary General of the DC
125% (though only paid for about 75% - the remaining part is a
voluntary contribution from George to the DAISY Consortium). In
many respects George is the Daisy Consortium, at least in North
America. These past months he has also started approaching the
European Community so we have high hopes for the future in terms of
DAISY breakthrough to the mainstream in this part of the world.
For George, DAISY is not a job, it is a LIFE STYLE. And we cannot
thank him sufficiently for all the contributions that he makes. George
is a visionary, hardworking, persistent, and courageous person. He is a
friendly man, he knows what he wants and he normally gets it. He has
learned a trick, he goes on and on and on and at the end of the day –
or the night if that is needed – until he has reached the desired
outcome.. Very effective! Very instructive!
Especially in North America, George Kerscher has marketed the DAISY
idea convincingly, and due to George’s efforts and his way of working,
North American society recognizes and respects the DAISY Standard
and the DAISY Consortium. This is a fact reflected in the intake of new
Members and Friends from this part of the world, and is also
demonstrated by all of the different responsibilities in terms of
chairmanships, board memberships, advisory boards and other
responsibilities that George is trusted with.
George and I work closely together. We do not always agree, but as
time goes by we have developed a constructive and mutually enriching
modus vivendi. Dear George, your capacity impresses me, I respect
you deeply and I am happy to say that I think of you not only as a
colleague and SG but also as a personal friend.
On behalf of the DC I would like to end this speech by expressing to all
attendants my profound gratitude for your support, your initiatives and
your enthusiasm toward DAISY, we could do nothing without it. I truly
believe though, that together we will continue to accomplish significant
work for the greater good and lead the change to achieve our mutual
goals.
Elsebeth Tank