ISSN: 1579-9794

Hikma 24 (Número especial II) (2025), 1 - 4

MARCUS-QUINN, ANN; KREJTZ, KRZYSZTOF & DUARTE,

CARLOS TRANSFORMING MEDIA ACCESSIBILITY IN EUROPE. DIGITAL

MEDIA, EDUCATION AND CITY SPACE ACCESSIBILITY CONTEXTS.

SWITZERLAND, SPRINGER, 2024, 428 PP., ISBN 978-3-031-60048-

The evolution of media accessibility has undergone several

technological shifts (the analog, digital, and data-driven eras), in each of which

the collaboration of different actors (content creators, developers, accessibility

experts, disability communities and regulators, etc.) has been a staple in the

evolution of accessibility. Even if the development of media accessibility gains

momentum (Mazur 2020, Mangiron 2022, Neves 2022), works on accessibility

have tended to focus on part of the discipline (usually just from a research

perspective), such as audio description, regardless of their introductory

(Maszerowska, Matamala & Orero 2014, Fryer 2016) or comprehensive

nature (Taylor & Perego 2022). Sometimes media accessibility has been

included as a subdiscipline belonging to audiovisual translation (Bogucki &

Deckert 2020), or sometimes books on media accessibility only focus on very

specific areas, such accessibility in museums, for instance (Perego 2023). In

this vein, Transforming Media Accessibility in Europe arises as a

comprehensive exploration of the legal, technological, psychological, and

societal aspects of media accessibility. It is the result of the European

Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) Action LEAD-ME, which

brings together researchers, educators, and practitioners to examine the

critical role of media accessibility in four areas: “Outside the Screen”,

“Inclusive Art and Society”, “Learning and Education”, and “Technological

Innovations for Accessibility”.

In “Outside the Screen”, the first chapter establishes Tourism 5.0 as a

holistic alternative to the current concept of digital accessibility. The second

chapter explores accessibility in public transport, focusing on the case study

of Warsaw and the challenges faced by individuals with disabilities in urban

spaces. The third chapter highlights the growing discussion of accessibility in

museums and focuses on the diversity of methods and the need for a balance

between objective and subjective audio descriptions. The fourth chapter

presents an eye-tracking experiment that gives rise to the concept of “Gaze-

Led Audio Description” and its application for the accessibility of architectural

cultural heritage. The fifth chapter outlines the significant challenges that

people with disabilities encounter when they try to access higher education

and employment. Even if these chapters include innovative methodologies

(such as eye-tracking), or emerging applications of accessibility (such as

museums or educational environments), this first section lacks a deeper

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Hikma 24 (Número especial II) (2025), 1 - 4

analysis of underexplored accessibility modes (such as sign language

interpreting) and a plural view of European accessibility beyond certain

countries is absent.

In “Inclusive Art and Society”, the sixth chapter addresses the potential

of insurgent digital constitutionalism in establishing legal frameworks that

ensure Internet security for both users and online platform managers. The

seventh chapter presents the results of MediaVerse project aimed at

designing and testing a framework to allow professionals and laymen to

publish multimedia content that may be easily shared. The eighth chapter

details how local museums have worked with academics to foster full cultural

participation for people with sensory disabilities through digital technology,

typhlographics, Braille books, and spatial objects, as well as offering sign

language interpreted lectures, meetings, trips, and movie screenings. The

ninth chapter identifies innovative practices for creating accessible

multisensory exhibitions which blur the boundaries of the conventional concert

hall and exhibition space. This section focuses on current pressing topics,

such as digital constitutionalism, virtual reality, cultural participation in

museums from an accessible perspective, and multisensory exhibitions,

although the same limitations already mentioned persist in this section.

In “Learning and Education”, the tenth chapter presents a descriptive

systematic review of media accessibility and inclusivity in education. The

eleventh chapter investigates the dynamics of media accessibility in

education, current challenges and gaps in the literature. The twelfth chapter

explores and compares the media accessibility features offered and

adherence to established standards and provides educators, institutions, and

learners with valuable insights. The thirteenth chapter explores accessibility

features common to many school eBooks and highlights problematic issues

associated with eBooks that have not been prepared with accessibility

considerations as part of the publication process. The fourteenth chapter

presents a case study which assesses the accessibility of online educational

content, with a specific focus on second-language learning videos. The

fifteenth chapter analyses the curricula of translation courses in Turkey,

Portugal, and Lithuania and identifies the need for practical recommendations

on how teaching and assessment methods could ensure equal possibilities.

The sixteenth chapter reviews the last decade of research in educational

games and game accessibility. The seventeenth chapter shows how the

Digital Literacy Pedagogical Sessions have been exploited to empower and

nurture young people’s postdigital futures. The eighteenth chapter focuses on

the creation of non-professional audio description by secondary school

students. The nineteenth chapter examines the use of assistive technologies

designed to comprehend the challenges faced by individuals with hearing

Reseñas 3

Hikma 24 (Número especial II) (2025), 1 - 4

impairments. Even if this section addresses the emerging topic of education

and accessibility from a myriad of perspectives, and the situation of

accessibility in countries like Turkey or Lithuania is explained, the presence of

minoritized languages or the inclusion of more linguistic diversity limits the

scope of the section.

In “Technological Innovations for Accessibility”, the twentieth chapter

examines how media accessibility training is being provided by university

instructors and how this training aims to enable academic researchers and

professionals to acquire the necessary knowledge to meet the needs of the

deaf and blind communities. The twenty-first chapter describes the use of

digital media tools in Ukraine to ensure accessibility and inclusivity in all areas

of everyday life. The twenty-second chapter discusses the goal-directed

therapeutic dialogue system that they have developed to provide additional

therapy sessions for psychiatric patients where there is limited access to

medical personnel. The final chapter focuses on subtitling for the D/deaf and

hard of hearing and the need for standardization in sound effects and music.

All things considered, it must be noted that it is not until the last chapter of the

book that we can find a contribution focused entirely on subtitling for the

D/deaf and hard of hearing, which supports our view that the book lacks some

balance in terms of the representation of the different accessibility modes.

In conclusion, Transforming Media Accessibility in Europe looks

towards the future, providing insights into emerging trends and challenges in

media accessibility. It equips readers with the knowledge to navigate the

evolving digital landscape, emphasizing the ongoing need for innovation,

awareness, and collaboration to achieve a truly inclusive and accessible

media environment. This publication is an essential read for academics,

policymakers, industry professionals, and advocates seeking a deep

understanding of media accessibility. However, being a book with a European

scope in mind, it would have been the perfect opportunity to promote a

stronger presence of media accessibility in other European countries or

languages beyond the ones appearing recurrently in media accessibility

research (such as Italy, Poland, or Spain, among others). Moreover, any

comprehensive book on media accessibility should include sign language

interpreting, a discipline that tends to be overlooked among media

accessibility researchers, and it should also address different accessibility

modes in a more balanced way. Finally, even if the title frames the book in

Europe, a possible continuation might benefit from a wider scope to address

media accessibility worldwide, so that African, Asian, or American voices can

be heard too. All in all, Transforming Media Accessibility in Europe proves to

be a valuable contribution that will benefit researchers and practitioners on

media accessibility.

4 Alejandro Romero-Muñoz

Hikma 24 (Número especial II) (2025), 1 - 4

REFERENCES

Bogucki, L. & Deckert, M. (2020). The Palgrave Handbook of Audiovisual

Translation and Media Accessibility. Palgrave Macmillan.

Fryer, L. (2016). An Introduction to audio description: a practical guide.

Routledge.

Mangiron, C. (2022). Audiovisual translation and multimedia and game

localization. In F. Zanettin & C. Rundle (Eds.), The Routledge handbook

of translation and methodology (pp. 410-424). Routledge.

Maszerowska, A., Matamala, A. & Orero, P. (2014). Audio description: New

perspectives illustrated. John Benjamins.

Mazur, I. (2020). Audio Description: Concepts, Theories and Research

Approaches. In Ł. Bogucki & M. Deckert (Eds.), The Palgrave

Handbook of Audiovisual Translation and Media Accessibility (pp. 227-

247), Palgrave Macmillan.

Neves, J. (2022). Translation and accessibility. The translation of everyday

things. In F. Zanettin & C. Rundle (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of

translation and methodology, (pp. 441-456). Routledge.

Perego, E. (2023). Audio Description for the Arts a Linguistic Perspective.

Routledge.

[ALEJANDRO ROMERO-MUÑOZ]