About
Article 9
We are an English language-based Easy Read interpretation service. We can take your complex information and make it easier for people to read and understand.
While we are based in Aotearoa New Zealand, thanks to modern technology we can work with you no matter where you are in the world.
We work from a human-rights framework of disability, which means we see impairment as a natural part of human diversity and humanity, and believe that disabled people are entitled to the same rights and freedoms as non-disabled people.
This will be reflected in the words we use in our work.
Why are you called Article 9?
Article 9 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is about accessibility, which includes the right to accessible information.
What is Easy Read?
Easy Read is an alternate format of information, like sign language or Braille, and is more accessible for many people - people with low literacy, people with learning disability, the Deaf community, Autistic people, people with English as a second language, and the elderly.
Easy Read takes the principles of plain language and goes even further - by explaining hard concepts and acronyms, and avoiding most punctuation. It has strict formatting, such as the use of clear white space, images on the left/ text on the right, and it pairs sentences with meaningful images to help the reader and their support people to understand concepts.
(For those of you with a keen eye, you're right! This website is not in Easy Read.)
You can see samples of our Easy Read here.
Our Mission
More Easy Read information,
in more places, for more people.
Alexia Black
Founder of Article 9
I have been making Easy Read information and training Easy Read interpreters for over 15 years.
I founded and managed the first Easy Read service in Aotearoa New Zealand, run by People First New Zealand Ngā Tāngata Tuatahi, which is now the primary provider of Easy Read information to the New Zealand Government.
In 2017, I was honoured to present to the Secretariat of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the UN Languages service, alongside my friend and colleague, Sir Robert Martin KNZM.
Soon after this, the United Nations began to produce Easy Read information.
I have trained many interpreters over the years, and have run various projects within Aotearoa and internationally promoting the use of Easy Read.
To say I am passionate about access to information might be an understatement.
Who we work with
Waen Easy Read Service
Article 9 collaborates with Waen Easy Read Service in Australia to peer review the Easy Read information we make.
'At Waen Easy Read Service, we believe that everyone deserves access to clear, inclusive information.
With over a decade of experience, we specialise in best practice Easy Read translations and training, ensuring that people who face barriers to accessing information are included in the conversation.
Our Easy Read work is tested with target audiences, and we are committed to making communication more accessible - not just in specialist settings, but everywhere.'
Contact: waeneasyread@gmail.com
Change
Article 9 uses images from the Change Easy Read image bank, based in the UK.
We have a subscription to this service, and the images we use may not be reproduced without permission.