On March 27, Astana hosted the presentation of a screen speaker in Kazakh language designed to facilitate access to information for visually impaired people. This innovative tool, developed by specialists of the Sh. Shayakhmetov National Scientific and Practical Center “Til-Qazyna”, provides unique opportunities for visually impaired users.
The on-screen speaker works in various browsers and is able to function offline after installing and configuring the necessary parameters, even without an Internet connection. This opens new horizons for people with disabilities, allowing them to access information in Kazakh without obstacles.
The event was attended by the Chairman of the Language Policy Committee of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Yerbol Tileshov, and the Deputy of the Majilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kenzhegul Seytzhan, and the NU Expert Manager on Assistive Technologies and Access to Information, Ziyat Abdikaimov. They expressed their support for this innovative project and emphasized its importance for ensuring accessibility of information in the state language.
Musagali Dauylov, lawyer and tester of the project, in his online speech from Aqtobe, shared his impressions and expressed gratitude to the authors of the project for their work. And Makpal Zhumabai, General Director of “Til-Qazyna” in her speech emphasized that this project, aimed at the interests of citizens with special needs in the country, is based on innovative technologies.
Currently, according to the World Health Organization, more than 160 thousand citizens with visual impairments live in Kazakhstan, of which about 85 thousand are officially registered. Therefore, the Screen Narrator application, created based on global standards, will become an indispensable tool for these for all those who face visual disabilities, providing them with easy access to web pages, e-mails and documents in Kazakh.