evidoria

← Back to browse

Good practice Imported

ConVerTIC — Colombia's Free National Screen-Reader and Magnifier Licensing Program

Colombia · Bogotá · See the Colombia profile · See the Bogotá profile

Evidence: Observational / pre–post Top 55% 72/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Since 2013, Colombia's ICT Ministry has given over a million blind and low-vision citizens free, unlimited licences to the JAWS screen reader and ZoomText magnifier — one of Latin America's first national programs distributing assistive software as a public service.

100,000 downloads
Downloads in first six months after launch (late 2013 – mid 2014)
1,060,000+ people
Cumulative beneficiaries reached (by mid-2020s)

Details

Maturity
Established
Promoter
Ministerio de Tecnologías de la Información y las Comunicaciones (MinTIC) — ConVerTIC
Period
2013–present
Keywords
digital accessibility, assistive technology, disability inclusion, public ICT policy

Context

ConVerTIC is a programme of Colombia's Ministry of Information Technologies and Communications (MinTIC) that gives people with visual disabilities free, unlimited access to two commercial assistive-technology tools: the JAWS screen reader, which converts on-screen text to speech, and the ZoomText magnifier, which enlarges and adjusts the contrast of on-screen content up to 16 times.

Activities

Licences are downloaded from a government portal and work offline on Windows PCs after installation, alongside manuals and video tutorials. The programme launched in late 2013.

Results

The programme reported around 100,000 downloads within its first six months, against Colombia's estimated 1.2 million people with visual disabilities at the time. By the mid-2020s, MinTIC and the independent broadcaster Radio Nacional de Colombia both reported that ConVerTIC had reached more than 1,060,000 beneficiaries nationwide, describing it as one of the first initiatives of its kind in Latin America.

Conclusions

The reported figures are cumulative downloads and licence activations self-published by MinTIC rather than results of an independent outcome evaluation, so they measure software reach rather than verified gains in employment, education or independence. The programme is also Windows-only and depends on continued government funding, which limits it for users on other operating systems or without a compatible PC.

Implementation
Indicative cost
High (€500k–€5M)
Time to results
Long (> 3 years)
Staffing & skills
Administered by MinTIC's digital-inclusion programme; licences are self-service downloads from a government portal, supported by manuals and video tutorials rather than in-person assistance

Conditions for success

  • Free, unlimited licensing of costly commercial assistive software (JAWS, ZoomText) removes a major cost barrier for people with visual disabilities
  • Requires only a compatible Windows PC and works fully offline once installed

Common failure modes

  • Windows-only, which excludes users on other operating systems or without a compatible PC
  • Depends on continued government funding to keep licences free and up to date

Where it fits

Governance type
national government
Scale
national
Income level
upper-middle-income

Commonly funded by

National / regional programmes

Indicative funding routes for practices of this type — always check each programme's current calls and eligibility rules.

Do you run this practice? Claim it — verified implementers get a public contact pathway and can propose corrections.

Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

Similar practices you may find useful