Dina — Nepal's First Text-to-Speech Voice Co-Designed With Blind and Low-Vision Youth

On 3 December 2024, UNICEF and the ATscale Global Partnership for Assistive Technology launched 'Dina' (दिना), a free, open-source Nepali-language text-to-speech voice aimed at improving digital accessibility for people with visual impairments in Nepal.
The software runs on Windows and Android and can be installed as an add-on for the TalkBack, NVDA and other SAPI-5-compatible screen readers, giving Nepali-speaking users of common assistive tools access to a dedicated, realistic Nepali voice where none existed before.
Before launch, UNICEF and ATscale worked with roughly 15 young volunteers with visual impairments who tested the software and provided feedback used to refine pronunciation and usability — a documented, if small-scale, formative-evaluation step.
Dina is one of four under-represented-language voices produced through the same ATscale-funded programme, alongside Turkmen, Setswana and a southern-dialect Vietnamese voice. No public data on downloads, active users or measured reading-access outcomes has been published since the launch, so demonstrated reach beyond the initial testing group remains limited.

Read the full analysis: https://louderpages.org/atscale-global-partnership-four-new-languages/