Information on the website of the Seimas is now available in audio

Press release, 12 April 2021

The most up-to-date information on the activities of the Seimas and its decisions is now available in audio rather than only in written format. The website of the Seimas can offer this option after having installed the neural text-to-speech synthesis service to convert press releases and announcements published on the Seimas website into audio speech output.

Thanks to this service, the visually impaired will now find it easier to follow and participate in Lithuania’s political life and learn relevant information first-hand. This initiative of the Office of the Seimas contributes to equal opportunities and narrowing of the digital divide for people with disabilities, as well as greater access to the information and openness of the institution. The text-to-speech conversion of press releases and announcements may also prove useful to people who have no time for reading but wish to learn about the most recent developments at the Parliament first-hand.  

The neural text-to-speech synthesis, as a technology adapted to serve the needs of the Seimas, has been developed by scientists at Vytautas Magnus University. In addition to this, the Office of the Seimas, in cooperation with the University, also plans to employ a single-language transcription tool developed by scientists and researchers of the University to convert audio records into text documents.

Information and Communication Department, Office of the Seimas,

tel. +370 5 239 6666, e-mail: [email protected]