Founder of the non-governmental organisation Talking Tipps Africa, Gifty Ayoka was among the distinguished personalities invited to speak at the recently concluded 2nd International Conference on Language Technologies by UNESCO in Paris.

The event, held from February 24 to 26, was part of the celebration of International Mother Language Day.

Ms Ayoka, who also serves as the Community Engagement Lead at the Centre for Digital Language Inclusion (CDL), shared insights on an ongoing project by CDL in partnership with the University of Ghana and Talking Tipps Africa.

The initiative aims to build Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) models in Ghana, enabling individuals with speech impairments to access life-changing digital assistive technologies.

As part of this initiative, CDL and its partners are currently leading efforts to collect non-standard speech data in Ghanaian languages.

This research builds upon Google’s work on non-standard speech and is supported by UK aid funding. Additionally, CDL is leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) to create inclusive communication solutions where they are most needed.

This includes training organisations and individuals on how to use these innovative tools, ensuring no one is left behind.

Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) is transforming the ability of people with non-standard speech to communicate.

The widespread use of mobile devices, along with free-access apps, is making ASR more accessible, convenient, and less stigmatizing for individuals with slurred or difficult-to-understand speech.

The Centre for Digital Language Inclusion (CDLI) is at the forefront of pioneering inclusive ASR solutions for people with non-standard speech worldwide.

The 2nd International Conference on Language Technologies for All (LT4All 2025) was held under the theme: “Advancing Humanism through Language Technologies.” Its objective was to further the agenda of language technologies with a focus on community empowerment.

The conference explored the relationship between technology, languages, and their communities from scientific, technical, cultural, linguistic, economic, political, and ethical perspectives. It aimed to harness technology not only for its advancement but also to support and enhance individuals’ capabilities.

LT4All 2025 was organised by ELRA and SIGUL, the ELRA/ISCA Special Interest Group on Under-resourced Languages, in partnership with UNESCO.

The event brought together scientific and technological solution providers, as well as representatives of linguistic communities, to discuss innovative language solutions.

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