This is an online copy of the presentation delivered at the World Blind Union conference in São Paulo, Brazil, September 2025.
Session information
| Date: | September 3, 2025 |
| Time: | 14:30 – 16:00 |
| Group: | Simultaneous sessions – Group E |
| Session Number: | 2E |
| Venue: | Adilson Ventura Auditorium |
| Session Title: | Digital Access for All – Creating Inclusive Information Spaces |
| Session Moderator: | Simone Freire |
Speakers:
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You can read the presentation below, or download the PDF version of the slides only or a plain text version of the slides and notes.
Slide 1
NVDA: A resilient movement. Community-powered access for global inclusion.
James Boreham & Emma BennisonNV Access
WBU 2025, São Paulo
JB: Good afternoon. My name is James Boreham, General Manager from NV Access. Together with Emma Bennison, Director NV Access, We’ll be speaking about NVDA: a resilient movement, and how community-powered access is fostering global inclusion. NV Access was founded by blind people and is the Australian registered charity that develops, maintains and distributes the free and open source NVDA screen reader.
Slide 2
The Shared Challenge:
A global digital divide
- The digital world offers immense opportunity
- But access is not equal
- Cost and availability lock millions out of education and employment.
Slide 3
Our Solution: the NVDA model
- A different approach: Technology as a right, not a luxury
- Built on the principle: “Nothing About Us Without Us.“
- By the Blind, For the Blind means solutions are built from lived experience
- Empowering Local Leaders: We provide the tool; communities create the change on the ground
EB: To address this challenge, NV Access proposes a different approach: technology as a right, not a luxury. Our software, NVDA, is a professional-grade screen reader that is always free. NVDA is open-source, promoting global collaboration. NVDA is community-powered. This model is built on the core principle of our community: ‘Nothing About Us Without Us.’ Vision impaired individuals are our users as well as our designers, developers and testers, and NV Access Directors.
By the Blind, For the Blind means solutions are built from lived experience.
Empowering Local Leaders: We provide the tool; communities create the change on the ground.
Slide 4
NVDA: Non-Visual Desktop Access
A powerful, free, open-source screen reader for Microsoft Windows. It enables blind and vision-impaired people to access and interact with computers by reading the text on the screen in a synthesised voice or by output to Braille.
- Completely free, over 250k users in 175 different countries
- Supports over 55 languages
- Provides access to the web, email, office applications and popular software
- Developed and enhanced by a global community of vision impaired users
- 100% charitably funded / supported
JB: Before we talk about the movement, I want to make sure everyone is familiar with the tool that started it all. The title of our talk is ‘NVDA’, which stands for Non-Visual Desktop Access.
So, what is it? In simple terms, NVDA is a powerful, free, and open-source screen reader for Windows.
It gives a voice to the computer, allowing a blind or vision-impaired person to navigate the digital world. It reads what’s on the screen, from the name of an icon to the text in a document, and speaks it through a synthesised voice or outputs it to a refreshable Braille display.
I want to highlight four things that make NVDA different:
First, it is completely free. For anyone, anywhere. A student in São Paulo has the same access as a government worker in Geneva. This removes the significant financial barrier that often locks people out of education and employment. Second, it is globally accessible. Thanks to our incredible community of volunteers, NVDA speaks over 55 languages. This ensures that a user’s access to technology is not limited by their native language. NVDA is used in 175 countries across the world. Brazil and India are amongst our highest using countries. We also have users in countries such as Somalia, Chad, Vietnam, Samoa, Kazakhstan, Hungary and Egypt. Third, ‘free’ does not mean ‘basic’. NVDA provides access to the most essential tools people need today: browsing the web, writing emails, working with documents, and so much more. And finally, and most importantly for our talk today, it is community-driven. This isn’t software handed down from a corporation. It is built by and for the community it serves. This ensures it meets the real-world needs of its users.
This combination of being free, global, and powerful is what makes NVDA a catalyst for change. And that brings us to the global challenge we are all here to address…
Slide 5
The power of community:
A global network, a sustainable model
- Core Team: NV Access manages the software development process and develops training materials
- Volunteers: A global network of programmers and translators develop code and translations
- User Community: Thousands of users provide feedback and mutual support
- A Smart Investment: Funding development work benefits everyone (rather than charging per copy). This model has already saved hundreds of millions of dollars in licensing fees, re-investing that value back into the community
JB: The NVDA movement is powered by three groups working together. NV Access, a non-profit, provides the core team for stable development and professional training. We are supported by a network of global developers who volunteer their expertise to innovate. Most importantly, our community of hundreds of thousands of users provides invaluable feedback, local translation, and peer support. This model has a multiplier effect, whereby blind people have learnt NVDA, then they have then taught others in their community how to use NVDA, and contributed code and suggestions to improve NVDA. NVDA is a community multiplier, whereby we have empowered blind and vision impaired people around the world.
And this brings me to a crucial point about our model’s sustainability and impact. We made a conscious choice not to charge for every copy of NVDA. That approach creates barriers.
Instead, we ask organisations and individuals to fund our central development work. This is a far smarter investment. When a corporation, a government, or a foundation funds a new feature, they are funding it for every single NVDA user in the world, for free, forever.
Think about the scale of that. By funding the core, rather than needlessly charging per copy, this model has already resulted in massive, collective savings for individuals, governments, charities, and businesses worldwide. Easily amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars. That is money that can be re-invested into training, employment, and other vital services for the blind community. Microsoft, Google and Adobe continue to sponsor NV Access, and we work closely with them to ensure NVDA works effectively with their operating systems and software.
This is what makes our movement so resilient. It is not just about free software; it’s about building a more efficient and equitable system for digital access.
Slide 6
The Impact:
Breaking down barriers
- Education: Students can access learning materials from day one, at no cost
- Employment: Job seekers have a professional tool to compete in the workforce
- Independence: Individuals gain control over their digital lives
EB: The impact of this model is profound. Because NVDA is free, if students have access to a computer, they can access digital learning opportunities. NVDA gives job seekers a professional-level tool to compete in the modern workforce. Outside of work, NVDA helps individuals gain full control over their digital lives.
Slide 7
A Story of Impact: Emma Bennison
- A trusted friend recommended NVDA
- Tried NVDA and became a convert to NVDA, because of:
- Productivity
- Choice
- Values Alignment
EB: Was initially unsure about whether NVDA would meet my needs, particularly in the workplace A friend whose views I trusted convinced me to give it a try – he was using it exclusively, for work and personal needs and loving it Once I tried it I quickly became a convert due to: Productivity: it performed as well if not better than other screen readers for workplace use, was more responsive and crashed less often, making me more productive Choice: I could install it anywhere without the hassle of licensing, giving me the freedom to use any computer and to help sighted friends and colleagues with tech challenges Values alignment: I believe that all blind people should have access to a freely available, powerful screen reader, whether they use it for work, life admin, study or entertainment. The fact that NVDA is developed by blind people, for blind people is important to me because I believe passionately in the value of blind leadership and the benefits of peer support, both values embodied by NV access and the reason I am so privileged to be a Director.
Slide 8
Join the Movement:
A Call to Action for Leaders
We are not here to sell a product. We are here to promote a philosophy of access.- As leaders in the global blind community, you are in a unique position to champion this cause
- We invite you to become an advocate for a more inclusive world
- In Government & Policy: Advocate for the inclusion of free and open-source assistive technology in public policy. Champion the creation of sustainable, national-level support systems
- In Education: Integrate NVDA into your technology curriculum to empower the next generation with essential skills
- In Your Community: Amplify this message. Be a local voice for access and help us with translation and localisation to ensure everyone can participate in their own language
JB: Join the Movement: A Call to Action for Leaders We are not here to sell a product. We are here to promote a philosophy of access. As leaders in the global blind community, you are in a unique position to champion this cause. We invite you to become an advocate for a more inclusive world. In Government & Policy: Advocate for the inclusion of free and open-source assistive technology in public policy. Champion the creation of sustainable, national-level support systems.
EB: In Education: Integrate NVDA into your technology curriculum to empower the next generation with essential skills. In Your Community: Amplify this message. Be a local voice for access and help us with translation and localisation to ensure everyone can participate in their own language.
Slide 9
Let’s Continue the Conversation
The movement for global inclusion is built on collaboration. We want to work with you to understand the needs of your community and build a more accessible future together.Collaborate with us:
Download and explore NVDA for free:Questions
JB: Let’s Continue the Conversation The movement for global inclusion is built on collaboration. We want to work with you to understand the needs of your community and build a more accessible future together. We invite you to collaborate with us: [email protected] [email protected] ([email protected] Download and explore NVDA for free from the NV Access website: www.nvaccess.org/download or visit: www.nvaccess.org
Questions from the floor? JB: We would now be happy to take any questions you may have.