Australian Story: June 5

Monday’s Australian Story profiles two friends who created open-source screen reader for blind people around the world.

Mick Curran and Jamie Teh were childhood friends who bonded over their love of music and technology.

As their friendship grew, so did their idea to transform the world for people just like them. Mick and Jamie are both blind.

The pair first met at braille music camp in NSW aged 9 and 10 and reconnected six years later.

These two teenage computer nerds were frustrated that they had to buy expensive screen-reading software to make their computers accessible.

“Why should a blind person have to pay an extra thousand dollars in order to use a computer?”, asks Mick.

They set about changing that by creating a piece of screen-reading software and giving it away for free.

“It was absolutely life changing because it meant that people could suddenly access everything that the internet has to offer, for free”, says Jen Teh, Jamie’s wife.

The software is now used by some 275,000 people in over 150 countries and has been translated into 50 languages.

The pair might have made money out of their product, but they’ve resisted the temptation to commercialise it.

“There needs to be a free, open-source screen reader for blind people around the world. And we are never, ever going to sacrifice that”, insists Mick Curran.

“Blind people have the capacity to help our own kind. I don’t think we always do need to rely on sighted people.”

Monday, 5 June, 8pm on ABC.