Portuguese live captions and productivity tool for lectures

Brazil's 2019 National Health Survey (IBGE PNS) found that 2.3 million people in the population aged 2 and above had hearing impairment affecting daily activities — representing 1.1% of the population, though older figures from the 2010 census cited approximately 10 million. Of those with hearing impairment in Brazil, 22.4% were acquainted with Brazilian Sign Language (Libras). Brazil's Libras Law (2002) and Decree 5.626/2005 require Libras interpreters in educational institutions, including universities — but implementation is incomplete. The law mandates what the institution cannot yet provide: there are not enough trained interpreters, and most university lecture halls have no captioning provision at all.

A review of educational rights for deaf people in Brazil found that approximately 67.6% of people with disabilities did not have schooling or had only incomplete primary education — compared to 30.9% for the general population. For those who do reach university, the lecture hall presents the same structural barrier as every other classroom: no captions, no interpreter unless arranged in advance, and an expectation of hearing that the infrastructure does not challenge (SCIRP, 2022). In Portugal, Língua Gestual Portuguesa (LGP) is constitutionally recognised — but interpreter provision at the university level remains limited and unevenly distributed.

A PMC study on hearing loss prevalence in a Brazilian city found that disabling hearing loss was significantly correlated with lower educational attainment, reduced employment, and reduced social participation (PMC7394619). These outcomes are not driven by the hearing loss itself but by the access gap it creates — in classrooms, in lecture halls, and in the informal interactions that accompany formal education. A deaf student in Brazil or Portugal who reaches university has already navigated years of that gap.