Speech Synthesis Workshop - International top conference on speech technology

From August 24 to 26, 2025, Stadsschouwburg De Harmonie in Leeuwarden will be the venue for the 13th Speech Synthesis Workshop. More than 150 experts from academia and industry will gather to answer a pressing question: how can machines speak naturally, human-like, and inclusively? The fact that this conference is taking place in Fryslân is no coincidence. This is a place where language and identity are deeply intertwined. With Campus Fryslân innovative AI technology with social impact has been developed here for years. The focus is on the future—and on who will be heard in it.

Matt Coler, professor of speech technology at the UG Campus:
“In the Blizzard Challenge, international teams are working on the first speech synthesizer in Bildts. A world first with Frisian roots: Bildts, a regional language from northwest Fryslân, will thus get a digital voice. Language diversity is important for speech technology that sounds more human.”