Seminar “Growth of the Sign Language in the Education of Deaf Children” - 27JAN

Dear Friends and Supporters

It is with great pleasure that I invite you to participate in the seminar(s) of Dr. Jim Kyle and Ms. Linda Day. Development is taking place in Cyprus as a result of our inclusion into the EU and we are hoping to learn a lot from the experiences of these academics and the Centre of Deaf Studies at Bristol University concerning research into and use of the Sign Language. I am looking forward to being immursed in the use of the International Sign Language by Jim and Linda. The continued development of a common language is a very unique characteristic of the Deaf community world wide.

Our major objective of this visit is to invigorate the Deaf community and challenge Cyprus as a whole in its awareness and use of Sign Language, especially in education. Confidence in the Deaf community and the meaningful use of Sign is correlated to the positive acknowledgement of the hearing community at large. Sign is used on all of the major TV stations on the island during afternoon news bulletins, the last Parliament of Cyprus passed legislation recognizing Sign as a language, and there is an increasing use of Sign interpreters in classrooms and at the School for the Deaf in Nicosia.

The original school for the Deaf was bi-communal and my work with the Deaf has always been influenced by this reality and the healthy international nature of the Deaf community. Communication with Mr. Arif Yetkin, Principal at the School for the Deaf, Deaf leadership in the Turkish Cypriot community and the Management Centre have all been rewarding. I am encouraged by the efforts of my Turkish Cypriot student Munevver Gruel, psychology student at Intercollege. I believe that the use of the International Sign Language will be a major opportunity for Deaf that attend this event, and the Deaf have always thrived in communication, since 2002.....Please contact us to express your interest to attend and I will do everything within my power to accomodate this attendence.

I know that it is a very short notice for the community however, I am hoping that we will have some presence of the Deaf community on both days and that some interested representation of teachers, parents and the community (English language knowledge will be necessay) can be included! This part of our community is in contact and is an important bridge in our community.

Below I have included a brief summary of the program for the major two days.

Day 1; Friday, January 26, – Deaf workshop: Day 1 is deaf focused - hearing are not in group discussions; but can take part in the plenary sessions or initial lectures. First sessions will be held in the afternoon 4-9.

Day 2; Saturday, January 27 – hearing professionals and parents ... & Deaf

Session 1: Introduction and explanation of Centre of Deaf Studies (Jim Kyle & Linda Day)

Session 2; Sign language, what is it and why it is important to be fluent. Why sign language is different from spoken language; who can learn sign language. How to use the signstation at CDS. (Linda Day)

Session 3; Sign language acquisition – the early stages - why deaf do not have a problem. (JK)

Session 4: Sign language at home - the deaf family and sign language use for hearing parents (LD)

Session 5; Bilingualism at home and at school - impact and practices; how to become bilingual. (JK)

Each session to be supported by notes. Each session summary to be translated to Greek for participants. Graphs and figures in slides to have Greek captions.

Use of module (CDS learning environment) with content which they can access and some quizzes.

Sincerely

Steve Price

Powerful television PSA

Check out this very powerful public service announcent from the European Disability Forum (France)

Upcoming visit from Bristol Uni

Dear Friends and Colleagues


Although we consider ourselves to be a new part of the E.U., life on the margins of Europe is a new challenge for many Cypriots. Reinventing one's self through education and restructuring our goals and ambitions is a challenge to everyone; the Deaf community is no stranger to these realities. As a relatively young tertiary institution, Intercollege underderstands this reality and has stood by the Deaf community for the last 10 years. There are an increasing number of students supporting and participating in the work of the Deaf community.

The cooperation between Intercollege and the Cyprus Federation of the Deaf has a lot to gain from an awaited visit of Jim Kyle and Linda Day from Bristol University's Deaf Studies Centre scheduled to take place this January 25-28th. Dr. Kyle has made a proposal to do some pilot research and we are proceeding to finish off the preliminary findings to discuss when they arrive. The Sign on Europe research carried out in 1997 can offer a timely point of comparison for the Cypriot community since the Parliment passed legislation in 2006 recognizing Cy Sign and supporting its development and use. We will share this information with parents, teachers and government officials to increase awareness and fruitful interaction.

You are all included in this e-mail 'to be informed'! In some way in the past, you have touched the Cypriot Deaf community. Cyprus, although divided, has a unique Deaf community on the periphery of Western developments in the international Deaf community. Through our experiences, we are actively evolving from the 'simple club life' to the complex community and cultural awareness. In our judgement this will become stronger through the improvement of meaningful and constructive relationships.

Given this opportuntiy, I hope that your hands are prepared to join us in any way that you can.


Sincerely

Yiannis Yiannakides, President of the Cyprus Federation of the Deaf

Steven Price, Senior Lecturer of Social Science, Intercollege

Better news windows?

I was pleased to have noticed that one of the local-private TV stations have enlarged the window for the sign-language reporter during the news (5pm) broadcast. It now takes up half the screen! This is much better compared to the “thumbnail window” they used to have. The only draw back is that the sign-language reporter disappears regularly and is not substituted with subtitles. Kind of defeats the purpose if you ask me. I understand if they haven’t the time to subtitle hot news that comes in… but at least keep the sign-language reporter on screen and interpret live!

Unions have been fighting for better news broadcasting for the deaf for a while now. Here’s an article “Request for better news in sign-language” (31 March 2006)

CyTA (Cyprus Telecommunication Authority) says that “the situation will improve with the future introduction of digital television”. Hang on a minute! They’re already broadcasting programs over MiVision – “carries digital sound and vision through a telephone line and delivers it through a Set-Top Box to the customer’s TV.”

Now, since everything is in place, would someone please tell me how difficult is it to start a local Deaf Channel?

Deaf Soap Opera?

Local soap operas are very popular here. Not that I pay attention, but I do know they have substantial ratings compared to other programmes; either local or international.
Here’s a thought, wouldn’t it be interesting if one or more actors in a particular show were deaf characters? Wouldn’t this raise awareness about deaf culture in Cyprus? I'd imagine it would make an interesting series. I might even tune in!

Films on the Deaf in Cyprus

I completely forgot to mention that while I was working for
Intercollege’s TV & Radio Unit (academic/commercial TV & Audio production studio in Nicosia) I was the primary camera operator for a series of videos that were produced for the deaf community (4 in total). I must find out how these videos were distributed.
Below is some info along with screen grabs of each production.

This educational series explores the issue of hearing loss in children. It will be useful for any and all persons who come into contact with the hearing impaired children. The series consists of four films covering the following topics:

Your Deaf Child – Myth and Reality

Introductory film. Useful information for parents who have just learnt that their child has a hearing impairment.

Mainstreaming hearing impaired students in the Cypriot educational system

Useful information for classroom teachers who have hearing impaired students in their classes.

Hearing loss and technology

How technology and medical science can assist individuals with hearing impairments.

Communication methods

Available choices in communication and educational approaches for hearing impaired children.


Coordinator: Pancyprian Parents Association of Hearing Impaired Children
Producer: Intercollege TV & Radio Unit
Director: George Sycallides
Sponsor: United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS)

For more info call +357 99 875342, +357 99 631289

Caroline says...

Exclusively Caroline says,

… in Scandinavians countries sign language was recognised as an official language at least two decades ago - which means the resources were available for parents of young deaf children. Free sign language classes were available and the majority of hearing people in countries such as Finland or Sweden are very deaf aware. At the same time, employment prospects for deaf and hard of hearing people in Europe are pretty poor. This differs from country to country…

Two UK Deaf Documentaries

I met UK Producer/Director Rosa Rogers at EsoDoc (3week Social Documentary Workshop). Two of her documentaries truly inspired me. "Dragon People" follows a young photographer through China and the second one "The Greatest Show on Earth" introduces viewers to the wonderful world of samba dancing. What makes these documentaries special is that all the characters are deaf. Fantastic!

DRAGON PEOPLE (2006)

Photographer Louise Gibson goes on a journey through modern China, entering the world of China’s 20m ‘Dragon People’. In Beijing she meets state workers fearful for their future, older people reflecting on changes over the last 25 years and young people left out of the economic boom. In rural China she discovers how different life is to China’s fast growing ‘super cities’. A portrait of life in China as it heads towards becoming the most powerful economy in the world.

THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH (2006)

25 year old Nana Twum Danso loves to dance. It’s how she expresses herself and makes her feel free. Profoundly deaf since birth, Nana feels music rather than hearing it – “I feel it tingling on my skin.. it’s like an angel, lifting me”. We follow Nana on the challenge of a lifetime - to learn samba, one of the fastest dances in the world, and perform in the Rio Carnival. Put amongst some of Rio’s top dancers, with just a week to learn, will she make it through?

Both of these documentaries were broadcasted on VEE-TV - Channel 4's magazine programme for young deaf people.

Check out more of Rosa's work on her website http://www.rosarogers.co.uk