UK Council on Deafness

April 2006 Bulletin

In this Bulletin

New Members

Welcome to our new Member Organisations joining this month:

Leeds Society for Deaf and Blind People provides support and services to Deaf, hard of hearing, blind, partially sighted and deafblind people in the Leeds region.
Contact Jonathan Bentley, Director, Centenary House, North Street, Leeds, LS2 8AY.
Email: info@leedsdeafandblind.org.uk
Website: www.leedsdeafandblind.org.uk

Hi Kent provide practical products for Deaf people, offer free advice, hearing and maintenance clinics, sign language courses and Deaf Awareness training.
Contact John Clayton, Chief Executive, 18 Brewer Street, Maidstone, Kent, ME14 1RU.
Email: m.harris@hikent.org.uk
Website: www.hikent.org.uk

New Affiliates

Welcome to our new Affiliate Organisations joining this month:

· London Borough of Islington Council’s Sensory Team
· Clarion Interpreting Limited
· Westminster PCT
· Eyegaze

Full contact details can be found in the Directory of Affiliated Organisations.

Affiliation is open to Voluntary Organisations, Public Sector Bodies and Companies that work with or want to be accessible to deaf people. The benefits of affiliation include: Regular mailings and emails on current issues affecting the sector; Access to the UK Council on Deafness website; Free subscription (10 issues) to the Bulletin; Discount on distribution of leaflets with the Bulletin; Free entry in the Affiliated Organisations Directory; Discounts on all UK Council on Deafness publications; Discounts on delegate fees at events; Discounts on Advertising Space in publications and at Conferences & Events; Information about Conferences, Training Days & Events; The opportunity to comment on future government policy and legislation.

Deaf Awareness Week 1st – 7th May

Deaf Awareness Week is a unique awareness campaign bringing together about 250 deaf charities and organisations. Lots of events are being organised by UK Council on Deafness member and affiliate organisations around the country during the week.

The publicity materials are now available to be downloaded from the website:
www.Look-At-Me.org.uk

The posters ask people to "Look At Me" - emphasising the need to look at someone who is deaf or hard of hearing, so that that they can see your lips and facial expression. All the models are deaf or hard of hearing and the photography was organised by REMARK! a deaf production company. To download them, go to the "Publicity Materials" section and you can click on the images for a PDF version. The leaflet focuses on interesting facts about deafness and gives examples of ways to be more accessible to deaf people and can be downloaded by clicking on the links provided.

Finally, if you are participating in Deaf Awareness Week you are welcome to use the Deaf Awareness Week logo on your own publicity material. If you would like a high resolution version sent to you please contact us.

Deaf Awareness Week offers excellent opportunities for people to publicise and create media interest in deaf issues. You can do this by organising events during the week involving the public and giving the events the maximum possible coverage by informing the media. Local newspapers, radio and television are particularly receptive to events taking place in their area. Please let us know the details of your event so we can add them to the 2006 Events Diary on the website. For hints about gaining maximum publicity for your event, check out the "Publicity Tips" section on the website. Any local media enquires that we receive will be forwarded on to the designated person.

To find out more about Deaf Awareness Week or to have your event listed on the campaign website contact Jenny Hitchen on j.hitchen@deafcouncil.org.uk

Asif Iqbal appointed to the DWP Disability Employment Advisory Committee

A fresh wealth of experience has been recruited to the DWP Advisory Committee which provides advice on employment barriers faced by disabled people and how to tackle them. Six new and eight existing members have been appointed to the Disability Employment Advisory Committee (DEAC) to take forward its work during its second term. Asif Iqbal, Trustee of UK Council on Deafness, joins Cheryl Cullen, Employment Training Skills Manager at RNID to ensure deaf people’s access to employment are kept high on the DEAC agenda.

Broadband in BSL Campaign

BT is launching a campaign in BSL to raise awareness of the benefits of broadband technology for deaf people. It is the first time a large corporate organisation has run a commercial internet campaign in sign language.

A press release from BT states “Broadband technology is delivering a revolution for deaf people, as high speed internet coupled with the use of web-cams and video streaming now allows BSL users to communicate via the internet, regardless of their location. But many BSL users don’t know about the benefits this new technology offers them, as only written broadband guides have been made available.”

The guide has been created on behalf of BT by SignPost, a supplier of BSL on-screen services for all platforms from television to the internet.

For more information about SignPost please contact Katie Keenan on 0207 404 6777 or katiek@harrisoncowley.com.

TAG Seminar on Emerging Technologies

Don’t forget to register for the TAG seminar on Emerging Technologies. The seminar will be held in London on Wednesday 17th May and tickets are going quickly. Contact Ruth Myers r.myers@merula.co.uk for further information.

BSMHD Annual Conference – 25 May 2006

Being held at the Royal Station Hotel, Newcastle the BSMHD 2006 Annual Conference will include presentations from healthcare and voluntary organisations involved in collaborative approaches to developing mental health services for deaf people nationally and in the North East.

Other presentations and workshops include: The psychosocial influences affecting the length of hospital stay of Deaf mental health service users - Neil Patterson and Di Baines, Research Assistant, QEPH, Psychology Department, Birmingham; Deafblindness and Mental Health: The mental health needs of adults with dual sensory impairment - Sarah Bodsworth, Isabel C.H. Clare, and Deafblind UK; Art Therapy - Rubbena Aurangzeb-Tariq MA, Rachel Coppage PGDipAT, Ailsa McGilp PGDipAT; ‘Work hard, improve, better, leave’? What happens when service users don’t change? - Diane Walsh, Head of Social Work, and Sue O’Rourke, Consultant Clinical Psychologist, St George Healthcare Group; BME Deaf People’s Families & Communities: The Key - Penny Beschizza, Southwark College; Developing a Deaf Studies Curriculum for deaf children in United Kingdom - Robin Ash, Acting Deputy Head/Senior Deaf Educational Instructor, Frank Barnes School, London.

There will also be a small exhibition attached to the conference. For information about booking exhibition space or registering as a delegate please contact the Jenny Hitchen, the conference organiser, at j.Hitchen@deafcouncil.org.uk

Theatre Royal Stratford East – BSL Interpreted Performances

“The Harder They Come” is the next performance to be interpreted into live BSL for Deaf, deafened and hard of hearing audiences. Tickets will be offered at the reduced rate of just £6 per person.

For more information about this or any other Theatre Royal Stratford East Performance, please contact Kilian Gideon at kgideon@stratfordeast.com.

Please submit information for the next UK Council on Deafness Bulletin by 30 April 2006.

UK Council on Deafness is the national infrastructure organisation for Charities and Professional Bodies working in the field of deafness.

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