UK Council on Deafness

March 2002 Bulletin

New Full Members

Welcome to Dorothy Miles Cultural Centre and Brent Deaf People's Ltd who have recently become full members of the Council. The Dorothy Miles Cultural Centre promotes deaf awareness and deaf culture, provides BSL tuition, meets the needs of deaf children and their parents and promotes deaf/hearing communication and social integration. Contact George Drewry, DMCC, 50 Beaufort Road, Church Crookham, Fleet, Hampshire, GU52 6AZ, tel 01252 613679, fax 01483 427616, email dmcc@dnms.demon.co.uk . Brent Deaf People's Ltd is a self-help and support group for deaf, deafened and hard of hearing people in Brent providing information, exchange of ideas and regular open meetings. Contact Simon Hesselberg, Brent Deaf People's Ltd, Building 22, Room 8, Allies House, Dollis Hill Estate, 105 Brook Road, London, NW2 7BZ, tel 020 8450 6463, fax 020 8452 5158, text 020 8450 3836, email info@brentdeaf.org , website www.brentdeaf.org

If your organisation is a charity or professional body working in the field of deafness and has an interest in national issues you may be eligible for Full Membership of the UK Council on Deafness. Please contact us if you wish to be considered for Full Membership.

Affiliate Membership is open to Voluntary Organisations, Public Sector Bodies and Companies that work with deaf people. Please contact us if your organisation would like to become an Affiliate Member.

Opportunities for Volunteering Grants

Funding for 2003-2006 has not yet been agreed by the Department of Health and the criteria for future funding has yet to be set, however we will accept applications for funding. Potential projects need to be new and serve the local community, they must be 'stand alone' projects, not be part of a larger project being run by the parent organisation. We will accept applications on the understanding that we may need to amend the grant criteria at a later date. Closing date for submitting a 'first round' application form is 30th September 2002. Details from Roger Hewitt, UK Council on Deafness OFV Officer email: r.hewitt@deafcouncil.org.uk

2002 Diary

Full Council Meetings
23rd May 2002: Human Rights
26th September 2002: Education
12th November 2002: AGM

Conferences
25th April 2002: Human Aids to Communication
11th July 2002: Deafness & Mental Health
16th Oct 2002: Black & Ethnic Minority Deaf People

Seminars
21st March 2002: Good Practice in Fundraising
9th May 2002: Deaf People in the Workplace
25th June 2002: Helplines
10th September: Youth Work

You do not have to be a member to attend the Conferences and Seminars. Please contact us for details of how you can attend these events. Discounts are available for Full Member Organisations.

LAST CHANCE to book your place at the Good Practice in Fundraising Seminar. Many deaf organisations have already booked to attend. This is a unique opportunity to network with representatives from other organisations working with deaf people, to share experiences and identify joint initiatives.

Book your place now at the Human Aids to Communication Conference. Themes will include: Progress - What progress? Has anything changed since 1992 (BSL, Lipspeakers, Speech to Text, Speedtext, Notetakers, Deafblind, Cued Speech) Predicting Demand (Access to Work, DDA, Recognition of BSL) Electronic Access to HACs (BSL by videophone, Speech recognition software, Remote speech to text by telephone, Computer generated Signing) The Future (How to Increase availability, Qualifications, Quality Control, Funding Training)

Breakthrough (Deaf-Hearing Integration)

From April 2002 Breakthrough (Deaf-Hearing Integration) will have a new working name and a fresh new image. We decided on the change because the name was long, unwieldy and we were being confused with Breakthrough Breast Cancer as well as other 'Breakthrough's'. We made this decision after a lengthy internal consultation process. The launch of the new identity will be on Tuesday 9th April 2002 at Goldsmith's Hall in London to which members of UKCoD are invited. Breakthrough's headquarters and central office will also be moving. As from 1st April 2002 we will be based at Prospect Hall, 12 College Walk, Selly Oak, Birmingham, B29 6LE. The new name is probably the worst-kept secret around and justifies us saying that the deaf community grapevine moves faster than Australian bushfire.

Independent Television Commission

ITC have revised their guidelines on standards for sign language on Digital Terrestrial Television: The presentation of the signer on the intended display screen should be sufficient size and resolution to show all movements of the full upper trunk together with arms, hands and fingers, shoulder, neck and all relevant facial movements and expressions. All important gestures that convey meaning through sign language must be easily and accurately recognised. The size of the overlay must ensure that the body and facial expressions referred to above are easily discernible from normal viewing distances. Where practicable a signer's image, when at rest, that is notionally framed to occupy at least one sixth of the picture area would normally be sufficient to ensure this condition is met. For programmes primarily aimed at deaf people and in the 'open' format a useful technique, which deaf people prefer, can be to reduce the visual image by, for example, 25 per cent and use the subsequent blank area to place the interpreter. Further details from www.itc.org.uk

Con Powell

The trustees and staff of the Council were saddened by the news of Con's recent death. Con was Chief Executive of the Ewing Foundation. He had been involved with the Council since its inception and was a regular contributor at the Open meetings. He came to the AGM in November 2001 even though it was clear that he was very ill. His determination and dedication were self-evident. He was a man of integrity and one could always have a debate with him, even if at the end of the day, one might agree to differ. He was passionate about the education of deaf children and devoted his professional life to trying to improve the quality of deaf education. He believed that there was a great need for an umbrella body like the Council and that the Council's role in bringing people with very different views together and trying to reach consensus was incredibly important in our field. His contribution to the field of deafness was a valuable one and it will be much missed.

Wendy Barnes of DELTA writes: Con was a man of many hats - both personally and professionally. There can be few in the relatively small world of the education of the deaf who have not met or worked with him. His dedication and commitment to the welfare of all deaf children commanded the respect even of those who differed in their views on how it might be achieved while his unfailing good humour and gentle wit oiled the waters of many a potentially stormy meeting. His roles in the course of a long career - as a Lecturer at Oxford Polytechnic, now Oxford Brookes University, as a Governor and Vice President of Mary Hare Grammar School for the deaf, as a world leader in terms of diagnostic skills, as Chief Executive of the Ewing Foundation, as one of the founders of the Natural Aural Approach and of DELTA, as an worker for audiological standards and provision, as a lobbyist for early diagnosis, as an advocate for increased research into deaf education - are the public achievements and contributions of a man whose energy and professionalism seemed limitless.

But alongside, within and outside these roles, his impact on the individual lives of teachers and parents of deaf children is less publicly recognised. The hours spent with individual families helping them to achieve the education they wanted for their child were, generally, unremarked except by the gratitude of those he helped. The encouragement and inspiration he offered to many teachers of the deaf at different stages of their careers is remembered fondly but privately. His impact on all these lives can never be quantified.It is the range of skills and aptitudes his professional life displayed that commands respect. The strategic thinking, academic probity, careful diplomacy, expertise and knowledge of the educator and lobbyist on the one hand and the humanity, empathy , generosity and accessibility of the individual counsellor on the other. All in all, his contribution is best summed up in the heartfelt words of one parent : "Without Con, I don't know what we would have done".

Distribution of Bulletin

This is the last Bulletin that will be mailed out to non member organisations. From April 2002 your organisation will need to be either a full member or an affiliate member to receive the Bulletin. It will however continue to be sent out by email free to anyone who wishes to receive it, so if you would like to continue to receive the Bulletin and are not a member organisation please send your email address to info@deafcouncil.org.uk with the Subject: Subscribe to Bulletin.

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