UK Council on Deafness

November 2002 Bulletin

In this Bulletin

• New Member
• UK Council on Deafness AGM
• Access to Work Seminar
• Single Equality Body Consultation
• Black & Ethnic Minority Conference
• Opportunities for Volunteering Grants
• Diary of Events 2003
• Ian Stillman

New Member

Deafconnect (formerly The Northants & Rutland Mission to the Deaf) provides services to all people with a hearing loss in Northants and Rutland and aims to empower them to become fully included members of society. Contact: Lesley Knight, Deafconnect, Green Street, Northampton, NN1 1SY. Tel 01604 250303 Text 01604 636828 Fax 01604 239041 Email info@deafconnect.org.uk Website www.Deafconnect.org.uk

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UK Council on Deafness AGM

Our AGM is being held from 11.00am - 12.30pm on Tuesday 12th November at the Britannia Street Conference Centre, 27 Britannia Street, London, WC1X 9JP. After the AGM our Guest Speakers during the afternoon session (2.00pm - 4.30pm) include Malcolm Bruce MP and Elspeth Dugdale (sister of Ian Stillman). The AGM is open to Full Members, Affiliate Members and non-members, please contact Sylvie Say s.say@deafcouncil.org.uk to book your place.

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Access to Work Seminar

The Access to Work Seminar that was due to be held on 21st November 2002 has had to be postponed because no Access to Work managers and policy makers were able to attend on that day. We will be announcing a new date for the seminar shortly. For those of you who are experiencing problems with Access to Work the British Council of Disabled People (BCODP) would like to hear from you. They can be contacted at BCODP, Litchurch Plaza, Litchurch Lane, Derby, DE4 8AA, Tel 01332 295551, Text 01332 295581 Fax 01332 295580 Email info@bcodp.org.uk Website www.bcodp.org.uk

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Single Equality Body Consultation

We are hosting a consultation day, sponsored by the DTI, on Thursday 21st November 2002 from 10.00 am to 4.30 pm at Mary Sumner House, 24 Tufton Street, London SW1. This is an opportunity to discuss the implications of the proposal for a Single Equality Body and to give your views on the implementation of new Equality legislation. The event will be fully accessible to all deaf and hard of hearing people with the following communication support: BSL/English Interpreters, Speech to Text, Lipspeaker and Loop System.

In the morning there will be a panel discussion and in the afternoon there will be presentations from Government Departments. Our guest speakers include Bert Massie, Chair of the Disability Rights Commission, Sir John Wall, President of the European Blind Union and Brian Lamb, Director of Communications at RNID. Following on from Towards Equality & Diversity, the government are now consulting widely on the proposed new legislation and this is your opportunity to learn more about the proposals and to say what you think about them. For full details of the consultation process visit the DTI website at www2.dti.gov.uk/er/equality

Attendance is free, lunch and refreshments will be provided and travel costs will be reimbursed by the DTI. Please do come and contribute to the debate, entry by ticket only - to book your place contact Sylvie Say s.say@deafcouncil.org.uk

A similar event is being held in Edinburgh on 3rd December 2002 hosted by Scottish Council on Deafness - contact them direct for details info@scod.org.uk

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Black & Ethnic Minority Conference

The Black & Ethnic Minority Deaf People Conference, held on 16th October, was very successful with nearly 90 people attending. Speakers included Shazia Afzal of NDCS, Barry Malik from the Asian Disability Alliance, Mohammed Shabir from the Asian Disability Network, Dr Jennifer Harris, Senior Research Fellow at the University of York, Gail Penberthy and Lorna McKenzie from BID, Deepa Shastri from deafPLUS and Rahana Hallim and Jackie Powell from LEMDA.

One delegate said "I found out more about projects that are happening around the country, types of services that could be considered in our local area - useful contacts, broader knowledge of issues for Deaf ethnic minority communities and individuals." Another delegate commented that "I gained lots of ideas on reaching the BME community and an understanding of their difficulties with access. I gained lots of contacts and sources of information which will greatly benefit both my service provision and my research." The Conference Proceedings are available from us, priced at £10 including postage.

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Opportunities for Volunteering Grants

Please note that the deadline for sending us your 1st Step Grant Applications for funding for 2003-2006, has been extended to 15th November. Please do send in your applications as soon as you can. We will then contact the shortlisted projects in December and ask tem to complete the full DoH Application Form. Contact Roger Hewitt for details r.hewitt@deafcouncil.org.uk

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Diary of Events 2003

Don't forget Deaf Awareness Week is being held 5th - 11th May 2003. Please let us know if you are arranging an event during the week. A full list of all our events for 2003 will be announced in December.

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Ian Stillman

Ian's sister, Elspeth Dugdale writes:

"As the winter sets in, Ian is losing weight and feeling the cold badly - danger signs for a diabetic. Ian's son Lennie is trying to arrange plywood covers for the glassless windows. The British High Commission has found a diabetes specialist willing to travel up to Shimla (at the family's expense) to examine Ian soon. Ian's computer has not been returned, but ever resourceful, he has begun painting and sketching again. Any letters, magazines and cards will be welcome!

Ian's case was raised once more this week with a senior visiting Indian Minister by the UK Government. The same issue keeps coming up - the Indian Government may be willing to pardon Ian but only on condition he is deported. This is all very abstract - we are not aware of any actual offer yet. We trust that India's reputation for truth and justice will soon be strengthened by recognising that Ian is both deaf and innocent, and by releasing him to continue his long service to the deaf. A delegation of Indian deaf people from three states visited Ian recently and found him "suffering" and with a "threat to his life." They are pressing matters further by meeting Minister O Rajagopal and approaching the Offices of the President and Home Minister.

Signatures on the petition have passed 85,700 including some this week from Poland, Belgium, Canada, Korea and Japan. Please do keep collecting and sending signatures - we hope to reach 100,000 as soon as possible. As we are all frustrated by the delay in freeing Ian, it is amazing to realise we are all part of such a widespread and active campaign. Thank you."

Further details at www.ianstillman.fsnet.co.uk

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