BSL Swine Flu Advice

RE-POST:



We posted this a while ago but with cases expected to soon increase by 100,000 every day in the UK thought it would be a good time to re-post in case people need the advice again...

Some advice on swine flu in BSL www.youtube.com/watch?v=acLNhwuf4Hk

We'll be re-posting this link every week while the pandemic continues and becomes more widespread.

Deaf Team at Glastonbury

It's been a week since one of the world's biggest music festivals came to an end and more than a hundred thousand people left the surreal surroundings of Glastonbury.

Just a handful of deaf people were among them but those who did go were provided with excellent interpreting services and advice from some top interpreters.

Next year the team are aiming to get as many deaf people involved as possible and are keen to stress that Glastonbury isn't just about music.

Here's the Glasto DeafZone team enjoying the sun! We hope they had a great time!

And thanks to GrumpyOldDeafies for this shot taken at the festival...not something we endorse but amusing none-the-less!

Deaf explorer takes on Mount Kilimanjaro

Non-sign language users click here for full transcript.

Deaf explorer Mark Flower has trecked Machu Picchu and walked the Great Wall of China, and he's soon to embark on his latest challenge - Mount Kilimanjaro.

Mark will climb to Africa's highest point later this summer and until he leaves we'll be keeping track of his tough training schedule and nervous excitement at climbing one of the most famous mountains in the world.

At nearly 20,000 ft it's going to be an epic journey and one which Mark will be completing with sign language interpreter Victoria Gibson.

We're launching a series of Vlogs in the build-up to Mark's big climb. Every week or two we'll be uploading Mark's latest Vlog and following his progress - from training to packing to the day before the big climb!

Incidentally if you want to support Mark head over to www.justgiving.com/mfmountkilimanjaro

Keep checking back for the latest on Mark's challenge!

BSL Swine Flu Advice

We posted this a while ago but with cases increasing every day by the hundreds thought it would be a good time to re-post in case people need the advice again...

Some advice on swine flu in BSL

http://www.nhs24.com/content/default.asp?page=s3_13_18

Deaflympics UK Tennis

We'll be running loads of Deaflympics previews in the coming weeks, including exclusive interviews with members of the GB Badminton team, as well as updates on Deaflympics GB team during the event in September.

Here's an inspiring interview with one of our athletes, Jamie King, who's a deaf tennis player taking part in the Deaflympics in Taipei.

It's 18 minutes into the bulletin so use the slider to click through..

BBC South Today - Deaflympics Jamie King

N.B. Copyright issues mean this video may not be available outside of the UK

Monkeying Around

Last week the terptree team went monkeying about in the forest and we thought we'd post some photos of our adventures!

Victoria negotiating the rope swings

terptree monkeys!

Fairer access for deaf people

The UN Enable convention has been slowly coming into force around the world. More than 50 contries have signed it since 2007, with the UK becoming the latest on Monday 8th June 2009.

Governments who have signed and ratified the treaty are bound to carry out the following provisions for the deaf community:

b) Facilitating the learning of sign language and the promotion of the linguistic identity of the deaf community;
c) Ensuring that the education of persons, and in particular children, who are blind, deaf or deafblind, is delivered in the most appropriate languages and modes and means of communication for the individual, and in environments which maximize academic and social development.

The convention also ensures that deaf students have access to teachers qualified in sign language. The full terms of the article on education can be found here.

The article on Freedom of expression and access to information states governments should improve access by:

b) Accepting and facilitating the use of sign languages, Braille, augmentative
and alternative communication, and all other accessible means, modes and formats
of communication of their choice by persons with disabilities in official
interactions;

Other articles of the treaty are listed at the UN Enable website.

The convention will not affect deaf people in the UK too much but it will mean real change for millions of deaf people around the world in countries which didn't have previous legislation in place to ensure fair access and equality for disabled people.

N.B Quick Hat Tip to Islington Deaf Campaign