An EENET meeting to discuss Deaf issues in the South
Taking place in 2001 at the University of Manchester, this was a very small seminar which paved the way for the Birmingham seminar, What does the South really want from the North? in the following year.
You can link to a report summarising the presentations made by the two main speakers, a deaf woman who had worked as a teacher in schools for deaf children in the south of India; and Doreen Woodford, the administrator of DAF, on the EENET website.
Some of the key issues to emerge from the presentation on India were the lack of consistency in the use of sign language and its limited development nationally; the proliferation of private schools; the old-fashioned teaching methods; the prejudice faced by the presenter because of her deafness; and the parents’ difficulty in becoming involved in their children’s education because of the daily pressures of earning a living.
The second paper focused on the ‘nurturing of deaf communities’ in Afghanistan and Somaliland as part of the development of education for deaf children. The promotion of sign language as part of the development of a deaf community is seen as being inextricably linked to the quality of the education available to deaf children. Although both countries have been involved in long-term-conflict, the development of a deaf community has been very different in each country. Opportunities for education arose for deaf Afghans living in exile in Pakistan, whereas the Somali deaf population has been scattered throughout East Africa and Europe, so it is taking longer to develop a deaf community and education for the children.
Some of the key issues to emerge from the presentation on India were the lack of consistency in the use of sign language and its limited development nationally; the proliferation of private schools; the old-fashioned teaching methods; the prejudice faced by the presenter because of her deafness; and the parents’ difficulty in becoming involved in their children’s education because of the daily pressures of earning a living.
The second paper focused on the ‘nurturing of deaf communities’ in Afghanistan and Somaliland as part of the development of education for deaf children. The promotion of sign language as part of the development of a deaf community is seen as being inextricably linked to the quality of the education available to deaf children. Although both countries have been involved in long-term-conflict, the development of a deaf community has been very different in each country. Opportunities for education arose for deaf Afghans living in exile in Pakistan, whereas the Somali deaf population has been scattered throughout East Africa and Europe, so it is taking longer to develop a deaf community and education for the children.
