Deaf Awareness Week 2010 in the UK
The year 2009 saw free, no obligation hearing assessments at Hearing Centres when users of hearing aids could have their equipment cleaned and checked free of charge, and clients were offered the opportunity to have their hearing tested and talk to audiologists about any concerns, with demonstrations of the latest technology.
For anyone wanting to get involved with Deaf Awareness Week 2010, the website at www.deafcouncil.org.uk contains advice on fundraising activities with special promotional material available including balloons, collection cans, stickers and posters.
Ideas for events include holding a sponsored silence and Signathons, where participants are sponsored for every word of British Sign Language they learn.
There are many opportunities for schools to get involved, too: ideas can be found at the National Deaf Children’s Society website www.ndcs.org.uk with fundraising initiatives and ways to help children learn about the ways in which deaf people communicate.
There is also information about the wide range of sponsorship opportunities available for individuals and organisations to help fund specific projects, ranging from sports programmes to grants and equipment, weekend events for families of children with hearing loss and worldwide initiatives – as well as those closer to home.
Deaf Awareness Week 2010 – 28th June to 4th July 2010
Over one hundred deaf charities are uniting beneath the umbrella organisation The UK Council on Deafness for “Look at Me”, the banner adopted by Deaf Awareness Week from 28th June to 4th July 2010.
The theme aims to highlight the different types of deafness and explain the many different methods of communication used by deaf people.
The word deaf is used to describe a whole range of conditions relating to deafness: according to figures from the World Health Organisation, there are currently 278 million deaf people across the world, 80 per cent of which live in developing countries; of these, 25% became deaf as children.
Other types of deafness include people who have become deafened later in life, deafblind people, the hard of hearing and people affected by tinnitus, all of whom use different forms of communication.
UK Council on Deafness
Founded in Sept 1993 by a consortium of deaf organisations, the UK Council on Deafness aims to achieve full participation in society for all deaf people and create an environment in which voluntary sector organisations working with deaf people can reach their full potential.
The first Deaf Awareness Week was held in America in 1951, and has continued to educate people about the many issues and difficulties that face deaf people in the world today.
In the UK, Deaf Awareness Week sees a wide range of national and local events taking place across the country to “promote the positive aspects of deafness, social inclusion and raising awareness of the huge range of local and national organisations that support deaf people and their family and friends.”
Special events in the past have included shows at theatres like The National Theatre with speech to text transcriptions, tours of museums for the hard of hearing, workshops to assist with doorbell, phones and smoke alarms, meet a hearing-dog sessions, sign language taster classes and a chance for deaf people and hard of hearing to meet with specialists for advice.