Paddy Leonard, 14 Jun
Ten sign language students have graduated with top honours at a
ceremony organised by Foyle Deaf Association.
Ten men and women received certificates for passing their level six in
Irish Sign Language, the highest level achievable.
Certificates were also handed out to British Sign Language students at
level three.
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IN PICTURES: Foyle Deaf Association graduation ceremony for Irish Sign
Language students
Foyle Deaf Association recently secured its own premises on Great James
Street in Derry. The property has given the organisation a firm base
from which to build on its work supporting the deaf community and
developing Northern Ireland’s interpreter list.
An FDA spokesperson said that government funding has been vital in
enabling it to enhance the services it can offer.
“Funding from the Department for Communities has had a profound impact
on the FDA and in turn the deaf community we serve.
“It has allowed us to become a teaching organisation and to provide
successive cohorts of students with training in BSL and ISL from level
three to level six and presently right up to interpreter level.
“Some of those students along with other qualified candidates are now
taking part in our interpreter training programme funded by the
Department, in order to address the dire need for sign language
professionals in the country.
“Department for Communities funding has also allowed us to purchase a
building as our own deaf hub, furniture and equipment and provide
various projects and activities for our members and service users,
providing invaluable support for our deaf community and raising the
profile of the FDA.
“Because of this, we are going from strength to strength as an
organisation and a community, and we are confident that we will
continue to grow moving forward in becoming the focal point for the
deaf community in the north west and the west as a whole.”
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Students being presented with their certificates on completion of their
level three British Sign Language course.
In attendance at the ceremony held in the Millennium Forum was Acting
Head of the Department’s Sign Language Policy and Legislation team,
Tommy McAuley.
“The Department’s investment in Foyle Deaf Association demonstrates its
commitment to developing the sign language infrastructure necessary to
support the local deaf community, and in doing so, improving
accessibility to services for BSL and ISL users both in the north west
and across Northern Ireland,” said Mr McAuley.
It is important that not only are these initiatives co-designed with
the deaf community but, where possible, their delivery is deaf-led.
“Foyle Deaf Association is an excellent example of how the department
has worked alongside a deaf-led teaching and cultural organisation
which is delivering qualifications in their own languages which will
ultimately increase interpreter capacity, but which also promotes BSL
and ISL as languages in their own right to wider society.
“On behalf of the department, I thank the association for their hard
work and diligence to guide many students through the various levels of
sign language qualifications over the past several years, and I
congratulate all those students who have attained their BSL or ISL
qualifications.”