About Us

Despite international efforts and legal actions to address the inequities the Deaf face in their daily lives and education, the problems they encounter continue to exist and there is still a need to raise the awareness of society about the Deaf-related issues. Due to the lack of enough number of certified and qualified sign language interpreters, the Deaf face communication problems in their lives. There is dire need to start or multiply the number of sign language interpreting undergraduate programs and certificate programs to increase the number of qualified sign language interpreters, which consequently create significant employment opportunities for the Deaf. Moreover, due to the language barrier, the Deaf experience serious problems in their school lives and only a limited number of deaf individuals can have access to higher education, which deprives them one of the basic human rights, equal access to education, and decreases their employment opportunities. To get an ongoing large-scale public attention to the Deaf-related issues, effective means of awareness-raising need to be realized. Sweden and Finland, on the other hand, have for a half-a-century now supported research on sign languages and linguistic accessibility of their deaf people ensured their deaf citizens' access to sign language interpreting services, to education in sign language and, provided sign language interpreter (SLI) training, first in vocational, later in higher education.