The Icelandic Association of the Deaf
The
Icelandic Association of the Deaf was founded on February 11th, 1960.
The goal of the association is to guard, promote and fight for the
rights and well being of the deaf and hard of hearing people of
Iceland. One of the priorities of the associatoin is improving the
quality of life of the members of the association, fighting for equal
opportunities and supporting attempts to break the social isolation of
the deaf and hard of hearing people. Hoping that these goals will be
realized the association supports and initiates social events, offers
consultation and supplies information when asked for.
The
Icelandic Association of the Deaf provides general information on the
implications of deafness and hearing loss, on the deaf culture and the
Icelandic Sign Language, the mother tongue of the deaf people of
Iceland. Another important role of the association in the deaf
community is operating a club house were the deaf people meet. Since it
is well recognized that deafness is a subculture it is most important
for deaf people to meet each other - even more so than for many other
groups.
The activities of the association can be divided into
two categories. The very first to be counted is sponsoring the club
mentioned earlier. The location of the club is Sudurlandsbraut 24, 108
Reykjavík. At the same location there is also a very active youth club,
a club for senior citizens and a club for deaf parents with hearing
children. The association also works with the government of the country
and all those concerned with improving the lot of the deaf people of
Iceland.
At the moment the main goals of the association are-
- to
gain recognition of the Icelandic Sign Language as the mother tongue of
the deaf people of Iceland, a struggle that has lasted for years.
- to
sponsor an adult education program that will improve the accessibility
for the deaf people to the labor market besides providing continuous
education
- to create jobs for deaf people
- to operate an information center for deaf parents of hearing children.
- to advocate that all Icelandic programs on the Icelandic television be subtitled.
- to
ensure that all the available technical aids for deaf people are in
fact always available to them and that the government participates in
paying for them.
Communication with associations of deaf
people in other countries is important for the Icelandic Association of
the Deaf. It is important because the Icelandic deaf community is a
small one and we also know we have something to offer to the rest of
the world. The Icelandic Communication Center is for example developing
a computer program, aimed at improving the teaching of languages to the
deaf. (For further information check the website of The Icelandic
Communication Center) This is just one of the many things we can offer.
The Icelandic Association of the Deaf has published:
* The history of deaf people of Iceland,
* an Icelandic Sign Language dictionary and
* brochures on deafness and the deaf culture and
* brochures on the Icelandic Sign Language.
If you, dear reader, would like some further information regarding The Icelandic Association of the Deaf, please e-mail us at
deaf@deaf.is
