Celebrating Deaf Awareness Week

To help celebrate Deaf Awareness Week the Citizens Information Board (CIB) in collaboration with the Irish Deaf Society (IDS) has launched a series of videos. These videos on Deaf Awareness Training help to promote knowledge and understanding about the Deaf community and how to break down barriers between Deaf people and hearing people.

The videos explore topics such as Deafness, the Deaf community and Sign languages and in an accessible and engaging way show how easy it can be to communicate with Deaf people in a Deaf-friendly way.

"There are approximately 5,000 Deaf people living in Ireland who use Irish Sign Language (ISL), and an estimated additional 40,000 ISL signers, such as family members, friends, interpreters, and people working within the Deaf community" said Rachel Downes, Advocacy Manager, CIB. She added: "Deaf people in Ireland should have equal access to information and services through their preferred language, Irish Sign Language (ISL), and have the same opportunities as anyone else".

The Citizens Information Board fund and support the Sign Language Interpreting Service (SLIS) to provide Irish Sign Language interpreting services. www.slis.ie

The Irish Deaf Society www.irishdeafsociety.ie is a Deaf-led national advocacy organisation run by Deaf people to support and promote empowerment, equality and rights of Deaf people in Ireland.

The videos can be viewed on the Deaf Awareness Training page.