The UK Council on Deafness is asking for help to find a common purpose, or goal, for individuals and organisations concerned with deafness and deafblindness.
They have designed a short survey that anyone working in the sector can respond to.
The initiative came about after Council members said a statement summing up what they are all working towards would be useful.
Jim Edwards, chair of the UK Council on Deafness, said: “In recent years our members and others working in the field of deafness and deafblindness have achieved a lot through cooperation. The recent DWP review of Access to Work is a good example, as is the support for Sir Malcolm Bruce’s proposed Communication Support (Deafness) Bill last year.
“So we’re starting from a strong position. There’s a lot we agree on. But the statement of common purpose will make that partnership even more effective. It will help us achieve the outcomes we want and deaf and deafblind people expect.”
The focus of the statement will be a clear vision and set of values. But it will also include a framework for working towards results, priorities for action and recommendations for working together.
The survey is open until Friday 12 September. There will then be some stakeholder events in November and December.
The statement will be promoted from early 2015. The Council hopes it will provide a focus for individuals and organisations in the run up to the general election.
The common purpose initiative is overseen by a task force chaired by Michael Bishop, a UK Council on Deafness trustee. Its members are Brian Archbold, UK Council on Deafness trustee and former chief executive of The Ear Foundation; Carol Cole, Action on Hearing Loss trustee; Chris Cartwright, Key Projects Manager at Phonak UK; Craig Crowley, chief executive of Action Deafness; Gwen Carr, National Programme Lead for the NHS Newborn Hearing Screening Programme; Jane Cordell, small business owner and trustee of Disability Rights UK and Manchester Deaf Centre; and Jeff Skipp, chief executive of Deafblind UK.
It is advised by David Buxton, chief executive of the British Deaf Association; Steve Powell, chief executive of SignHealth; and Brian Lamb OBE, chair of the Alliance on Hearing Loss and Deafness and Achievement for All. And supported by Mike Elliott, previously chief executive and now trustee of the Clare Foundation; Jim Edwards, chair of the UK Council on Deafness and chief executive of Signature; and Dan Sumners, Senior Policy Adviser at Signature.
Readers are advised to direct any questions to Dan Sumners via dan.sumners@signature.org.uk.
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Posted in: deaf news
Andy not him,me
September 4, 2014
I’m surprised that you need a survey since our purpose has been pretty consistent. We are seeking emancipation for deaf people.
Tim
September 4, 2014
Huh? It’s dead simple – Deaf people are under attack through endless cuts by the austerity thugs who just see us as a financial burden. This includes sham-pion, Malcolm Bruce, who voted for social security cuts to IB and DLA for Deaf people.
Most of the people listed here have good well-paid jobs so I suspect they’ll search out some pleasant and easy priorities instead.
Robert Mandara
September 4, 2014
It sounds like these organisations have completely forgotten why they ever existed to start with! Asking themselves “Er, why are we here?”
John
September 4, 2014
This is a waste of time. Some of the best and most knowledgeable deaf professionals do not work for deaf organisations and this survey will exclude them. Many of these organisations are run by hearing people who have a vested interest in furthering their careers at our expense and maintaining the status quo. It is not rocket science to identify what the common purpose should be.
Matt Brown
September 4, 2014
Yay. Stakeholder events. Woohoo.
Cathy Alexandeŕ
September 4, 2014
Hello?! I cannot believe all these organisations think we need a survey? Common purpose? And to work together? Dont make me laugh! How many years have all these organisations been running? What have they been doing? Not it seems promoting deaf peoples’s causes, not when we’r still battling to gain equal access alongside the hearing population.
What on earth is a survey going to do? How is it we have barely made inroads into deaf and deafblind people’s lives in 2014?
The powers that be are going to take note of our “common causes?” Well we already have a common cause: BSL and look what happened to that! We campaigned and we marched then the powers that be “patted us on the head” and said: “there there we recognise BSL!”.
Has this helped us? Of course it hasn’t. We still do battle every day to gain access to everyday life that everyone else takes for granted.
I have just fought and won a court battle with Npower for refusing me an interpreter. Now if all these organisations “pulled their socks up” and battled to get BSL enshrined in law then such companies would be left no room to refuse full access to deaf people.
People in any organisation needs to understand that deaf people need FULL access to be made an equal citizen. Even today I was told a story of a deaf man stranded at the barrier of the NCP about 11pm one night, his ticket failed to open the barrier and the only way to get help was to use the phone!!! He waited an hour in full to get help! He was very tired and very angry! Why can’t deaf people text to get help?! These kind of stories MUST end!
These situations are getting more and more ridiculous while those in positions of power simply feather their own nest!
Forget surveys, we need text services everywhere and BSL enshrined in law. The time for decisive action has long since passed!