The Chairman of UKCOD, the umbrella body for deaf organisations in the UK has said that a lack of progress by deaf organisations compared with organisations representing other groups is the motivation behind an aim to develop a ‘common purpose’ for the sector.
Jim Edwards faced criticism from some deaf people over the plans when they were revealed on Limping Chicken two weeks ago. Comment posts on social media accused deaf organisations of ‘forgetting why they ever existed’ and said that the plans were a ‘waste of time’.
In response, Mr Edwards said that groups representing sufferers of medical conditions like dementia had done better through the years and there was a desire among deaf organisations to do the same.
He said: “Look at the progress areas like dementia have made in last few years, and you compare that with the progress we have made in the field of deafness and hearing loss and you end up saying, couldn’t we do as well as that, if not better?
“And then ask yourself why don’t we do better and sometimes its because we don’t have a defined common purpose”
With the aim of presenting a single voice to government on deafness issues, Mr Edwards claims that developing a common purpose would bind organisations to work together and put their differences aside.
But with such a variety of deaf organisations and often apparent conflicting priorities, some might question whether it is possible to reconcile organisations under a single strap-line.
@Limping_Chicken sometimes I despair . They asking for a slogan? or do they genuinely not know what they're set up to do/represent?
— Toby Goodman (@Damage_13) September 4, 2014
“There is always much more that people agree on than disagree on and that people have particularly a desire to see equality. What you see most often is people choose to take a different approach to creating that equal world but each approach has its value.
“So I think that we can reconcile the variety of approaches, if for no other reason, that you have to respect that deafness is not a uniform single issue that affects everybody in exactly the same way.
“That means the solutions have to be varied but that doesn’t mean that those organisations can’t work together. Nor does it mean that they’re not sharing a common purpose. What they’re trying to do is find solutions to different aspects of the problem.”
The move to create a new common purpose comes after recent heightened activity in the political world involving deaf groups. It is true, Mr Edwards said, that frustrations surfaced among UKCOD’s members during negotiations last year and caused what outsiders might see as infighting and disagreement.
The battle between rivalling factions of deaf people, usually drawn along cultural and language lines, is nothing new. UKCOD’s founding concept was to act as the united campaigning front, which some would argue it has failed to do given the new desire for common purpose among some of its members.
Should deaf groups that can’t get along drop any pretence and go their separate ways to campaign independently?
“That’s for the sector to decide.” Mr Edwards said
“This is a personal opinion, but if a few deaf organisations walk into government and one says ‘I work with sign language users’ and the other says ‘I work with people with an acquired hearing loss’ I think you immediately start to devalue, in government and politicians minds, the sense we are speaking with a single voice.
“It’s about taking the figure of 1 in 7 having some sort of hearing loss. In that enormous number, there is a vital number of people who culturally identify with very strong positive messages about deafness and their voice has to be as respected as those who say ‘I have a hearing loss, please cure it’.
“Either one of those voices has to be heard with equal weight.”
Views on what could constitute the wording of a common purpose are being sought from a range or organisations including charities, social enterprises and business, many of which have felt the consequences of austerity and recession.
Mr Edwards believes a common purpose can help bring together organisations which may not have traditionally campaigned side-by-side, including ‘medical model’ manufacturers of cochlear implants and ‘social model’ deaf rights groups.
“We all know that the economic climate has created real challenges for charities and businesses providing services for deaf people. In that climate, it is more likely that we will be more successful if we go to government with a single united ask about a particular issues.
“There is something that says we should be speaking, where we can, with a common voice and saying to government that these are the things we believe will improve the lives of deaf people and we are willing to work with you in partnership to deliver that.”
If UKCOD achieve their aim, organisations who don’t sign up might just find themselves with reduced lobbying influence while a team acting for the ‘common purpose’ group represents the interests of the UK’s deaf people.
As much as trying to achieve that feel-good common purpose, Mr Edwards is also trying to avoid repeats of recent divisions on the deaf side of the negotiating table.
Andy is Chairman of the Peterborough and District Deaf Children’s Society and teaches sign language in primary schools. Contact him on twitter @LC_AndyP
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Andy, not him, me
September 23, 2014
Congratulations for taking the constructive criticism on board. This is a refreshing change. In the past these joint committees have had lots of expensive meetings, done an awful lot of talking… yet not really changed the deaf world all that much. Without pointing fingers of blame I would observe that they are just talking shops. I don’t think that is what people want and they have lost faith in them.
What I think people really want is an organisation that will power concrete changes in the way we are treated.
I feel that with the big social changes of the 21st century the deaf world and particularly some elements of the Deaf world are still in the 19th. We must deal with change or be left out. There is more to the deaf world than just signing. We need education, jobs, housing, opportunities just like everyone else. Instead we are in danger of being left out. Again.
So while I personally welcome any move to deal with this situation I have to ask the question. Can you do this?
We really don’t need any more talking shops.
Vix
September 23, 2014
Surely the common goal of all organisations is access to the world you live in; how that is achieved will vary on an individual basis… But ultimately it is about access to medical care, access to education, access to any kind of service in an equitable way. If all organisations agreed that their shared priorities were access to the world, each could still campaign around individual agendas, but with the shared understanding that their goal is to remove the glass ceiling. Or is that too simplistic?
pennybsl
September 23, 2014
Reflecting on the past 2 decades, it is true that funding changes and funding criteria restriction are mainly to blame for the situation today. Look at the successful Kids Company who employ 500+ people working with disadvantaged children but is facing closure in a few months because it never had Government funding sustaining it, despite the successful outcomes in the children’s lives, within society.
I wonder if the underlying reasons for the discord as UKCOD states, are these the losing Deaf input and Deaf ownership of prevalent issues affecting our lives?
Twenty years ago there were expectations of a future with strong Deaf leadership and alliances with hearing professional’s in furthering our cause as part of society.
I look at examples of workable collaboration with examples of respecting the Deaf Voice, especially in ensuring a legacy of focused leadership and passing on such values to ensure the Deaf Community is not an entity needing pity and help, but as an active, articulate and contributing element in society.
Call me biased but one organisation, BSLBT (BSLZone), strived for a balance of Deaf & hearing input at Board Level, with leadership that allows Deaf input constantly to ensure Deaf values are maintained in the production of BSLBT’s programmes. Another organisation, the NDCS, has an amazing cross-section of Deaf & hearing staffing, I met several hearing NDCS staff who showed huge respect, parity and consideration for both Deaf children and adults in various campaigns and processes.
We do live in challenging times, yes, Jim, but we Deaf people – bearing in mind there are many good ‘Deaf Apples’ out there with the skills – need hearing leadership to openly acknowledge and support Deaf values, including the whole spectrum of various d/Deaf representation, throughout all processes. There is a great deal of cynicism about hearing leadership not showing those values in their discourse and process.
Even deafened, Deafblind and hard of hearing people would agree with competent peer representation in their causes, allied and supported by hearing colleagues who acknowledge this form of representation which ensures Deaf, deaf, Deafblind, deafened, HoH voices are authentically ‘heard’.
We are only just over 5 years away from the futuristic sounding 2020 – 25 years since the DDA .
Um….where do we stand now in equality, inclusion and parity now?
Several leaders amongst the Deaf Community are retiring in this half decade to come.
We need to pause, change the culture of organisational representation towards genuine Deaf & hearing alliances with the aim of embedding Deaf citizenship values within society.
Not as token ‘need to be helped’ values, we need to raise new forward-thinking Deaf-focused leadership dealing with “non-impact assessment” inequalities by the Governments of this early 21st century.
We many Deaf professionals in the frontline, with our hearing allies, valiantly do keep up those values for future generations of Deaf leadership and effective, level-playing field management with our hearing allies at all levels and in all fields of expertise relating to d/Deaf issues.
Ruth
September 23, 2014
My memory might be at fault but surely UKCoD was established with the aim of enabling organisations representing the full range of deafness to come together to agree on policies and we understood the different needs and aims of those organisations.
It worked very well but for the last five years or so UKCoD has had such a low profile that it is surprising it is still in existence.
Problems with funding might be partly responsible for this breakdown in communications but the few events UKCoD has organised have not been well publicised or thought out.
Matt Brown
September 23, 2014
I agree with pennybsl.
Perhaps there are other reasons why those other charities have done better. Perhaps it was to do with the leadership.
Perhaps we are all tired of constant “stakeholder workshops” to define our purpose, of published information so steeped in “charityspeak” that it means nothing to the general population, when really we all know perfectly well what we want to achieve. Perhaps we are tired of constant navel-gazing and would like more action.
Perhaps some of these organisations need to die and have their resources reallocated to projects that can really make a difference.
Perhaps we can’t be represented by other people. Perhaps we are perfectly able to represent ourselves.
Sandra Dowe
September 23, 2014
Deaf organisations need a long term view and work to enable everyone to communicate well and use signing from infancy. BSL should be a subject as another language in schools, beginning at nursery and offered as a GCSE subject to all students, deaf and hearing. When will this happen?
Tim
September 24, 2014
I’m glad that that they are listening to criticism rather than doing the AOHL thing of pulling a silly face of righteous indignation and ignoring people. Credit where it’s due.
But I think that all Deaf organisations should resist going along with the ‘economic climate’ commentary. Really, this is an ideological war on poor people and disabled people.
If this were genuine austerity then the people who could shoulder the cuts better would be getting more whereas those who couldn’t would be getting less.
Yet disabled people face endless cuts while millionaires get a tax cut.
So please challenge this onslaught – it’s as unlawful as it is unfair.
Perhaps you should readopt a good maxim that AOHL threw out – ‘Making the world a better place for Deaf people.’
‘Deaf’ is neutral from a medical/social model point of view and so can apply to everybody.