Rebecca A Withey: The DeafExpo at the NEC – a first for the Deaf community (BSL)

Any new event within the Deaf community that is genuinely enjoyed tends to become a fixture in the yearly calendar. Much like DSPY (Deaf Sports Personality of the Year), Deaffest, and more recently the Edinburgh Deaf Festival, the DeafExpo at the NEC already feels like an event with that kind of future.

For Deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing people alike, the DeafExpo created a brand new opportunity to gather under one roof and meet the wide range of services, organisations, charities, and businesses working to champion accessibility and support within the Deaf community.

It also hosted the British Deaf Association (BDA) conference, along with the first BDA Youth Conference too!

While many of the exhibitors were already familiar to me through social media, it was refreshing to finally meet the faces behind the brands in person. There’s something very different about having real conversations face-to-face rather than through a screen.

Arriving at the DeafExpo, my mind flashed back to previous exhibitions I’d attended at the NEC over the years — the Clothes Show, the Food Show — and now finally, the DeafExpo. An event entirely dedicated to Deaf people, their families, friends, and community. It honestly felt quite significant seeing that become a reality.

Over 3,000 people attended across the weekend, and the atmosphere reflected that. Everywhere you looked there were conversations happening: businesses demonstrating their services, charities sharing support and advice, organisations connecting with the very people they exist to help.

Chatting to exhibitors, they seemed just as exhilarated by the opportunity to meet customers and service users in person. People spoke enthusiastically about their video relay services, sailing weekends, Deaf schools, accessibility projects, charities, and businesses — all clearly proud of the work they do.

A few stalls had devised fun ways of interacting with the community; from lipreading challenges, competitive games as well as opportunities to try out the technology they were promoting.

I also spent time chatting with other attendees, many of whom absolutely gushed about the event. Like me, they loved the opportunity to discover new things while also reconnecting with businesses and organisations they’d worked with before.

But perhaps most importantly, they loved the social aspect.

People had travelled from across the UK, and for many this became a chance to reconnect with friends and acquaintances they hadn’t seen for years. That’s always been such an important part of Deaf gatherings — the opportunity for social interaction, networking, catching up, and simply touching base with the wider community.

The NEC proved an ideal location for that too, sitting right beside both a train station and an airport, making it accessible for people travelling from all over the country.

One of the nicest parts for me personally was learning about things I hadn’t encountered before. I was delighted to discover Sign Track Studios, a translation company translating films specifically selected by Warner Bros using Deaf performers — and they gave us the opportunity to have a go at in-vision translating – which was incredibly cool.

There was also a strong programme of talks throughout the event, with speakers covering topics around accessibility, barriers, inclusion, and overcoming obstacles. The range of perspectives made the talks genuinely inspiring and added another layer to the experience beyond simply walking around exhibition stands.

I also thoroughly enjoyed learning more about GBR Deaf Sailing. Deaf sailor Daniel Clements spoke so warmly and knowledgeably about the sport that he almost convinced me to give sailing a try myself — despite the fact I’m definitely not a natural water lover!

Daniel had even brought along his own boat, which I got the chance to sit in and explore firsthand. Watching him explain how everything worked made it all look surprisingly simple… although I suspect the reality is quite a bit harder!

That said, if you’ve ever dreamed of trying sailing but never had the opportunity, I’d definitely recommend looking into the GBR Deaf Sailing taster weekends. After speaking with the team, it was clear how welcoming and supportive they are — you’d certainly be in safe hands.

If there’s one thing I’d love to see expanded at the DeafExpo, it would perhaps be more Deaf-led artistic and creative businesses. I enjoyed visiting the Deaf Visual Artists stall and expected there might be more similar exhibitors.

Events like this feel like the perfect opportunity for Deaf artists, designers, illustrators, makers, and independent creatives to showcase their work, take commissions, and tell people about what they do.

Overall though, the event felt like a huge success.

More importantly, it was wonderful to see the overwhelmingly positive feedback from attendees themselves — because ultimately they are the people the event exists for, and the organisers clearly succeeded in creating something the community genuinely valued.

And the best part?

They’ve already announced dates for next year: 14–15 May. So make sure it’s in your diary. See you there!

By Rebecca A Withey 

Rebecca A Withey is the Assistant Editor for The Limping Chicken. She is also a script writer, BSL consultant and creative artist based in the Midlands. Rebecca is a Deaf, bilingual BSL user. Find out more at www.rawithey.com

For more information about the DeafExpo, see here.