Media Room

Plenty of news in this month's edition of One in Six. Click here for pdf or for Word version here

We have produced 2 papers about Auslan as an official language in Australia. Each paper has an Auslan video with it on You Tube.

This discussion paper and questionnaire has certainly stirred some debate, which is good. Please see a letter to Deafness Forum as well as Deafness Forum's reply. 

1. A discussion paper giving you information about Auslan becoming an official language in Australia (some history, comparison to other overseas countries, and what would it mean). 

2. A questionnaire for you to complete and send back to us about Auslan as an official language.

Questions in Auslan for the discussion paper on Use of Auslan in Australia

Please feel free to pass this questionnaire on to other people you know who use Auslan. Please send your reply back to us by 25 March 2010.

So you should read the Discussion paper and watch the video about it first, then watch the video about the questionnaire, then fill in the questionnaire (it won’t take long). You can either print the questionnaire out and write on it and send it to us in mail or fax, or you can fill in the questionnaire on your computer and email it back to us.

Our Board members who are Deaf and use Auslan have produced this paper (Alex Jones and Gary Kerridge) and are looking forward to your replies, and to finishing our report to send to the Australian government about Auslan as an official language in Australia.

26 February 2010: The Australian Government has released its national statement on social inclusion A Stronger, Fairer Australia. There are six social inclusion priorities including improving outcomes for people living with disabilities or mental illness and their carers.

See the full report at http://www.carersaustralia.com.au/uploads/Carers%20Australia/Thirdparty%20Reports/January%202010%20A%20stronger,%20Fairer%20Australia.pdf

The Federal Government announced on 24 February 2010 that all government websites must become compliant with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 to its second highest AA level by 2015.

Deafness Forum CEO Nicole Lawder welcomed this announcement, which is consistent with recommendations put forward by the National People with Disability and Carer Council of which Ms Lawder is a member. 

A transition strategy for the move to WCAG 2.0 will be part of the National Disability Strategy to be released later this year, which the NPWDACC is heavily involved in. 

See http://www.financeminister.gov.au/media/2010/mr_052010_joint.html

Deafness Forum and Deaf Australia are pleased to invite members in Brisbane to a FREE telecommunications seminar on 24 March 2010, 7.30pm. Come along to hear about captioned telephone, Video Relay Service and SMS for emergencies. Please see attached flyer for more information.

Check out our free fact sheet, and more information about the switchover to digital TV, available at http://www.deafnessforum.org.au/index.php?q=switchover-digital-tv

See http://www.deafnessforum.org.au/index.php?q=newsletter-archive

12 January 2010: The body representing many DVD distributors has released a public commitment to improving captioning levels on DVDs. See media release from the Australian Visual Software Distributors Association (AVSDA) on behalf of:

- Disney Studios Home Entertainment

- Hopscotch Entertainment

- Madman Entertainment

- Paramount Home Entertainment

- Roadshow Entertainment

- Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

- Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment

- Universal Pictures Video

- Sony Home Video.

We invite members to complete our survey to let us know how well we are doing, and what we should be doing in the future. Click here to take survey, which is open until 31 January 2010.