‘Abu-Ghazaleh Knowledge Forum’ Organizes Panel Session on ‘International Day of Sign Language’

AMMAN – Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Knowledge Forum (TAG-KF), a member of Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Global (TAG.Global), has organized a panel session marking the International Day of ‘Sign Language’ which usually celebrated on September 23 every year. The session was held in cooperation between the Public Security Directorate, the Higher Council for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (HCD), and the All Jordan Youth Commission, with participation of more than 20 institutions addressing the deafness cases in the Kingdom.

The panel is part TAG-KF’s national role and social responsibility to shed light on the challenges people with hearing loss usually face, and to find solutions for such challenges, with the aim of building a society where people with disabilities enjoy a decent and sustainable life with effective participation based on equity and equality.

At the beginning of the session, Dr. Fadi Daoud, executive director of TAG-KF and TAG.Global Education and Youth Consultant, emphasized his pride in cooperation with the national institutions dedicated to helping  people with disabilities, expressing special gratitude to the HCD for its national efforts in this field.

The panel included several specialized sessions with the participation of a group of experts from a number of national institutions. It was translated into sign language by the President of the Board of Directors of the first Jordanian Association for Sign Language Interpreters, Mr. Usama Altahrawi. 
Meanwhile, Ms. Ghadeer  Alhares, assistant secretary-general for technical affairs at the HCD, pointed out the importance of translation from sign language to written language and vice versa to ensure effective communication with persons with disabilities. 

The Head of Control and Operations Directorate at the Public Security Directorate, Lieutenant Colonel Amjad Al Huniti, referred to the people with hearing loss disability’s emergency video call number (114) launched by the Public Security Directorate, explaining that hearing disability is one of the highest rates in the society, warning that the affected persons may experience various types of accidents at any time.

Dr. Samir Samreen, president of the Arab Organization for Sign Language Interpreters, stated that sign language interpreters in Jordan are among the most skilled and are considered as role model in this field, especially since they are the only interpreters in the region whose  work is based on a recognized methodology and they all hold a professional license to practice this profession. 

During the sessions, the success story of Ms. May Bader, president of the Jordanian Woman Development Charitable Society for the  Deaf, was reviewed. Ms. Bader is the first Jordanian woman to establish an association that serves women with hearing loss disability. 

Additionally, the All Jordan Youth Commission-Al-Balqa Branch Coordinator, Mr. Mohannad Al Waked, said that the Commission’s goal is to empower the capabilities of Jordanian youth in various aspects, especially the youth with hearing loss disability. 

At the end of the gathering, certificates of attendance were given to a number of deaf who took part in the training session organized by Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Digital Platform for Youth entitled “Developing Reading and Writing Skills for People with Hearing Disability.”

It is worth mentioning that the International Day of Sign Languages is a unique opportunity to support and protect the linguistic identity and cultural diversity of all deaf people and sign language users. According to the World Federation of the Deaf, there are more than 70 million deaf people worldwide, 80% of them live in the developing countries. Collectively, they use more than 300 different sign languages.

To watch the full session, please click the link: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-fKGjI1Lwg