TRAINING: New Ethiopian Sign Language & Deaf Culture University Degree
Press Release – Ethiopian Sign Language degree
No. 1/08
The Department of Linguistics, Addis Ababa University, organized and conducted a one day consultative workshop on a Draft syllabus of a BA program in Ethiopian Sign Language (ESL) and Deaf Culture on March 14, 2008 in Addis Ababa. The purpose of the workshop is to evaluate the draft syllabus with the presence of stakeholders who are working in the area of sign language and Deaf Education. The participants are mainly teachers of Deaf schools, Deaf Students, representatives from Deaf Association, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, NGOs, various relevant government offices and the university officials.
Ethiopia’s first BA program in ESL and Deaf Culture has the following main objectives:
- Train Deaf teachers and Deaf sign linguists,
- Promoting the growth and enrichment of the ESL and,
- Promote collaborative research on ESL.
It was told by the participants that such initiatives taken by the university is encouraging to minimize the shortage of teachers of deaf students all over the country. This three years BA program is hopefully to be launched in October 2008. Besides, the department has a future plan to set up a Regional Sign Language Center. Therefore, the department invites professionals to support our effort in the improvement of Ethiopian Deaf Education and for the development of Ethiopian Sign Language.
Currently, the department gives a non-credit, free of charge, awareness raising course on ESL and Deaf Culture for the University community. There are about 250 students attending this course in six (6) classes and will be certified on June 2008.
Inquiry about the Sign Language Program in Addis Ababa University can be made to the following addresses:
Dr. Hirut WoldeMariam, Chairperson, Dep’t of Linguistics, AAU
Email- hirutwoldemariam@yahoo.com
Dr. Moges Yigezu, ESL and Deaf Culture Project Leader,
Email- mogesyigezu@yahoo.com.au
Eyasu Hailu, ESL and Deaf Culture Project Coordinator
Email- tusaye11@gmail.com
Department of Linguistics
Addis Ababa University
April 2008
We Can Do obtained this press release via the DeafStudies-Africa listserv. Please note that inquiries related to the Ethiopian Sign Language program should be directed to one of the three email addresses given above, not to We Can Do.
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4th All Africa Wheelchair Congress Report Available Online
In low-income countries, the overwhelming majority people who need wheelchairs don’t have one. This has a profound impact on their ability to lead independent lives–or even leave their own homes. Participants in a recent conference in Africa exchanged ideas and knowledge on how to address this challenge.
The 4th All Africa Wheelchair Congress Report (PDF format, 446 Kb) can now be downloaded for free on-line. The report summarizes a series of remarks, panel discussions, and other conference sessions on how to promote appropriate wheelchair services across the African continent. The report also presents a list of resolutions made on the last day of the Congress. The 4th All Africa Wheelchair Congress was held in September 2007 in Tanzania.
The Pan Africa Wheelchair Builders Association (PAWBA) and the Tanzanian Training Centre for Orthopaedic Technologists (TATCOT) facilitated the congress. Co-funders included the World Health Organisation, ABILIS, Motivation Africa, Christoffel Blindenmission (CBM), and SINTEF. The 116 participating members came from Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Angola, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia, South Africa, UK, Norway and USA.
The previous three All Africa Wheelchair Congresses were held in Zambia (2003); Kenya (1998); and Zimbabwe (1995). Each congress was a landmark in developing appropriate and affordable wheelchair products and services in Africa in allowing participants to exchange knowledge across the continent. PAWBA was formed at the 2003 Congress.
You can download the full, 47-page 4th All Africa Wheelchair Congress report in PDF format (446 Kb) at:
http://www.independentliving.org/docs7/pawba-tatcot200709.pdf
We Can Do learned about this report by browsing the AskSource.info database on health, disability, and development. I gathered further detail by skimming the report itself.
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CASE STUDIES: Disabled Women Entrepreneurs in Ethiopia
Women with disabilities in Ethiopia and many other countries can face enormous obstacles in becoming economically independent. But some Ethiopian disabled women do become successful entrepreneurs.
A publication from the International Labour Organization (ILO), entitled Doing Business in Addis Ababa: Case Studies of Women Entrepreneurs with Disabilities in Ethiopia, presents 20 stories that describe how women with various disabilities have established their own small businesses in Addis Ababa and the Tigray region in Ethiopia. The women have a range of disabilities including visual impairments, hearing impairments, mobility impairments; and some have had leprosy. Two stories also describe how mothers of children with learning difficulties became entrepreneurs.
All the stories depict both the challenges faced by disabled women in Ethiopia and also the range of possibilities that can be open to them when they have access to the right skills, training, and opportunities. Many of the disabled women entrepreneurs in these case studies are able to use their income to support their families and children.
Read an abstract and download the publication in PDF format at:
http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/gladnetcollect/189/
We Can Do learned about this publication by browsing through Siyanda, an on-line database for publications and research related to gender and development.
Learn how to receive an email alert when new material is posted at We Can Do (wecando.wordpress.com).
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