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Nov 25, 2011

An update on the work SLIANZ and Deaf Aotearoa NZ are doing together - in NZSL or written text.

Category: General

Posted by: Micky

Deaf Aotearoa and SLIANZ: An Update

Watch this information in NZSL

SLIANZ would like to congratulate new President Kellye Bensley, Vice-President Hemi Hema and the new Board (Mark Berry, Robyn Carter, Jackie Davidson, Oliver Ferguson, Peter Fogarty and Robert Hewison) elected at the Deaf Aotearoa Biannual General Meeting in Christchurch last Saturday, 12^th November. We look forward to a positive working relationship with the new Board.

 

HRC Complaint

In 2010, the Deaf Aotearoa Board submitted a complaint to the Human Rights Commission.

 

In August 2010, Deaf Aotearoa organized a meeting with SLIANZ members facilitated by Janusz Malowaniec. The purpose of the meeting was to clarify the intent of the complaint, and to start working together on ways to resolve the issues. The complaint was circulated prior to this meeting.

 

At the meeting, it was agreed that the complaint highlighted:

 

1. Systemic  / infrastructure issues around interpreting provision
2. Relationship issues between Deaf people and interpreters.

 

It was agreed that the best way to resolve these long-standing issues would be through a working party consisting of members of Deaf Aotearoa and SLIANZ. This working party would begin to discuss the issues in a transparent manner, informing DANZ and SLIANZ members of their progress. While this working party was not established, there has been ongoing communication between the DANZ Board and the SLIANZ Committee.

 

In the time since the complaint, members of two successive SLIANZ committees have worked to respond to key issues in the complaint.  We believe that the ongoing projects listed below will go some way towards addressing these issues, and hope that they will be a starting point for further discussion between Deaf people and interpreters in a number of forums.

 

It has not yet been confirmed whether the Human Rights Commission will be taking the class action complaint forward. The new DANZ Board will decide whether to pursue the complaint further; in the meantime, it has been agreed that the original complaint document will not be circulated or shared without prior consent by the DANZ Board (in which case SLIANZ will be informed).

 

What SLIANZ is doing

1. 1. Professional Development

SLIANZ now has a continuing professional development requirement.  Work is underway to refine the professional development system further. We provide regular professional development activities for our members and we seek to involve the Deaf community in both providing and attending training, and in our annual conference.

 

1. 2. Mentoring

SLIANZ undertook a stocktake of interpreter mentoring arrangements and provided training for mentors in 2008. Since then, members have been able to advertise their services as a mentor on our website. We are now looking at strengthening the mentoring system, especially for new graduates.

 

 

1. 3. Code of Ethics Review

Many of the issues in the complaint relate to the ethical behaviour of interpreters. The SLIANZ 2011 Conference provided a forum to start discussing these issues. It was agreed at the Conference to carry out a full review of our Code of Ethics. We will use this opportunity to talk about the Code with both interpreters and Deaf and hearing consumers, and to make revisions if appropriate.

 

Discussions around our Ethics will also aim to increase awareness among Deaf people about the role and working practices of interpreters.

1. 4. Complaints Procedure

The complaints procedure will be made available in a flowchart form and in NZSL. We also hope to clarify the kind of outcomes that a complainant can expect.

 

1. 5. Standards

SLIANZ continue to liaise with relevant organizations, including DANZ and NZSTI, with regard to the development of interpreting standards.

 

1. 6. Membership categories

At the 2012 AGM we hope to propose new membership categories, which we hope will lead to increased participation of Deaf people in SLIANZ.

 

1. 7. WASLI/WFD Agreement

It is important that we strengthen and renew our bonds with the Deaf community. One way in which we will aim to do this is to confirm our cooperative stance and clarify our working relationship through an Agreement modeled on the WASLI / WFD agreement (see http://www.wasli.org/joint-agreements-p21.aspx). Many countries have committed to a similar agreement, with the same basic principles but varying in detail. The DANZ Board and the SLIANZ Committee will work together to draft an agreement.

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