Ensuring deaf people's right to access information

Hello, This is Nuri Park from Peace Winds Korea.

I am here to share with you the next story of Deafnuri team.

This time, I would like to tell you a story that we couldn't tell you all in the 3rd interview.

Topic of the 3rd interview was ‘The Deafnuri relationship and Social discrimination they faced’.

The question was “Can you please share with us a brief story about discrimination in your daily life that each of you felt?”

 A: Our team was selected to work on a project aimed to fostering social entrepreneurs. As a part of the project, we are required to attend various educational session like networking events, and one-on-one mentoring. In generaly. the interpretation service should be provided at such events, but the agency managing the project informed us that they could not support the cost of interpretation due to budgetary constraints, Instead, we were told that we would need to pay for these services by ourselves”.

Therefore, I asked them to allocate budget for the interpretation service separately, but the official said that this could be considered reverse discrimination since it would mean our team received a larger budget than others. Also, He suggested that we use our project budget to cover the cost of interpretation instead. Since we believe that translation costs will not be a big part of whole budget, we didn't expect it to have a significant impact on other teams' budgets. I expressed my concern that this was discriminatory, but they remained silent. It left me feeling upset and saddened.

B: Disabled students and universities facing a shortage of stenographer

I am fortunate to be receiving shorthand support this semester, but accessing this service has always been a challenge in the past. I had hoped to take an orientation class to get enough class information, therefore I searched information to get help. but I was informed by the official at the Disabled Student Support Center and the staff in charge of remote shorthand services that there is a high demand for stenographers because many universities are seeking stenographers urgently. This shortage seems to be more pronounced in universities located in rural areas compared to those in the capital region.

C: I had a recent experience that left me frustrated. I visited a café and placed an order for a beverage using my phone. I wished they had communicated with me in writing to double-check my order. Even though I gestured for them to write it down, they spoke to me wearing masks, making it difficult for me to understand. Eventually, I nodded my agreement, feeling like I had wasted my time. Usually, when I go to a restaurant or café, I always ask the staff to write down to ensure clear communication. However, it can be disheartening when some people ignore my requests.

D: I recently felt disappointed while watching a public service advertisement on TV. The advertisement was about forest fire prevention and featured Um Hong-gil as the main character. While watching, I noticed a small sign language interpreter appearing on the right-hand side of the screen. While I appreciated the effort to include sign language interpretation, I found it difficult to focus on the interpreter. If the sign language interpreter had been given a more prominent position, it would have been easier for deaf people to access the information accurately.

E: I'd like to share something that has been on my mind. When I was considering enrolling in graduate school, I asked a professor for advice. While discussing the possibility of doing research together, I was told that it might be challenging because of my disability. I believe there were other reasons for my rejection, but he mentioned my disability. I felt disappointed that he considered only my disability as a main factor in the decision.

Even though there are various means of communication available, such as text translation, sign language interpretation, and voice translation, It was frustrated when I excluded from certain projects because of communication challenges. Additionally, I was embarrassed because people made decisions without taking the time to address and resolve disagreements.

That concludes our interview for today. Thank you for your time. I look forward to conducting more interesting interviews in the next time.

Please support Deafnuri and change the world with them.

Thank you once again for your invaluable support! We will be sure to keep you informed about our work in the coming months.

Best regards!

Nuri Park, Peace Winds Korea

P.S. You can also comments & suggestions on Report. We would love to hear your feedback, comments & Suggestion on our program.

Email : pwk@peacewindskorea.org

Hello,

This is Dinora. I am here to share with you the next story of Deafnuri team.

On the 1st interview we’ve discussed their Plans for GlobalGiving Donation" On the 2nd interview we’ve talked about The Importance of Having Access to All Kinds of Information“.

And now it's time to 3rd interview! On the 3rd interview we’ve talked about the Deafnuri team itself.

Topic of the 3rd interview is ‘The Deafnuri relationship and Social discriminations they faced’

1. Can you please give us the brief introduction of the 5 members in the photo and how you’re all decided to become a team?

1) CEO of the Deafnuri (in the middle) - She is dreaming to create a barrier-free environment for the deaf community and is working as the representative of Deafnuri.

2) The team member (2nd from right) - She has overseas volunteer experience and is currently working as a social worker.

3) The team member (2nd from left) - She is currently working at the Social Cooperative to realize the right to access information for the hearing impaired.

4) Team member (far left) - He used to be an executive of the Korea Association of Deaf University Students, and currently he is helping with several business initiatives at Deafnuri.

5) The team member (far right) - The youngest member of Deafnuri, a university student. Deafnuri’s logo and symbols were designed by her.

 + 6) The New Team member: There is the new member who joined Deafnuri this year, and is preparing to promote Deafnuri more diligently by utilizing design expertise.

How was the team formed? In July 2020, with the KCOC community 'Challenge Season' as an opportunity, Deafnuri was formed by gathering three farmers interested in international development cooperation, human rights, and travel. The first activity was to promote the UN CRPD (United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities) study in easy-to-read language to all deaf people.

Then, as a Korean deaf community, we wanted to promote exchanges and cooperation between North and South Korean deaf community and contribute to the peaceful social economy.

Then the idea of making a South and North Korean sign language item came out. In fact, even at the time, we didn't know how different the sign language between the two Koreas was, even though all of the Deafnuri team members lived in a divided country. In order to raise the awareness of the deaf that North Korea is not a 'object to be wary of' but 'our Korean people', a story came out to create an inter-Korean sign language item and content that guarantees the 'right to access information', an important right for the deaf.

And this idea won the grand prize at the '2021 Korea Youth Peace Economy Open Lab Project', it was the idea of publishing a North-South sign language travel conversation book based on the difference in sign language between North and South Korea. This is because the meaning of the North-South sign language travel conversation book is related to barrier-free.

Currently, most of the travel products and education in Deafnuri are for non-disabled people. In order to solve the social problem of low diversity of information access rights, to provide inclusive barrier-free services for not only the deaf, but also for everyone.

2. Can you please share with us a brief story about discrimination in your daily life that each of you felt?

A: It happened when I was in high school. I wanted to donate blood, so I went to a blood donation center with my friends. The doctor said, “I am in good condition and able to donate a blood but, but I think it will be difficult today.”

And I asked the reason, Answer that gave was: “Because the blood of the hearing impaired cannot be mixed with the blood of the non-disabled.”

I was so upset. I asked her explain again so that I can understand, “What’s wrong with the blood of the deaf? I don't understand." But the doctor insisted on her own opinion and position. In the end, I wrote on a white piece of paper, “This is clear discrimination. It's really disappointing that you think of the blood of deaf like that.” Since I was young at the time, I regret not being able to deal with it with a mature attitude, but I was shocked by the discrimination.

B: I want to tell about discrimination in the university space.

1) Most of the information is provided by phone.

There is an artificial intelligence chatbot, but it only listens to a set answer, and you have to make a phone call to find out detailed information. The Support Center for Students with Disabilities says they can find out for me, but it would be nice to have a chat counselor.

2) A class method that is difficult for hearing impaired students to participate in.

There are many debate classes in my current major. I am receiving remote shorthand support, so I can participate in at least part of it, but the professor recommended that to replace the class with a review of the lesson. They said there was no need to attend if I replaced it with a commentary like essay about the lecture, but I was upset because I felt excluded from class.

There are other cases of discrimination they’ve experienced which we would like to share with you in the next report. Thank you:)

Make an Big Impact with a donation.

Support Deafnuri and change the world with them.

P.S. You can also comments & suggestions on Report. We would love to hear your feedback, comments & Suggestion on our program.

Please reach out to us at

Email : pwk@peacewindskorea.org

Many thanks again for your valuable support!! We will continue to keep you updated about our work of the following months.

Many Regards!

Peace Winds Korea