EAD Development Plan 2009 – 2013
1. Economic activities and real estate
- EAD maintains and manages its real estate assets (buildings and land) in Tallinn, Tartu and Pärnu as a vital basis for the EAD and its societies.
- EAD continues finding partners and binding contracts in order to renovate former club buildings (Tallinn) and a gym (Pärnu) and to make profit for EAD.
- EAD continues and tries to expand the activities of the member societies as an important part in securing jobs for deaf people, for managing buildings and for making profit for EAD.
- EAD member societies continue the renovation of the buildings and renting out rooms that are not needed for their activities.
- Releasing the proprietary income paid by EAD member societies to EAD from income tax.
2. Employment
- Conducting systematic data collection about employment of deaf people.
- Raising the interest of employers in hiring a deaf person should be guaranteed with tax benefits.
- Including EU funds to diminish employment problems.
- Bringing in new professions and finding partners who wish to employ deaf people.
- Compiling a brochure which explains the possibilities to bring hearing-impaired people to job market and problems which may arise.
3. EAD members and societies
- EAD and its societies continue working on the database of deaf people living in Estonia.
- EAD supports deaf people's initiative to found new local societies. This way, more deaf people will be included in social co-operation.
- Establishing better working conditions for the societies which operate in EAD buildings and supporting the purchase of necessary office equipment.
- Organising training for the societies in different topics: transaction of affairs, accountancy, management, project work and archiving.
4. Social sphere
- Starting a counselling service for deaf people and for those hearing-impaired people who use sign language.
- Establish the post of a social worker in larger centres of EAD to help the deaf people find a job and securing regular financing of the post.
- Organising sign language courses for social workers of the local government in order to enhance the subsistence of deaf people living in the country.
- Gathering deaf patients of care homes and those hearing-impaired patients who use sign language into one place.
- Standing up for the continuation of the interpreted news in ETV and making preparations for a broadcast delivered by deaf people.
- Adding the necessary communication equipment (mobile phones, faxes, signalling equipment) in the list of aids with reduced price.
- Starting negotiations with telecommunications companies in order to obtain free 3G video calls for the deaf or video calls with reduced price.
5. Sign language and interpreting service
- Developing sign language interpreting service.
- Training sign language interpreters and supporting sign language teaching.
- Supporting and developing the activities of sign language workgroups in EAD.
- Continuing activities connected with Estonian Sign Language.
- Developing vocational standard for sign language interpreters and ratifying it at the Estonian Qualifications Authority (Kutsekoda).
- Research on Estonian Sign Language
- Conducting research on Estonian Sign Language.
- Establishing a sign language centre financed by the state, which would co-ordinate research on Estonian Sign Language and compilation of study materials.
- Compiling textbooks for teaching Estonian Sign Language as a first language and as a foreign language.
- Compiling Estonian Sign Language dictionary (CD/DVD).
- Teaching Estonian Sign Language
- Developing methodical basis for teaching Estonian Sign Language as a first language.
- The focus in teaching Estonian Sign Language is on Deaf community and Deaf culture.
- Training sign language teachers for teaching Estonian Sign Language as a first language and as a foreign language.
- Advocating Estonian Sign Language and Estonian Deaf community, spreading information.
- Estonian Sign Language interpreting service
- Implementing a qualifying year for the students studying sign language interpreting (working supervised by mentors).
- Increasing the number of hours of interpreting service for the hearing-impaired people.
- Adjusting salary of sign language interpreters so that it would be competitive in the job market.
- New services that should be developed
- Training people who know shorthand in note-taking for deaf people.
- Establishing a technological base (computer programmes).
6. Culture and communication
- Collecting and keeping in order documents and data connected to Deaf history (documents, films, photos, written and filmed memories, and things).
- Establishing a collection for Deaf history museum and finding suitable rooms for storing and exposing that.
- Adding materials to EAD website and making preparations for keeping the website up-to-date.
- Publishing EAD newsletter once or twice a year.
- Making sign language videos (teaching materials, history, etc).
- Organising cultural events in Estonia.
- Supporting the activities of hobby groups.
7. Education
- EAD turns special attention to developing different educational opportunities for deaf people.
Development plan for years 2009-2013 was adopted at EAD annual meeting on 9 May 2009.
07.06.2010 |