New generation of sign language interpreters graduate in Derry

Ten men and women received certificates for passing their level six in Irish Sign Language (ISL), the highest level achievable. Certificates were also handed out to British Sign Language (BSL) students at level three.

Foyle Deaf Association recently secured its own premises on Great James Street in Derry. The property has given the organisation a firm base from which to build on its work supporting the deaf community and developing Northern Ireland’s interpreter list.

An FDA spokesperson said that government funding has been vital in enabling it to enhance the services it can offer.

They said: “Funding from the Department for Communities has had a profound impact on the FDA and in turn the deaf community we serve. It has allowed us to become a teaching organisation and to provide successive cohorts of students with training in BSL and ISL from level three to level six and presently right up to interpreter level.

“Some of those students along with other qualified candidates are now taking part in our interpreter training programme funded by the Department, in order to address the dire need for sign language professionals in the country.

“Department for Communities funding has also allowed us to purchase a building as our own deaf hub, as well as furniture and equipment and provide various projects and activities for our members and service users, providing invaluable support for our deaf community and raising the profile of the FDA.

“Because of this, we are going from strength to strength as an organisation and a community, and we are confident that we will continue to grow moving forward in becoming the focal point for the deaf community in the north west and the west as a whole.”

In attendance at the graduation ceremony, which was held in the Millennium Forum, was Acting Head of the Department for Communities’ Sign Language Policy and Legislation team, Tommy McAuley.

Mr McAuley said: “The Department’s investment in Foyle Deaf Association demonstrates its commitment to developing the sign language infrastructure necessary to support the local deaf community, and in doing so, improving accessibility to services for BSL and ISL users both in the north west and across Northern Ireland.”

"It is important that not only are these initiatives co-designed with the deaf community but, where possible, their delivery is deaf-led.

“Foyle Deaf Association is an excellent example of how the Department has worked alongside a deaf-led teaching and cultural organisation which is delivering qualifications in their own languages which will ultimately increase interpreter capacity, but which also promotes BSL and ISL as languages in their own right to wider society.

“On behalf of the Department, I thank the association for their hard work and diligence to guide many students through the various levels of sign language qualifications over the past several years, and I congratulate all those students who have attained their BSL or ISL qualifications.”

For more information on the Foyle Deaf Association and the services they provide, visit foyledeafassociation.com.