INTERVENTION-Establishment of a deaf community

Inspired by the theory of “community of practice “and the UK Deaf Community Gallery, I hoped that by creating a community platform for these Deaf people to communicate with each other internally and to get help from outside.

I chose a city of 1.41 million people as the location for my intervention.As a hearing person, it is not easy to get in touch with deaf people very deeply. Through my deaf friend, I invited some Deaf to organize a paper-cutting and flower-arranging workshop first, aiming to bring the deaf people closer to each other through the workshop’s craft activities and to allow me to have more opportunities to communicate with them in depth.

I hoped that by creating a community platform for these Deaf individuals to communicate with each other internally and to get help from outside. I chose a city of 1.41 million people as the location for my intervention. In the course of two workshops, I met a voice leader from a special education school who is also a Deaf person. And I found that they were interested in forming a community but encountered obstacles in terms of documents, procedures, etc.I was the intermediary, having worked in the relevant government departments for some time.As the secretary of the association, I helped them set up the first legal Deaf community with 120 members in the city.I would summarize the benefits of this community in several ways, the first being that under China’s administrative system, legally established associations are able to raise funds from the government and society for development within the community.The second is that as a group, they can defend their legitimate rights and interests and promote the equal and full participation of deaf people in social life.

Expert feedback

Liu, the new president of the Association of the Deaf, said that the General Assembly of the smooth and successful completion of the required agenda, I believe that in the future, through the joint efforts of the Association to do more services for persons with hearing disabilities.

Yan, deputy director of the city’s Disabled Persons’ Federation, congratulated the establishment of the city’s Association of the Deaf, she stood at the height of the long-term development of the cause of persons with disabilities, and put forward views on how to do a good job for persons with hearing disabilities. She said the association needs to strengthen the association’s leadership, normative behaviour construction, but also to further strengthen the association’s organisational construction, improve the quality and ability of members. It should play the role of a position and a bridge, strengthen the publicity of the spirit of self-improvement of the disabled, play the role of a good communication link between the disabled and the Disabled Persons’ Federation, provide the disabled with specialised and practical services, and carry out the work purpose of serving the disabled.

Self-Reflection

I think in this intervention, it’s a bit of a business negotiation between various interest groups.But the whole process was very stimulating and exciting, and I always heard different perspectives from different stakeholders.And my research question, at the beginning, shifted from wanting to integrate Deaf people into society to how to help them. In terms of my personal development and vision for the project, setting up a community has provided me with more information from the inside and has allowed me to NETWORK with all sorts of people.