Ente Nazionale Sordi - ONLUS

Three meetings dedicated to the accessibility to the University for deaf and deaf blind students

The university world is not a simple world. Not for non-disabled students, and becomes even more complex and frustrating for a deaf student, with the absence of quality services dedicated to overcome communication barriers – from stenotype to interpretation services in sign language, from tutoring to access to information that connect the entire academic life.

The deaf boys and girls who arrive at the finish line to a degree are still very few in Italy, not to mention the post-graduate courses, and they do it with great effort, enormous willpower and personal sacrifice.

Outside Italy are good experiences and best practices, even Italy has centres of excellence but the road ahead is still long, particularly in light of what we expected the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Not all universities provide adequate services to the different needs of deaf and deaf-blind students, the orientation in the university world is not simple with the absence of accessible information and obstacles to be overcome are many. In addition, the Italian scene does not offer a consistent picture of the services and opportunities offered, ranging from University to University.

In such a scenario the ENS aims to promote a broad comparison with the University, the institutions, the students, organizing three days of study, comparison, testimonies to build in a new season dedicated to promote accessibility and usability of university courses by deaf and deaf blind students.

These days it is being discussed in the Senate, in the Constitutional Affairs Committee, the unified text for the social inclusion of deaf people and the recognition of the Italian Sign Language and the conference will be a valuable opportunity to check the levels of accessibility of the Italian university context for deaf citizens, sharing experiences and good practices from abroad, as well as to formulate proposals that go continuously to improve the usability of the courses of study of persons with disabilities.

The meetings will be as follows:

Thursday 26^th May 2016

 Panel

University and deaf students
Policies and best practices

09.00-13.30

Sala della Comunicazione

Minister of Education, University and Research

Viale Trastevere 76 - Roma

The meeting aims to raise awareness of the institutions, the University and the public opinion on the analysis and consolidation of good practice and services - in order to cooperate for inclusion - that may provide the best quality of life of deaf students, following the principles of the UN Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities;

Participation is limited to representatives of the world of the politics, institutions, and to "insiders" in the university sector.

Is guaranteed interpreting service from / into Italian - Italian Sign Language - International Signs and subtitling in Italian language.

Participation: by invitation

View Program

Friday 27^th May 2016

 Conference

University and deaf students
Accessibility training: comparing experiences in Italy and aboard

Aula Magna del Rettorato

Università degli Studi Roma Tre

Via Ostiense 159 Roma

 A day of training is dedicated to scientific studies, social and legislative and to compare experiences in Italy and abroad on the issue of accessibility inside the university by the deaf and deaf blind students.

Are invited to participate Teachers and officials of the University, the staff of the Office of Disability in the universities, representatives of the Ministry of Education and the Italian and foreign institutions, curricular teachers and others, Communications Assistants, Interpreters and operators of the sector, Tutor and graduates / undergraduates deaf young in order to have a clear overview of services and technologies in use and intervention of guidelines to improve the quality of life and study of deaf students in the entire university career.

Is guaranteed interpreting service from / into Italian - Italian Sign Language - International Signs and subtitling in Italian language.

Saturday 28^th May 2016

 Meeting day between deaf student and graduates

Coordinated by the Italian Committee of Deaf Youth (CGSI) - ENS

 Ente Nazionale Sordi - Onlus

Sede Centrale

Via Gregorio VII, 120 Roma

The third day is reserved for a moment of confrontation between university students and deaf graduates.

The Italian Deaf Youth Committee has already launched a campaign of data collection through a questionnaire addressed to all university students (http://www.cgsi-italia.it/notizie/progetto-accademico) whose results will be presented and discussed during the meetings.