TWO WEEKS ALREADY!?
The first two weeks I’ve been here in Castberggaard and participating in Frontrunners has flown by so quickly! So much information has been shared and consumed by myself and everyone in the program. We are constantly learning about one another and the Deaf Communities where we come from. We like to compare the different services and what is provided in each country- not to see who’s “better” but because we want to know- awareness is the key to improving and changing things! Here, we discuss and ponder many different issues- culture, identity, Deaf Associations, world organizations, etc. We also question about who belongs in the Deaf World, and if we belong to a culture or are part of a minority.
Discussing culture and how we should “label” ourselves, I learned about two perspectives that I hadn’t heard about before: Diaspora and Deafhood. They are both correct definitions of Deaf people that applies to us in different ways. As a Diaspora, Deaf people do not have our own territory and are often integrated in the capitalistic system. We are “scattered” all over and experience oppression in school, work and social life, thus creating a group identity where we develop our own cultural norms and activities. As a Deafhood, we focus on being part of the Deaf community and accepting Deafness as our identity. This is a much more positive perspective that focuses on us accepting our Deafness as a culture and identity and the desire to belong in the Deaf Community.
Last week, we had several guest speakers who had so much information to share with us. I learned about the World Federation of the Deaf and their Youth Section. They offer camps for international Deaf youth in specific age groups every year in different countries. I also learned about different international organizations (World Bank, International Monetary Fund, United Nations), what they specifically focus on and the services they provide all over the world. One speaker described a project that the Danish Deaf Association has been involved in for the past 13 years in Uganda. See DEVELOPING COUNTRIES (next entry) for more information and my thoughts.
Also, the first week we were here, we focused on developing our Frontrunners blog website (www.frontblog.dk). That in itself was a great experience- we made a website from scratch! We divided responsibilities according to everyone’s skills or expertise- photographing, web making, interviews, writing reports, etc. We will also learn from one another so we don’t have to keep the same responsibilities while maintaining the website.
Although my brain sometimes feels that it’s running on overload, it has been an amazing experience participating in Frontrunners and working with Deaf leaders from other countries! I am enjoying the experience tremendously and look forward to all I will learn and experience the next three months!
Discussing culture and how we should “label” ourselves, I learned about two perspectives that I hadn’t heard about before: Diaspora and Deafhood. They are both correct definitions of Deaf people that applies to us in different ways. As a Diaspora, Deaf people do not have our own territory and are often integrated in the capitalistic system. We are “scattered” all over and experience oppression in school, work and social life, thus creating a group identity where we develop our own cultural norms and activities. As a Deafhood, we focus on being part of the Deaf community and accepting Deafness as our identity. This is a much more positive perspective that focuses on us accepting our Deafness as a culture and identity and the desire to belong in the Deaf Community.
Last week, we had several guest speakers who had so much information to share with us. I learned about the World Federation of the Deaf and their Youth Section. They offer camps for international Deaf youth in specific age groups every year in different countries. I also learned about different international organizations (World Bank, International Monetary Fund, United Nations), what they specifically focus on and the services they provide all over the world. One speaker described a project that the Danish Deaf Association has been involved in for the past 13 years in Uganda. See DEVELOPING COUNTRIES (next entry) for more information and my thoughts.
Also, the first week we were here, we focused on developing our Frontrunners blog website (www.frontblog.dk). That in itself was a great experience- we made a website from scratch! We divided responsibilities according to everyone’s skills or expertise- photographing, web making, interviews, writing reports, etc. We will also learn from one another so we don’t have to keep the same responsibilities while maintaining the website.
Although my brain sometimes feels that it’s running on overload, it has been an amazing experience participating in Frontrunners and working with Deaf leaders from other countries! I am enjoying the experience tremendously and look forward to all I will learn and experience the next three months!
posted by Sarah! at
7:12 AM
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