Miss-Delectable
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http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3421062a7144,00.html
A breakthrough website will allow deaf New Zealanders to share their experiences worldwide.
The website www.frontblog.dk is being run for four months in conjunction with an intensive international leadership training course in Denmark for deaf young people, called Frontrunners.
It encourages young deaf people to participate in discussions about issues that affect them.
Using video clips of sign language and text, it is the first attempt to create a website for deaf people to communicate on a global scale .
New Zealand representative on the Frontrunners course Amanda Everitt - a student at Auckland University - is the product of a deaf mother and hearing father.
She is one of only 12 young adults on the course, which aims to develop learning strategies and ways deaf communities can evolve.
She is interested in "exploring how the deaf community can hit the government with the wider picture, through particular focus on international law and human rights".
She is proud and happy to be deaf, a feeling many people would struggle to understand.
"I have a community, a history, a language and a culture," she told NZPA in an e-mail interview.
"It is true that deafness is often seen as an invisible disability, but my view is that Deaf people often lead normal lives."
She has already led an extraordinary, and full life - achieving more as a teenager than many people do in a lifetime.
She was head girl at Auckland's Kelston Girls High School in 2001, and a member of Waitakere City Youth Council from 1998 to 2000.
She was also a committee member of DEAFinitely Youth Group, part of the Deaf Association of New Zealand.
With two others, she set up Captioning Access New Zealand in 2002, which brought captioned movies to New Zealand for the first time.
Despite her heavy involvement in the deaf community, she still finds time to study.
She is in her fourth year at the University of Auckland, studying for a Bachelor of Arts and an LLB - the only signing Deaf student in New Zealand to take on a law degree.
To help her with her studies, she relies on an electronic note-taker in her law classes, and a New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) interpreter to help with her Bachelor's degree.
She has not allowed her disability to interfere with her social life either.
"I wasn't really treated differently by my peers throughout school. Sure, I had some teasing, but that was from kids who didn't understand Deaf culture. People saw me as someone who had a different outlook on life, that is all," she said.
According to the 2001 census, there are at least 210,000 deaf or hearing impaired people in New Zealand, and 28,000 New Zealanders use sign language.
The New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Bill before Parliament will give deaf people the legal right to have NZSL interpreters in court.
It will also establish a standard for interpreters, instead of the current system, which relies heavily on family members and inexperienced interpreters.
While Miss Everitt is enthusiastic about the bill, she says there will still be a lot of work to be done, as it will only recognise NZSL as an official language and create competency standards for NZSL interpreters in court.
"It does not legally bind governmental departments to do work in the areas of public broadcasting, health, employment etc.
"The NZSL Bill is one step, but it is important to think about after. Passing the Bill will not solve everything.
"There is still a lot more to do, a lot more legislation to pass."
Although captioning of television programmes has come a long way, fewer than 20 per cent of programmes are captioned, and there is no captioning on SKY or Prime.
Technological advancements have greatly improved the quality of life for deaf people, but New Zealand is lagging behind European countries in the technology available.
Miss Everitt has a vibrating alarm clock and a flashing door alarm, but she is concerned that flashing smoke detectors are not widely available.
While the Internet has made communication with others easier, Miss Everitt prefers the old fashioned, face-to-face method.
Like most other young people she texts but she says the cost for texting is often prohibitive.
"Hearing have free call minutes, but there is no such thing for texting," she said.
Miss Everitt says the biggest challenge facing Deaf people is the negative attitudes of others.
"Most people see deafness as a thing to be cured rather than acknowledging the cultural arena.
"Another challenge is the lack of resources and legal power to ensure Deaf citizens have access to basic human rights such as the right to access to information via television and education."
During the Frontrunners course, Miss Everitt will have the opportunity to discuss the issues that affect Deaf youth with representatives from other countries.
She will also be attending the World Federation of the Deaf conference in Finland next week.
A breakthrough website will allow deaf New Zealanders to share their experiences worldwide.
The website www.frontblog.dk is being run for four months in conjunction with an intensive international leadership training course in Denmark for deaf young people, called Frontrunners.
It encourages young deaf people to participate in discussions about issues that affect them.
Using video clips of sign language and text, it is the first attempt to create a website for deaf people to communicate on a global scale .
New Zealand representative on the Frontrunners course Amanda Everitt - a student at Auckland University - is the product of a deaf mother and hearing father.
She is one of only 12 young adults on the course, which aims to develop learning strategies and ways deaf communities can evolve.
She is interested in "exploring how the deaf community can hit the government with the wider picture, through particular focus on international law and human rights".
She is proud and happy to be deaf, a feeling many people would struggle to understand.
"I have a community, a history, a language and a culture," she told NZPA in an e-mail interview.
"It is true that deafness is often seen as an invisible disability, but my view is that Deaf people often lead normal lives."
She has already led an extraordinary, and full life - achieving more as a teenager than many people do in a lifetime.
She was head girl at Auckland's Kelston Girls High School in 2001, and a member of Waitakere City Youth Council from 1998 to 2000.
She was also a committee member of DEAFinitely Youth Group, part of the Deaf Association of New Zealand.
With two others, she set up Captioning Access New Zealand in 2002, which brought captioned movies to New Zealand for the first time.
Despite her heavy involvement in the deaf community, she still finds time to study.
She is in her fourth year at the University of Auckland, studying for a Bachelor of Arts and an LLB - the only signing Deaf student in New Zealand to take on a law degree.
To help her with her studies, she relies on an electronic note-taker in her law classes, and a New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) interpreter to help with her Bachelor's degree.
She has not allowed her disability to interfere with her social life either.
"I wasn't really treated differently by my peers throughout school. Sure, I had some teasing, but that was from kids who didn't understand Deaf culture. People saw me as someone who had a different outlook on life, that is all," she said.
According to the 2001 census, there are at least 210,000 deaf or hearing impaired people in New Zealand, and 28,000 New Zealanders use sign language.
The New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Bill before Parliament will give deaf people the legal right to have NZSL interpreters in court.
It will also establish a standard for interpreters, instead of the current system, which relies heavily on family members and inexperienced interpreters.
While Miss Everitt is enthusiastic about the bill, she says there will still be a lot of work to be done, as it will only recognise NZSL as an official language and create competency standards for NZSL interpreters in court.
"It does not legally bind governmental departments to do work in the areas of public broadcasting, health, employment etc.
"The NZSL Bill is one step, but it is important to think about after. Passing the Bill will not solve everything.
"There is still a lot more to do, a lot more legislation to pass."
Although captioning of television programmes has come a long way, fewer than 20 per cent of programmes are captioned, and there is no captioning on SKY or Prime.
Technological advancements have greatly improved the quality of life for deaf people, but New Zealand is lagging behind European countries in the technology available.
Miss Everitt has a vibrating alarm clock and a flashing door alarm, but she is concerned that flashing smoke detectors are not widely available.
While the Internet has made communication with others easier, Miss Everitt prefers the old fashioned, face-to-face method.
Like most other young people she texts but she says the cost for texting is often prohibitive.
"Hearing have free call minutes, but there is no such thing for texting," she said.
Miss Everitt says the biggest challenge facing Deaf people is the negative attitudes of others.
"Most people see deafness as a thing to be cured rather than acknowledging the cultural arena.
"Another challenge is the lack of resources and legal power to ensure Deaf citizens have access to basic human rights such as the right to access to information via television and education."
During the Frontrunners course, Miss Everitt will have the opportunity to discuss the issues that affect Deaf youth with representatives from other countries.
She will also be attending the World Federation of the Deaf conference in Finland next week.