Workshop for Policy Makers in Deaf Education |
This workshop was for those leaders who will make policy decisions for the future of deaf education in Cambodia. Krousar Thmey, the Deaf Development Program, the Disability Action Council, the Ministry of Education, and UNESCO all had representatives at the two-day event. Here Kong Vichetra from DAC explains their initiatives in inclusive education for children with disabilities in the country.
Here some of the participants in the policy maker workshop attend to one of the presentations. Note the three sign language interpreters in the foreground. Five interpreters were used: 2 for Finnish Sign Language to spoken English; 2 for spoken English to Australian Sign Language; and 1 from spoken English to spoken Khmer.
One of the purposes of a workshop like this is just to bring together people who are involved in similar work and who need to know and understand each other in order to cooperate and support each other in their endeavors. Here some staff from Krousar Thmey speak with a representative from the Ministry of Education during a break.
Another opportunity for the exchange of ideas was the lunch break. We used the National Institute of Public Health auditorium for the workshop because it has air conditioning and audio-visual equipment. NIPH also caters lunches in a small outdoor gazebo by a pond of lotus plants.
The two main presenters were from Finland: Jaana Keksi-Levijoki (left) and Jaana Aaltonen (second left). Writing on the board is the spoken Khmer-English interpreter. In the green shirt is Colin Allen, DDP advisor and the facilitator for the second day of the workshop. In the foreground is Michelle Maguire, Australian Sign Language interpreter.
In the afternoon, two small groups discussed priority needs for deaf education; goals to be accomplished before 2015; and giving sign language training to young children.
The two small groups came up with quite a few good ideas in response to the questions proposed to them about deaf education. Here one of the men from the Ministry of Education gives a report from his small group.