ASLI International
ASLI has developed links with a variety of international groups and is playing a leading role in the European Forum of Sign Language Interpreters (efsli) and iin the development on the World Association of Sign Language Interpreters (WASLI).
Through personal contacts we have good links to interpreters and/or interpreter organisations in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, throughout Europe and, of course, in Scotland and Ireland.
If you are a qualified interpreter in another country and would like to know more about joining ASLI, or working in the UK, click here.
ASLI at EFSLI
The EFSLI AGM and Conference takes place on 14th & 15th September in Zurich, Switzerland. ASLI has submitted it's country report detailing information required at the event. Click here 
to download a copy.
ASLI at WASLI
Interview with Theodoric Rajaonary from Madagascar
ASLI’s Giving Up a Day’s Pay Fund (GUADP) supported Theodoric, an
interpreter from Madagascar, to attend both WASLI conference 2007 and
WFD Congress in Spain this July. Mark Schofield, GUADP fund holder, and
Karen Newby, ASLI Vice-Chair spent a few hours with Theodoric on the
last day of WFD to find out more about his country and his ten days in
Segovia and Madrid.
So tell us a little about Madagascar, its population, number of Deaf people and interpreters?
The Republic of Madagascar (older name Malagasy Republic), is an island
nation in the Indian Ocean, off the south-eastern coast of Africa. The
main island, also called Madagascar, is the fourth largest island in
the world. The latest population estimate stands at nearly 19 million
(2005) and the World Health Organisation estimates we have 190 thousand
deaf people. We know that there are 2 thousand Deaf people who know
sign language and have passed through school. There are 6 schools for
the deaf in the whole of Madagascar. There are 4 working sign language
interpreters, there were previously 5 but one has moved into another
area of employment.
What are the spoken languages of Madagascar?
Malagasy, French and, since April 27th 2007, English is our third official language.
What is the educational situation for Deaf people in Madagascar?
The School for the Deaf is under the Lutheran Church. Deaf people
attend church as there is a pastor who signs. I also attend as an
interpreter. There are 6 schools in total, which is nowhere near
enough. At my school there are currently 140 students, aged 6-20, but
only 40 residential beds. The Norwegian Association for the Deaf has
offered a lot of support to Madagascar but it cannot help with school
education as it is under the church.
In your November 2005 report it says that Deaf people are mostly employed making handicrafts. Is this still the situation?
The situation has changed with better educational opportunities. Deaf
students have been taking a high-level computer class that includes
desktop publishing. There are now Deaf people who have completed their
training and are working in companies designing logos, publicity
materials etc. They were taught directly in sign by a hearing teacher,
without needing to use an interpreter. There are also 3 Deaf students
who are studying for a teaching diploma; by September 2007 they will
then begin to educate other Deaf students directly in sign language.
There has been a government committee to create a national policy for handicapped (sic) people, how has their work progressed?
A new government was elected in January 2007 and this saw the merging
of the Ministry for Social Affairs with the Ministry for Health. A new
director and staff were appointed and, as a result, the committee has
not been a priority for the first half of the year. The Secretary for
the Malagasy Deaf Federation sits on the committee and I accompany them
as their interpreter. My employer, the Director of the Deaf school who
is hearing, also sits on the committee. I hope that meetings will soon
resume.
What have been recent significant developments for the Deaf community and interpreters?
Norway has supported our work on a sign language dictionary, both in
printed form and on CDROM. This has been created by interpreters and
Deaf people working together. A lot of effort has gone into including
regional sign variations and we have over 3,000 signs to include. We
are currently in the process of transcribing grammatical features ready
for publication in November of this year. Norway also supports the
Malagasy Deaf Federation by funding the General Secretary’s post and
that of their PA.
From 2005 until 2007 there has been an interpreter training programme
with 13 trainees attending. This has been led by the Malagasy Deaf
Federation in partnership with working interpreters, who deliver most
of the training.
Can you tell us more about the course and the trainees that were selected?
The training course has 9 subject areas: Interpreting, Ethics, Sign
Communication, Malagasy, French, English, Pedagogy, Deaf Psychology and
Audiology.
The students come to the capital, Antananarivo, for 3 months at a time,
to live and study. They then return to their regions for vocational
training. Their expenses are met by the Norwegian sponsors.
The 13 trainee interpreters were selected because they already had a
relationship with Deaf people, either as children of deaf adults
(CODAs) or those married to Deaf people. They were based in each of the
9 regions of Madagascar. As well as working as interpreters, in the
near future, they will also teach sign language. If the government
recognises sign language in law, even more interpreters will be needed.
It sounds like an exciting development, what will happen next?
The Ministry of Population is looking to incorporate the training at
University level and move it away from the Deaf Federation to give it
increased status and for it to become a nationally recognised diploma.
Since April 2007 the course has been government funded as a first year
trial, with the support of the Deaf Federation. Unfortunately there has
been a change since the initial proposals were agreed. After promising
to employ the trainees on completion, they now cannot be paid in full.
Seven trainees dropped out as a result (from 20 starters). Interpreters
are not seen as a priority resource for Deaf people when there are
other structural problems, poverty, and the lack of Deaf regional
offices amongst other things.
Have you been successful in establishing a national association for interpreters?
We still do not have a sign language interpreter’s association in
Madagascar. We would like to discuss with WASLI, Norway and ASLI how to
establish as association. Requests were made to the government in 2005
but without success. We have been looking to establish formal
relationships with different ministries to obtain support and funding
for an interpreter’s association.
Any other developments in the field of interpreting, other than training?
We now have 3 regional television stations that broadcast the news with
sign language interpretation once each week. This, like all
interpreting work in Madagascar, is voluntary. No interpreter is paid
for working at government meetings, UN development meetings or
elsewhere. I am employed by the school as a social worker, so we rely
on my director’s goodwill to release me to carry out voluntary
interpreting work during the school day. It is a problem that
interpreting is not established and recognised by the authorities.
What are your reflections on the WASLI conference in Segovia?
It was a great occasion, the best opportunity to meet other
interpreters, old friends and new representatives. The programme was
very interesting and the presentations and powerpoint slides make for
an excellent resource for the field of sign language interpreting. It
was good to see international sign interpretation throughout the event.
It would be useful to have more resources on international sign, such
as DVDs.
The conference highlighted the importance of working together and how
much more can be achieved than by working individually. There is so
much that Madagascar can learn from other countries to help it develop
training and services.
The accommodation was very good, and FILSE were excellent hosts.
Segovia is a UNESCO World Heritage Site so staying there was really
impressive.
Did anything surprise you?
Seeing Deaf people working as interpreters. It has made me consider how
to do this in Madagascar. There are Deaf people who know two languages,
so it is possible. Two Deaf people know Malagasy, Danish and Norwegian
sign language because they studied in those countries for one year.
When there is a Malagasy interpreter association we must include these
people in our membership.
How many countries from your region were represented at WASLI?
Six African countries were represented at WASLI: Ethiopia, Kenya,
Nigeria, Malawi, Madagascar and South Africa. We held a meeting to
nominate an African representative for the whole region and agreed that
Philemon Akach should take this position until 2011. Madagascar has now
been admitted to WASLI as a provisional member, the only one from the
region. We will become approved members following our general meeting
in 2008 if all goes to plan.
How will you disseminate information from WASLI?
I will be holding a meeting at the school I work in to share the
programme with them and to explain the content of the presentations. I
will also be writing an article for the newsletter.
During the conference I sent daily reports to Madagascar by email and the 13 trainee interpreters are amongst the recipients.
What has your experience of WFD Congress in Madrid been?
It has been an excellent week and I am delighted to have been here. I
was the previous General Secretary of the Deaf association and during
my time we were trained by the WFD in 1995. I continued this work until
2003 and I am now the consular official for the Deaf Federation,
representing them, schools and interpreting in Madagascar. The current
General Secretary and Vice-President of the Deaf association have also
been at Congress with me this year. We are considering the formation of
an Indian Ocean region for mutual support amongst Deaf associations and
interpreters. This would include Mauritius, Réunion, Seychelles,
Comoros and Madagascar. I already know interpreters from Réunion and
saw them again here at WFD on Friday. We have asked WASLI for support
in establishing a region and recognising an official representative so
we will wait and see what happens.
Again I have sent daily reports by email from WFD to interpreters in Madagascar.
And, the question that everyone asks an interpreter, how did you become involved with Deaf people and learn to sign?
My parents were the first teachers of the Deaf in Madagascar back in
1950 and, by 1985, my father was the Director of the school in
Antananarivo. I grew up in residential schools for the Deaf because my
family lived on-site. That is how I know Deaf people and Malagasy sign
language.
Lastly….
I would like to thank ASLI and those who have donated to the Giving Up
a Day’s Pay Fund so that I could be supported to attend these two
wonderful conferences. It makes a real difference to be able to attend
these events and return home with more knowledge and international
contacts. I would like to thank all those involved in organising the
events, particularly those who are members of ASLI. Everyone has
worked very hard to make both events such great successes. Thank you.
17 ASLI delegates, from left to right are:
Back row: Zane Hema, Karl Llorca, Helen Shirley, Mark Schofield, Oliver Pouliot, Chris Stone
Middle: Judith Collins, EJ Cohen, Caron Hawkings, Kal Newby, Sharon Cox, John Walker, Steph Cobb, Sula Gleeson
Front: Marco Nardi, Jack Callon, David Wolfenden
At the inaugural conference of the World Association in 2005, ASLI sent a team to give daily reports of the events which were on our website each evening. We enabled visitors to our site to be fully informed of events in South Africa. You can read those reports here. Further information and full details concerning the 2nd Conference in Segovia, Spain can be found on WASLI's website (see above).