On the morning of Saturday 22nd June 2024, a group of interpreters, parents, and various members of the Deaf Community attended a focus group hosted by the National Assembly of Seychelles. This activity was held under the mandate of the “Deaf Cultured and Inclusive Parliament Project” which is being funded through a grant under the ‘The Commonwealth Parliamentarians with Disabilities (CPwD) Capital Investment Fund’ of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA). The National Assembly obtained the grant earlier this year and is focused on increased accessibility of the legislature for the Seychellois deaf community through the delivery of signed sittings of the National Assembly in phases including sign language and inclusivity training for parliamentary staff and Members of Parliament.
The focal group of the project is led by the Deputy Clerk of the National Assembly Ms. Alexandria Faure, and comprised of the Chairperson of the Association for People with Hearing Impairment (APHI) Mrs. Anita Gardner, Research Officers Ms. Shannon Surman and Ms. Emma Didon, Public Relations and Protocol Manager Ms. Angelique Hill, Senior Parliamentary Media Operations Officer Mr. Travis Boniface, and Private Secretary to the Deputy Clerk Ms. Lucy Michel.
The purpose of the focus group was to engage directly with the Deaf Community in Seychelles and create a forum for the open discussion of the challenges and aspirations for the future of accessibility for all persons with hearing impairments in order to pave forward the implementation of the project. The group was comprised of peoples of all ages and genders, to ensure that a full spectrum of information was gathered. Attendees were all given the opportunity to communicate their thoughts and opinions freely, either during the group discussion, through surveys, or through filmed testimonials.
Many of the challenges expressed by the community concerned the level of awareness and education of the public on the experiences of the deaf community. This included experiences of isolation, feelings of inequality, difficulties accessing public services, cases of financial abuse, and the difficulties of integrating into a non-inclusive society. As one member of the focus group noted, “We will never have equality until hearing-people understand the realities of the deaf community”.
A particular focus of the discussions was on the ways in which the National Assembly could ensure its services and proceedings become more accessible to the Deaf Community. This included goals such as the signing of Sittings, the creation of curated online content, the hosting of activities to promote national awareness, and the integration of Seychellois Sign Language into the operations of the National Assembly wherever applicable. This emphasised the need for all hearing-people to reflect and endeavour to consider the needs of the hearing impaired whenever possible, particularly the provision of equal access to information and services.
The focus group ended on a very positive note, where all attendees gave thoroughly positive feedback on the session, thanking the focal group who organised it, and expressing the need for more activities such as this to take place in the future.
Editor’s Note: The “Deaf Cultured and Inclusive Parliament Project” is a project that is being undertaken by the National Assembly of Seychelles with the financial support of the Commonwealth Parliamentarians with Disabilities (CPwD) Capital Investment Fund, which the focal group applied for and successfully received. This fund has been established by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) with the aim of raising the accessibility of CPA member Parliaments to persons with disabilities.
