IFHOH Journal October 2011

President Ruth Warick E-Mail: president@ifhoh.org

Journal Editor Carole Willans E-Mail: journal@ifhoh.org

October, 2011 In This Issue From the Editor’s Desk - by Carole Willans IFHOH President’s Message - by Ruth P. Warick IFHOH Call for Nominations – by Anna Klemettilä-Sorri EFHOH News - by Marcel Bobeldijk IFHOH World Congress 2012 Norway – 22.07.11 United Nations Focus on Youth – by Karina Chupina In Memory of Geoff Brown The Mysterious Case of Vincent Van Gogh – by Robert M. Traynor Travel to Africa – by Kees Twilt Support for Ukrainian Children Calendar of Events News Bites IFHOH Mission and Board of Directors

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IFHOH is registered as a charitable organization at Vereinsregister Amtsgericht Hamburg, Germany (Nr. 69 VR 10 527) and is also an International Non-Governmental Organization having special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). All the views expressed in this Journal are those of the writer for each article and do not necessarily reflect the views of IFHOH.

IFHOH Board President, Ruth Warick (Canada) Vice-President, Ahiya Kamara (Israel) General Secretary, Ulf Olsson (Sweden) Treasurer, Katja Vis (Finland) EFHOH Representative, Marcel Bobeldijk (The Netherlands) IFHOH Webmaster, Pertti Köyste

Carole Willans

Dear IFHOH friends, Reading this issue of IFHOH Journal, you will likely be impressed at the high level work that IFHOH is accomplishing at the United Nations.

Ruth Warick and Karina Chupina provide interesting reports of initiatives and activities, evidence that IFHOH is emerging as a world player! Personally, reading about captioning on the big screens of the UN General Assembly Hall really made my day!

Please note the Call for Nominations published by the IFHOH Nominating Committee (page 5).

IFHOH‟s achievements are based on the hard work of its people, especially its leaders. A solid Board of Directors is very important to its continued success.

On another note, ever since coming to IFHOH, I often think about the huge disparity that exists between people living with hearing loss in low and middle income countries, and those in high income countries.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that in 2005, close to 278 million people in the world were living with moderate to profound hearing loss, of which 80% live in low and middle income countries (http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/ fs300/en/index.html).

In all countries, hearing loss is often caused by something that could have been avoided or prevented, such as loud noise, trauma, ototoxic drugs, and infectious diseases. Diseases may not be fully avoidable, but their impact on the individual‟s hearing can be reduced through early diagnosis and proper medical treatment.

The WHO estimates that hearing aids are manufactured at a rate capable of meeting less than 10% of the “global need”. It adds that in developing countries, fewer than 1 out of 40 people who need a hearing aid have one.

Someone recently asked me (about Canadians): “Why do so many refuse to buy a hearing aid?”

I answered that it is mainly because many do fear being seen as different, incompetent, or old; they fear it will affect their image. This is evidence of the social and emotional impacts of hearing loss, which are very real.

But many people in low income countries just want the chance to hear. We need to help them, and help ourselves! It is time to set aside worries about “image”. We all look better when we can communicate better!

Articles and announcements are welcome!

Please send to journal@ifhoh.org

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Ruth P. Warick

News from the IFHOH President IFHOH is a partner on the global stage! If you ever doubted it you should have seen us in New York at the Fourth Session of the Conference of States Parties for the Convention* on September 7-9, 2011.

(* United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities)

Jan-Peter Strömgren, IFHOH‟s former President, was part of the Swedish delegation, whose members were the lead hosts to the meetings. IFHOH Vice-President Ahiya Kamara, who holds the post of Israel Commissioner for Equal Rights of Persons with Disabilities in his country, was a member of his country‟s delegation.

Ulf Olsson, IFHOH General Secretary, and I attended several meetings and represented IFHOH at the weekend meetings of the International Disability Alliance (IDA), a group of international organizations which has gained

some influence in the UN. I also attended a meeting of the Special Rapporteur, Shuaib Chalklen of South Africa, who reports yearly to the Commission for Social Development on the promotion and monitoring of the implementation of the United Nations Standard Rules for the Equalization of Opportunities of Persons with Disabilities.

Also I would like to thank Ahiya for representing IFHOH at a consultative Civil Society Forum sponsored by the International Disability Alliance (IDA) and UN DESA (Dept. of Economic and Social Affairs).

So IFHOH was there, but frankly we have a long way to go in educating the UN system about the access needs of hard of hearing persons. The plenary and IDA-sponsored meetings had access but often the side-events did not. I was dismayed that the meeting of the Special Rapporteur had no assistive

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listening system and – yes – I did bring it to the organizer‟s attention. Next time it will be different. But this is how we make progress – by making our needs known and by offering to be a resource to make it better.

As a side note to the IDA meeting, I had the opportunity to meet the new President of the World Federation of the Deaf, Colin Allen, who hails from Sydney, Australia and welcomed his interest in working more closely together. At the IDA meetings it is common for our organizations to support the each other‟s position on issues such as the need for full access to everyday life, education and employment.

Our global influence is also evident in the appointment of Karina Chupina to the Global Advisory Panel which adjudicates funding for the Disability Rights Fund. The Fund supports disabled persons organizations in the Global South and Eastern Europe/former Soviet Union in advocating for the human rights of persons with disabilities. By the way, last summer Karina was an IFHOHYP representative at a UN General Assembly High Level Meeting on Youth (read Karina‟s report starting on page 10). Because IFHOH has consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the UN, we were able to assist with her registration for the event.

A late revision has occurred in my message to you. Due to flooding in Thailand which advanced toward Bangkok in late weeks of October the first-ever Asia- Pacific hard of hearing leaders event in Bangkok which was scheduled for November 2-4, 2011 had to be postponed. Over 30 participants from the Asia Pacific Region were expected to attend and funds were raised by the following member countries of IFHOH for their support for the venture which was to go to subsidize captioning costs: Pro Audito Switzerland; HRF, the Swedish Association for Hard of Hearing People; the Hearing Loss Association of America (United States); and the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association (Canada). A new date has not yet been set. We still look forward to a future opportunity to meet and

speak with hard of hearing persons from the Asian Pacific region to get a better understanding of how they identify themselves, the state of supports for them, and their issues and concerns. I am particularly interested in knowing if their societies recognize “hard of hearing” as a disability category, and whether individuals find it beneficial to self-identify or there is a stigma to doing so.

Another major activity to touch on briefly is the Second Hearing Loop Conference, held in Washington D.C. June 19-20. Here I want to acknowledge that Siegfried Karg of Switzerland was the brainchild behind this initiative. I also want to thank Brenda Battat of the Hearing Loss Association of America and its partners for carrying forth with this important initiative. As I stated in my closing panel remarks, Hearing loops used to be the past, and now they are the future. There is an important place for such low tech, potentially easily accessible form of hearing access.

As you will read in this issue of IFHOH Journal, preparations are well underway for the IFHOH World Congress 2012 being hosted by our Norwegian members. Mark on your calendar that you will join us in beautiful Bergen, Norway from June 25-28, 2012 (see pages 7 and 8 for full information). Last summer our Norwegian members faced a shocking national tragedy but have been resilient in carrying on despite their grief; they have our hearts and support. You can read more about this on page 9.

In closing, I would like to invite you to contact me if you have any issues or concerns; my email is president@ifhoh.org.

With best regards, Ruth Warick IFHOH President

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by Anna Klemettil채-Sorri, IFHOH Nominating Committee Chair CALL FOR NOMINATIONS Letter from IFHOH Nominating Committee to IFHOH Members The IFHOH Nominating Committee is mandated to provide a nominations slate in an election for the Board of IFHOH. A new slate of officers will be voted in the IFHOH Biennial meeting, June 25, 2012 in Bergen, Norway.

Nominations are open for the following positions: President Vice-President General Secretary Treasurer Member-at-large

Please communicate preferably by e-mail to the Chair of the Nominating Committee and include: A biographical summary Statement of reason for support of the nomination Contact information (address, phone, fax, e-mail, etc.) of the nominee Contact information (address, phone, fax, e-mail, etc.) of the nominator Please send this information at the latest by Wednesday, January 31, 2012 to the email address of the IFHOH Nominating Committee Chair, Anna Klemettil채-Sorri: anna.klemettilasorri@welho.com Thank you, IFHOH Nominating Committee: Anna Klemettil채-Sorri Carole Willans Kees Twilt

Candidates must be nominated by general member organizations of IFHOH. Each member of the Board must be from a different country and, when possible, from a different part of the world.

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by Marcel Bobeldijk, EFHOH President EFHOH continues to work very hard and to celebrate different kinds of successes.

collaboration. More information on this will come soon!

The following is what is coming up in the next weeks for the EFHOH board: - Work on the European Council for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Organisations, which actively begins January 1, 2012 - Meeting of the EFHOH Board takes place in Hamburg (Germany) the last weekend of October, 2011 – including discussions to changes to regulations so that EFHOH will be a more democratic organization - Jan Lamby and Lidia Best participate in the European Day of people with disabilities in the European Capital, Brussels.

On September 7, 2011, Lidia and I participated in an European Parliament meeting hosted by Ádám Kósa. The theme of this meeting was Mobility and Inclusion of People with Disabilities. This was the first such meeting with speech to text support! Yes, it was a historical moment for the Hard of Hearing movement in Europe.

It is a very busy time for us all at EFHOH! We are involved in different events relating to the European Year of Volunteering 2011.

Lidia Best has represented EFHOH this year at all European Parliament Disability Intergroup meetings. It is the first time in our history that we at EFHOH have been represented at so many EP Intergroup meetings.

Karina Chupina, IFHOHYP President, has been elected Global Advisor at the Disability Rights Fund. We are very proud and wish her much success!

Kind regards.

In November, 2011, Lidia Best and I will participate in the final preparations for the European Council for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Organisations in Europe. One of our difficulties is to find a good name for this Marcel Bobeldijk, EFHOH President

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The IFHOH World Congress 2012 in Norway, the Land of the Midnight Sun! Bergen, Norway, June 25 to 28, 2012

The theme of IFHOH World Congress in 2012 -

“A Better Quality of Life!”

Continued on the next page…

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Welcome to IFHOH World Congress in Bergen, Norway, June 25 to 28, 2012.

IFHOH and HLF (The Norwegian Association of Hard of Hearing) welcome you to the IFHOH World Congress 2012 in Bergen, one of the most beautiful cities in Norway. The old parts of the city are considered a world heritage site. Bergen is the gateway to the Norwegian fjords and an excellent place to start a holiday in Norway by boat, train or a rented car. There will be different holiday prospects with reduced prices for participants at the Congress described on the website.

The theme of the 2012 Congress is “A Better Quality of Life!” and the program will focus on the challenges facing hard of hearing people at all ages and in all parts of life from birth to old age. The programme will consist of presentations from both professionals and hard of hearing people themselves. The preliminary programme is now on the Website.

To register, please go to the Congress Website – www.ifhoh2012.no where you can also receive updated news about the program, events and activities. (The Registration platform for the conference will open no later than November 1, 2012.)

If you have any questions about the Congress, please send an e-mail to ifhoh2012@hlf.no

Kind regards, Knut Magne Ellingsen President HLF (Norwegian Association of the Hard of Hearing)

Congress Website: www.ifhoh2012.no Congress Secretariat: ifhoh2012@hlf.no 8

FROM NORWAY As you know 22.07.11 was a day which changed the peaceful country of Norway forever.

It is just terrible that one single man can have so much hate. But it is also true what one of the young girls who survived said to CNN: "If one man can show so much hate, think how much love we all can show together."

Monday night around 200,000 people filled the streets of Oslo with flowers in their hands. They wanted to say that we resist hatred. We are sad to the deepest thread of our souls. We cry in dignity. But nobody swears to take revenge. Instead we want even more humanity, solidarity and love.

I want to tell you that both my family and I are doing well, but we cry together with those who have lost one of their beloved.

Yours sincerely, Knut Knut Magne Ellingsen President, FFO (Norwegian Federation of Organisations of Disabled People)

FROM IFHOH Dear Mr. Ellingsen, On behalf of the International Federation of Hard of Hearing People, I wish to offer our deepest sympathies for the national tragedy that has affected Norway and claimed the lives of so many men, women and children. We join with you, our friends, in decrying the shocking end of the lives of so many in your country although we cannot begin to fathom the grief and heartache that you are experiencing. We know that many members of our hard of hearing community in Norway will have been personally affected by knowing family, friends and colleagues who were taken in the senseless actions of Friday, July 22, 2011.

Our thoughts and prayers are with you in this time of individual and national mourning. We know that you, as a people and as a country, will rise up stronger from this tragedy and that you will repeal the threat to the values and beliefs of a nation and its democratic institutions.

We will not forget those who died in this national tragedy; we recognize that it will take courage, resilience and faith in the future for you and your fellow citizens to carry on while engulfed in so much pain. We know that you will rise up to the challenge in honour of those who died these past few days and as a testament that the best of the human spirit will prevail.

Sincerely yours, Ruth P. Warick, President, IFHOH

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by Karina Chupina, IFHOHYP President United Nations General Assembly High Level Meeting on Youth – a mainstream youth-focused event with captions provided (and fought for!)

I was honoured to represent IFHOH and IFHOHYP at the UN General Assembly High Level Meeting on Youth that took place July 25-26 at UN Headquarters in New York.

A long correspondence preceded my participation, as I wanted to ensure that live captioning would be provided during the entire meeting. Without the additional advocacy from my part and efforts from the UN DESA staff, captioning accessibility would not have been possible.

One of the reasons that made it such a challenge to get captioning accessibility was that the internal UN Secretariat-wide policies and guidelines on accessibility were still being developed. In these efforts, the joint IFHOHEFHOH-IFHOHYP letter on the necessity to make the UN and EC meeting venues accessible for hard of hearing people that was submitted

by IFHOHYP last year to the EC and the UN bodies, was used as an advocacy tool.

Finally, after extensive exchange of IFHOHYP messages and internal work of the UN DESA, captioning was fully provided for the two days of the meeting. IFHOHYP advocacy worked! A

small step in the UN agenda, a big step for disability issues at the UN, for IFHOHYP and the entire hard of hearing community!

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The UN High Level Meeting on Youth with captioning on the two big screens!

The UN High Level Meeting opened with captioning on two big screens. Ban Ki-moon, the UN Secretary General, opened the meeting.

The captioning worked excellently, only the letters seemed a little small for those who sat in the far back. However, there was no induction loop accessibility in the UN General Assembly Hall, and old headphone models (one ear-phone box) were impossible to put over the ear with a hearing aid. At times there were interpretation hiccups.

Funny thing: when the interpretation or headphones did not work, hundreds of pairs of delegates' eyes were fixed on the screens with text/ captions. This is the point of

inclusion - captions are helpful + useful not only for deaf/ hard of hearing, but for everyone in society!

UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon

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To people the captions on the screen looked as something natural that they took for granted.

If they only knew what kind of work this involves! I spoke about accessibility needs in some interviews to the press, and one short excerpt can be found here: http://www.policymic.com/articles/why-youngpeople-don-t-participate-in-politics. It is worth noting that at previous UN meetings, captions were provided for disability-related meetings, but rarely or never for mainstream meetings like this High Level Meeting on Youth. A very good start for captioning to be accepted wider in the mainstream!

Below me in the General Assembly Hall, I saw a sign language interpreter translating speeches for a representative from Sweden. Another representative with a hearing loss! It turned out that it was Malin Johansson, deaf and young official representative of Sweden to the UN General Assembly. She later gave an inspiring speech in sign language! It was a remarkable visibility of disability AND youth at the High Level Meeting! She said in sign language: "I regret that there are so few young people representing youth here".

James Aniyamuzaala, past Board member of IFHOHYP, spoke at the UN High Level Meeting on behalf of the African Network of Youth with Disabilities on the need to include youth with disabilities into youth programmes and ensuring accessibility.

James Aniyamuzaala

All three of us – Malin Johansson, James Aniyamuzaala and I – were the only representatives of youth AND disability issues at the UN High Level Meeting.

Malin Johansson, James Aniyamuzaala and Karina Chupina

The UN High Level Meeting on Youth could be followed at http://www.unmultimedia.org/tv/webcast/inde x.html. Unfortunately, though the video says that captions (CC) are "on", I did not see them.

There is still a lot of advocacy work to be done

by IFHOHYP in cooperation with CCAC, Collaborative for Communication Access via Captioning.

UN HLM reflected the growing interest of international community to youth and youth issues, and the role of youth in changing the world. As one speaker aptly put it: “A nation that does not take care of its youth, does not have a future – and does not deserve one!” But behind the rhetoric, a lot needs to be done. The fact that there were few young Youth Delegates on behalf of the UN Member States, speaks for itself. State representatives were calling for more investment in youth and job opportunities, but incidentally, only a few representatives mentioned the need to pay attention to marginalized youth. The US representative of youth was a young person himself, who said he was from a poor family and his mother had a mental disability. It was his work in community that helped him to grow personally and professionally.

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One of the interesting concrete proposals was to create the world scholarship fund where every government contributes.

The Side Event on Youth with Disabilities was a 1.5 hour round table discussion with inputs from Vladimir Cuk, International Disability Alliance, Fred Doulton, UN DESA, and a few other speakers from Leonard Cheshire Disability Young Voices. I spoke about the importance of training and inclusive education for youth with disabilities, stressing the value of non-formal education, and gave a brief presentation of IFHOHYP. As a result of the event, IFHOHYP established good contacts and partnerships with the International Disability Alliance, UN DESA, Leonard Cheshire and Rehabilitation International.

UN DESA and IDA are considering IFHOHYP as a possible partner in their projects and trainings related to the UN CRPD. IFHOHYP is looking forward to cooperating with them!

The resolution of the UN High Level Meeting contains a mention about youth with disabilities, but as usual, as part of "vulnerable youth". We discussed with IDA and the UN DESA that we need more advocacy for youth with disabilities specifically and explicitly. The strategies about uniting youth with disabilities worldwide for this aim are under development and you may hear about them in the near future.

At RI, with Venus, Ilagan and Leonor of RI

IFHOHYP expresses its thanks to IFHOH for their help in registering for the UN event, to the UN DESA and Mr. Fred Doulton for their support in pushing through the accessibility at the UN High Level Meeting on Youth captioning on screen that helped not only hard of hearing but all participants of the meeting!

Authorâ€&#x;s note: Before and during preparations for captioning inclusion, I was in contact with several good colleagues online, e.g. the CCAC (www.ccacaptioning.org), and others on the social media. The professional captioners also merit a big thank you, along with all at the United Nations who achieved communication access for us all.

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We are sorry to report that Geoff Brown passed away after a short illness on July 2, 2011 at the age of 84.

Geoff was a long serving member of the NADP Executive Committee, on which he held a number of posts over the years, including Local Groups Officer, Membership Secretary, Fundraising Officer and Webmaster. He also represented NADP for many years on TAG. Geoff was a founder member of STAGETEXT and a past Chairman of Deafness Support Network (DSN) in Cheshire. He was also involved with CICADA, a group for those who received cochlear implants in Manchester, and with the National Cochlear Implants Users Association (NCIUA). He was also a lay preacher in the Methodist Church. Geoffâ€&#x;s activities were not limited to the UK either – he was a regular attendee of the ALDA (Association for Late Deafened Adults) Conference in the USA and represented them in the UK and was also Chairman of the Late Deafened People Commission for the International Federation of the Hard of Hearing (IFHOH).

Geoff never let his age stop him doing anything, and he had the energy of somebody twenty years younger. He was at home with new technology, and although he was a quiet and unassuming person he was widely respected and made a significant contribution to the improvement of life for deafened people. He also acted as official photographer at NADP Conferences so it is appropriate that the photo shows him engaged in that activity.

His energy and warmth will be greatly missed, and all of us at NADP extend our thoughts to his family.

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by Robert M. Traynor, Ed.D., MBA @ Hearing International

Robert M. Traynor

Vincent Van Gogh (self-portrait)

(…) Vincent Van Gogh is not only universally recognized as among the great artists in history, but also as the tortured genius and crazy painter who sliced off his own ear. Art-loving audiologists from around the world have long been baffled by Van Gogh‟s loss of the external part of his right ear (known as the pinna) and his much-discussed hearing impairment.

Van Gogh, one of the leading Impressionists, also takes his rightful place with other historical figures who have suffered from Menière‟s disease. (…) Although his physicians diagnosed Van Gogh as having epilepsy and madness, Hargrave (2011) writes that the painter was known to have suffered from tinnitus, which he described as ringing or roaring in the ears, as well as impaired hearing and intolerance of loud noises (classic Menière‟s symptoms). (…) Van Gogh‟s inimitable fusion of form and content is powerful; dramatic, lyrically rhythmic, imaginative, and emotional, for the artist was completely absorbed in the effort to explain either his struggle against madness or his comprehension of the spiritual essence of man and nature. Before becoming an artist, Van Gogh worked as a pastor, art salesman, and teacher. He was a well-known recluse, sometimes spending hours in silence with his bible.

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Dr. Prosper Menière Although Prosper Menière‟s 1861 paper outlining the disease that bears his name was published two years before Van Gogh‟s birth, the condition was not well known or medically accepted in the late 19th century. Therefore, it‟s not surprising that Dr. Peyron, a physician at the St. Remy (France) asylum for epileptics and lunatics, diagnosed Van Gogh with epilepsy and thought this to be the cause of his malady. Based upon this diagnosis, the painter voluntarily admitted himself to the St. Remy facility in May of 1889. He died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound the next year.

For a century he was thought to have been epileptic and was well known as the crazy painter who cut off his own ear. In an effort to correct the record, Arenberg et al. (1990), a group of neurootologists, reviewed 796 of Van Gogh‟s personal letters to family and friends written between 1884 and his suicide in 1890. Their analysis reveals a man who was constantly in control of his reason, but who suffered from severe and repeated attacks of disabling vertigo, not a seizure disorder. In their opinion, the clinical descriptions in his letters are those of a person suffering from Menière‟s disease, not epilepsy. (…)

Source: The Mysterious Case of Vincent Van Gogh‟s Pinna (Extract reprinted with permission of the author), for the full text: http://hearinghealthmatters.org/hearinginternational/2011/themysterious-case-of-vincent-van-goghs-pinna/

Editor’s Note: Bob Traynor is the CEO and a practicing audiologist at Audiology Associates, Inc., in Greeley and Johnstown, Colorado with particular emphasis in amplification and operative monitoring, offering all general audiological services to patients of all ages.

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By Kees Twilt This is an invitation for people who are hard of hearing or deaf to travel to Gambia and Senegal from January 7 to 21, 2011.

children from all over the region go to school here. On some previous trips, we learned about this school and we are impressed by the performance of its teachers and students.

Program from Day to Day Day 1: Arrive at the airport Banjul (Gambia) we go to a very nice place located Kasumay Lodge (http://www.kasumaylodge.com We spend the night there.

Day 2: We acclimatise and enjoy the day boating on the river, bird watching and possibly, we will see marine animals.

Day 3: Today we visit the deaf school in Serekunda, St. Johns School for the Deaf.

Then we go to Marakissa River Camp (http://www.marakissarivercamp.nl), a beautiful vantage point on the river. Here we spend the night.

This season we are organizing another trip for people who are hard of hearing or deaf, and those who are interested in deaf education in Africa in particular.

This year, we are visiting a school for the deaf in Kanifeng (Gambia), as well as the only school for the deaf in the South of Senegal, which is located in Thionck Essyl. In addition, we will be introduced to the culture and wildlife of the area: music and dance, and a boat trip through the mangrove are on the program.

Because of malaria and meningitis, many children in Gambia and Senegal are deaf.

Despite the large number of deaf, there are few opportunities for deaf people to go to school or to learn a trade. In Gambia, there is only one deaf school in Kanifeng. The school is very active and also provides good secondary education! In addition, only a few years ago in the Casamance, which is a place where we will be visiting, the first school for the deaf opened in Thionck Essyl, a large village. Deaf

Day 4: We now cross the border into Senegal, and reach Abene, where our centre, O'Dunbeye Land, (http://www.odunbeyeland.com) is located.

After unpacking our luggage, we will go to the beach and take a dip in the sea. At the end of the afternoon there is a musical welcome to the centre.

Day 5: In the morning, we have some quiet time. In the afternoon we visit the village, especially the artists' centre and the holy tree, Bantan Woro Day 6: A day for everyone: we can choose to go to the beach or walk to the nearby village Niafrang, or just relax‌ We will enjoy the evening meal in an African village with Boubacar Sow, our (deaf) guide.

Day 7: We will walk along the beach to nearby Kafoutine or we can take public transportation to get there, depending on your energy! There we will visit the market and fishing port. We will have lunch in Kafountine and return home.

Day 8: Today we will go into the bush! We willl

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visit the Diola - Katack village. You will see the Koumpo, a traditional mask dance. Of course we will dance with them! An African meal will be prepared for us. This will be a day that you will not easily forget!

Day 9: A day of rest! Or.... for lovers a trip at sea, with the local fishermen! At night, we will enjoy an African buffet at Chez Vero, a local restaurant.

Day 12: Departure by car from Thionck Essyl to return to Abene. In Bignona we will lunch at Le Jardin and there is opportunity for those who want to go to the bank!

Day 13: This is our last day in Abene, time for a swim or to maybebuy souvenirs. At night, we will end the day in a musical atmosphere, O'Dunbeye Land, and a farewell dinner.

Day 14: We will return to Gambia and visit the sacred crocodile place. This spiritual soil (called Folonko) is located in the fishing village of Kartong. The villagers consider this place as sacred. The women take ritual baths, wash their hair with this water or drink from it. It is said that it cures diseases and promotes fertility. Then we will lunch is at Boboi Beach Lodge (http://www.gambia-adventure.com) where there will also be an opportunity to swim in the Atlantic Ocean. That night, we will sleep at the Kasumay Lodge.

Day 10: We leave in a pirogue (small boat) from the nearby village Kafountine to Thionck Essy, a wonderful trip through the mangroves – we will see many (water) birds.

With a little luck, you will see the otters! We stay at the local camp, Abeukoum, deep in the forest, where birds and monkeys will be our neighbours! The camp was built as a traditional Diola home: a so-called impluvium. This is a round adobe building with a ring of rooms around a walkway. In the middle is a hole in the roof where the rain can refresh the courtyard.

A cool building! In the evening a performance of SineDjiba, a traditional dance, - and percussion group from the Casamance – will take place.

Day 11: We will visit the school for the deaf in the village in Thionck Essyl. The students will show us how the curriculum works. The board and the teachers will tell us about the origins of the school, the methodology, and the desire for further education. If possible, we will partake in a meal in an African family who have a deaf child. In the afternoon, we will attend a workshop sign language!

Day 15: The holiday is over! Depending on the time of departure of our flight, we may go straight to the airport or visit the nearby town of Brikama.

The school in the Gambia

Booking When you book the trip we will give you more specific written information, as well as all sorts of suggestions on the internet and in literature for further preparation. There is also ample attention to practical matters, such as clothing, money, health, and whatever else is necessary for this trip.

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Guidance The guidance of this journey of this trip, as in previous years, is led by Kees Twilt. In Abene, as usual, Babacar Sow will be our deaf guide At times, a sign language interpreter will be present.

Nights During the tour we stay overnight in simple, well situated and maintained accommodation.

In Abene we will sleep in the cultural centre O'Dunbeye Land. The sanitary facilities are common in some accommodations; in other places, there are toilets and showers in the rooms. Supplement 1-person O'Dunbeye Country € 3, - per night. Extra comfort in Abene € 7, - per person per night (Le Kosseye (http://www.kossey.com ) Cost: € 731, - (excluding airfare). Included in cost • All the program activities described • Domestic transportation according to program, also transport from the airport • All overnight stays with half board (breakfast and dinner) • Tour guide • Written information to prepare you for the journey Not • • • •

included: Other meals and gratuities Travel to the airport Insurance Flight to Banjul Airport

Travel and cancellation insurance, cancellation policy In case of accident, participants must have travel insurance. Cancellation insurance is strongly recommended. This covers the costs if a trip must be cancelled or interrupted by illness for example. Please note: cancellation must be made within 7 days after booking is closed. Additionally you may want cancellation insurance for other costs (accommodation and activity costs) in connection with bookings for accommodation, excursions, etc.,

Rayovac is supporting a project to help hard of hearing children in the Ukraine that is backed by two of Germany‟s most prominent figures.

The hearing aid battery maker is dedicating considerable support to the „1000 Kinder‟ project set up by Germany‟s Round Table to help disadvantaged young people in the city of Odessa.

1000 Kinder is backed by world champion boxer Wladimir Klitschko and German politician Kristina Schroeder and aims to improve the hearing and site of 1,000 of Odessa‟s young people.

In total Rayovac has donated nearly 100,000 hearing aid batteries in support of the project, which is being run by members of the Round-table in the German city of Aschaffenberg who will visit Odessa three times over the next few months to deliver hearing aids and glasses to the children.

For more information visit www.rayovac.eu

Booking and information: ctwilt@hotmail.com

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November 29 to December 1, 2011

2nd Asia-Pacific CBR Congress

Location: Manila, Philippines Theme: Building Communities for Everyone Sub-Theme: Mainstreaming Disability in the Development Agenda http://117.121.222.41/~apcdfoun/cbrapnetwork/?q= node/1

May 16 to 19, 2012 November 8, 2011

International Research Symposium Co-organised by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and the World Health Organisation Location: London, U.K. Theme: Equitable Health Services for People

with Disabilities with a Focus on Low and Middle Income Countries www.equityhealthdisability.com/

November 28 to 30, 2011 The International Federation of Hard of Hearing Young People (IFHOHYP) has invited young people aged 18-30 to take part in the IFHOHYP study session “Striving towards

Policy Impact, Awareness Raising and Access to Social Rights� organised in cooperation with the Council of Europe, to be held at the European Youth Centre in Strasbourg, France.

http://www.ifhohyp.org

Canadian Hard of Hearing Association Conference 2012

Location: Ottawa, Canada Theme: Wellness and Health for Persons who are Hard of Hearing around the World International speakers may want to consider presenting at this event! For full information, please read the Call for Proposals at: http://www.chha.ca/conference/files/Call_f or_proposals_2012.pdf Website: http://www.chha.caa

May 30 to June 1, 2012

1st International Congress on Family-centred Early Intervention for Children who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing Location: Bad Ischl, Austria Organizing Committee: the FCEI Organizing Committee & the GPOD (Global Coalition of Parents of Children Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing) http://www.unapeda.asso.fr/article.php3?id_article= 1512 (Source: UNAPEDA, the French Association of Parents of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children, www.unapeda.asso.fr)

November 28 to 30, 2011

AEGIS International Conference Location: Brussels, Belgium Theme: Accessibility Reaching Everywhere Topics: scientific and policy developments in accessible technology http://www.aegis-conference.eu.

June 25 to 28, 2012

IFHOH WORLD CONGRESS 2012 Location: Bergen, Norway Theme: A Better Quality of Life www.IFHOH2012.no (see pages 7 and 8)

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DRPI LAUNCHES NEW WEBSITE Disability Rights Promotion International (DRPI) has launched its new website. Learn more about DRPI‟s monitoring projects and events. On the main page you can read the latest news headlines about DRPI and global events. In the About DRPI section, you can get a clear picture about the DRPI project, its people and collaborations. DRPI has a number of publications and resources – including monitoring reports, training guides and tools for monitoring disability rights. Browse for publications. The website organizes DRPI‟s work into regional pages, allowing you to explore its Regional Centres and projects in the five regions where DRPI is working: Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America and North America. DRPI has Regional Officers leading our activities in the five regions. We invite you to stop by the regional office pages to meet Oswald Tuyizere in Rwanda, Africa, Chona Sabo in Bangkok, Asia Pacific, Radoš Keravica in Serbia, Europe, Mihaela Dinca in Toronto, North America. We are in the final stages of hiring the Regional Officer for Latin America. Check back soon to meet the regional officer who will work in Argentina! There is always something going on at DRPI. Our DRPI Asia Pacific Regional Disability Rights Monitoring Training just finished in Bangkok, Thailand. Marcia Rioux, DRPI Co-Director and Chris Lytle, DRPI Research Associate facilitated the training along with participants of previous DRPI projects in the Asia-Pacific region, Lauro Purcil of the Philippines and Nathan Bond of New Zealand. The regional training was co-hosted by DRPI‟s regional partner Disabled Peoples‟ International-Asia Pacific. Please contact us at drpi@yorku.ca with any feedback, suggestions or comments.

You can now find DRPI on Facebook and follow us on Twitter at #DRPI global!

HEARING LOSS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA UPDATES WEBSITE Our friends in the USA have a newly updated website: www.hearingloss.org. You can look through it by searching under “events”, “convention”, “convention archives, 2011 photos” and you can find, for example, some photos of the very successful Second International Hearing Loops Conference in Washington, D.C. last summer.

TINNITUS RESEARCH On August 19-21, 2011, the 5th TRI Meeting took place in Buffalo, New York, U.S.A. Two hundred clinicians and scientists from all over the world met to discuss the latest findings in tinnitus research, to exchange ideas and to identify the most promising directions for further research.

When TRI started 5 years ago, with the belief that the neuroscientific approach would be the key for finding a solution for tinnitus, this approach had not been the mainstream in tinnitus research. Over time, more and more clinicians have shared this belief and - even more important - more and more bright neuroscientists have discovered tinnitus as their major research area. Thus, in the last years this approach has made incredible progress. To read the 17th TRI Newsletter, please use the following link:17th TRI Newsletter

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CANADIAN HARD OF HEARING ASSOCIATION PRESENTS ITS NEW NATIONAL EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR On October 13, 2011, the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association (CHHA) announced the appointment of Robert A. Corbeil as its new National Executive Director. According to Louise Normand, CHHA National President: “Mr. Corbeil brings extensive experience in non-profit organizations management; considerable experience in project management, marketing and business development; expertise in refining and implementing effective strategic plans; and a fresh perspective and creative ideas regarding how CHHA can improve its service to members.”

“I am glad to be a part of the CHHA family.” said Mr. Corbeil. “Our mission is to raise public awareness concerning issues that are important for persons who are hard of hearing, to promote their integration in Canadian society, to remove any barriers to their participation and to generally make every community in Canada a better place for persons who are hard of hearing.” He adds, “The statistics speak for themselves. It is estimated that 10% of Canadians or over three million people have a hearing loss. It is a modern and growing problem! CHHA has an important role to play and we want to be part of the solution.”

KUDUwave PASSES EUROPEAN STANDARDS The KUDUwave 5000 audiometer passed the European standards for audiometry last year in April, 2010. This was achieved after two weeks of rigorous testing at Intertek in the UK, an industry leader in testing and inspections, with extensive global accreditations. The KUDUwave achieved a pass in tests for IEC60645-1, IEC60645-2 and IEC60601-1.

SANS10083 for occupational health requires that all audiometers used for audiometry testing must comply to IEC606451. The KUDUwave is a type 2 clinical audiometer as classified by IEC60645-1. This confirms the KUDUwave can be used for screening AND diagnostic testing in occupational health care. Medgo is the sole distributor for the KUDUwave, manufactured

by GeoAxon. For further information please contact Dr Dirk Koekemoer (MBChB) Managing Director Medgo (Pty) Ltd

info@medgo.co.za 011 083 7727 | 08611MEDGO

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JEAN-CLAUDE VAN DAMME DIAGNOSED WITH HEARING LOSS

NEW BOOK ON “MAKING NOISE”

The well-known actor Jean-Claude Van Damme, (his films include Blood Sport and Universal Soldier) has been diagnosed with highfrequency hearing loss. In his many action films, Jean-Claude Van Damme was exposed to many loud noises and sudden explosions. That has had a negative effect on his hearing.

Making Noise: From Babel to the Big Bang and Beyond is the title of a new book by Hillel According to his doctor, there is a difference in hearing in the high frequencies in both of his ears. This means that Van Damme experiences difficulties when several people are talking at the same time. He may hear the sounds but they don‟t make sense to him. “You hear, but you can‟t understand”, his doctor says. The doctors have advised him to protect his hearing so as to ensure that it is not damaged further.

(Source: www.torontosun.com)

ACCOLADES FOR RAYOVAC’S MERCURY FREE BATTERIES Rayovac has won the international „Stevie‟ Business Awards in recognition of its new AVA (added voltage agent) mercury free battery.

The product enhances mercury free performance with a higher operating voltage and is being introduced following a significant ongoing investment in battery research and development. Recipients of International Stevie Award trophies were selected from more than 3,000 entries received from more than 40 nations: www.stevieawards.com/iba

Schwartz, a visiting scholar at the University of California, San Diego. The author describes her work as follows: “Among other things, the book puts into historical and international perspective the origins and extent of hearing loss, attitudes towards degrees of deafness, legal-industrial responses to it, and the changing experiences of hearing loss and of the wearing of hearing aids”

HEARING LOSS IN TEENAGERS LINKED TO SECOND-HAND SMOKE U.S. researchers have found evidence to add

hearing loss to second-hand smoke's growing list of negative health effects. Strange as it may sound, a recent analysis showed that second-hand smoke may harm areas other than the respiratory system in teenagers. http://www.enn.com/health/article/42970

Articles and announcements are welcome!

Please send to journal@ifhoh.org.

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http://www.ifhoh.org/ The International Federation of Hard of Hearing People (IFHOH) is an international non-governmental organization representing the interests of more than 300 million hard of hearing people worldwide.

IFHOH is registered as a charitable organization at Vereinsregister Amtsgericht Hamburg, Germany (Nr. 69 VR 10 527) and is also an International Non-Governmental Organization having special consultative status with the United Nations’ Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

IFHOH is a member of the International Disability Alliance (IDA) and works closely with the UN system using the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities as a tool for change.

IFHOH Board: Katja Vis, Ulf Ollson, Ahiya Kamara, Marcel Bobeldijk and Ruth Warick

IFHOH Board President, Ruth Warick (Canada) Vice-President, Ahiya Kamara (Israel) General Secretary, Ulf Olsson (Sweden) Treasurer, Katja Vis (Finland) EFHOH Representative, Marcel Bobeldijk (The Netherlands)

IFHOH JOURNAL The deadline for submissions for the next issue is December 15, 2011. Contributions are welcome!

The preferred length for articles is one page (400 to 500 words). Short and long articles, from 25 to 1,500 words, may also be accepted. News bites and announcements of coming events are appreciated. We are grateful for photographs and illustrations. Please send pictures in jpeg format and files as rich text or word documents. Many thanks!

Carole Willans, IFHOH Journal Editor journal@ifhoh.org

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