Newsletter Issue 2 2016
Inside this issue: WASLI News Sign Language Interpreting and Social Media Deaf Interpreter Africa Conference Call for Editor JustiSigns Conferences 2016 Keep up to date by visiting us on Facebook, Twitter
and our website:
www.wasli.org
Committed to the development of the profession of sign language interpreting worldwide
President Update Dear Members and WASLI Supporters, We hope you enjoy this newsletter and its focus on interpreters and the use of social media. Our hope is that each country will begin a constructive dialogue among interpreters, Deaf and hearing, along with the Deaf community, about what is appropriate and not appropriate for interpreters to post on their individual Facebook and Twitter accounts. While the use of social media can be a huge boost to our ability to communicate widely, it can also pose problems when interpreters are sharing information about where they are working, which breaches confidentiality for the consumers we serve. While many of the posts may appear innocent, it takes little information to determine the “who, what, where and how� when reading a post. While our consumers are free to post what they choose to about their lives, this is an aspect that we as interpreters must be very careful about. So, start the conversations about the issue. Consider where social media fits into guidelines for professional conduct. Examine what other professions do with regard to social media and privacy. Engage Deaf people in talking about what bothers them about the use of social media. Learn from each other as we come to a common understanding of what is appropriate in the context of defining our work. On another note, thank you again to interpreters around the world who are stepping into volunteer roles to support our work – we appreciate each and every one of you who have donated your time and talent. We are thrilled that Arkady Belozovsky from the US has stepped forward as our International Sign Translation Coordinator, and Michelle Chang of Peru has volunteered to coordinate the written translations that we offer. Our thanks to Ms. Kagari Misawa from Japan who has identified a group from her country that is also willing to offer translation services. Our next task is to orient the coordinators to the task, identify the key documents requiring written and IS versions, and for each coordinator to begin working with a small team of translators. Thank you as well to Jordi Ferre, from Spain, who has helped put together the past two newsletters. We have so appreciated his help in getting us started. We are now seeking someone who can commit to taking on this task for the 2016-2019 term. If you are interested in this role, please see the call in this issue. One of the WASLI values is to work collaboratively, and to that end we thank StreetLeverage (SL) and Brandon Arthur for the opportunity to partner and bring some live streaming of the most recent SL conference to interpreters living in countries outside the US and Canada. We have had some very positive comments from interpreters that took advantage of the offer to learn, and we look forward to more of these collaborative ventures. Each of our regional representatives is tasked with supporting regional conferences and we are pleased to see that our African countries are working hard to host a regional conference in late 2016 or early 2017. Our thanks to Tim Tinat and Natasha Maliko for their leadership in this area, and to our Fund Development chairs, Chris Grooms and Bibi Dalacey-Mould for their support.
Page 2
WASLI News cont.
The WASLI 2015 Country Reports have been completed, thanks to a great deal of work from Suzanne Ehrlich. You can find them on our website. And on that note, we know that many of you identified issues with our website over the past few weeks. Unfortunately, like many organizations on the web, we were “hacked�, however we believe the problems have been fixed now, thanks to hard work and attention of Patrick WicheFinland. As we share the work of raising awareness of the profession of interpreting, and look forward to accomplishments expected in the next four years, I hope you will see the value that WASLI brings to your world. Thank you to each of our national associations and individual members that have renewed their membership. If you have questions or comments at any time, please email me at president.wasli@gmail.com. Wishing you all well as you work collaboratively with your local and national Deaf communities to improve interpreting in your country! Sincerely, Debra Russell WASLI President
Social Media and Interpreting
Page 3
A few thoughts on the use of social media by interpreters Don't throw professional values out the window when you're having a good time online. By Ignacio Hermo, Michelle Hof, Angela Keil & Luigi Luccarelli More and more interpreters (community, conference, court, liaison, medical, military, sign language interpreters...) use social media to communicate and exchange opinions and resources. Social media are convenient and fun, but it’s important to remember that we, interpreters, are “bound by the strictest secrecy [...] towards all persons and with regard to all information disclosed in the course of the practice of the profession at any gathering not open to the public”. As technology enthusiasts, we’ve tried to find the right balance between online sociability and confidentiality. We would like to share some of our thoughts in the hope that they’ll prove useful to those of you active on the social media or thinking of becoming so. We are convinced that interpreters can use social media in a positive way to showcase our profession as well as to communicate, interact and share points of view, best practices, interesting articles, personal glossaries and so on. However, we run the risk of damaging our profession through inappropriate use of the same. For starters You should certainly feel free to make use of all available social media channels for private and/or professional purposes. When doing so, however, it is advisable to separate your private (friends, family) and professional lives (colleagues, clients). To this end, you may wish to create different profiles (e.g. by using different user names). If you prefer to maintain a single page or user name, it is still be possible to separate private and professional activities. Many social media allow you to share content selectively: in Facebook there are groups; in Twitter, lists; in Google+, circles; etc.
What are the do’s? Use social media to exchange experiences, foster reflection, or point out what’s happening in our profession. The most important thing is to be honest and trustworthy, respecting your audience and colleagues. It is entirely advisable to protect your own privacy and that of others. To this end, don’t forget to read the terms of use and configure privacy settings (and recheck them periodically) to suit your needs before embarking on the social media boat. Now that you’re done with the basic settings, start sharing interesting content. This can be done without violating confidentiality. For instance, you can post about your work in general terms without mentioning specific circumstances. You may like, circle, add people to your lists or groups and chat with them as you wish, using common sense and moderation. Remember, however, that the people, companies or brands you are linked to project a composite portrait of who you are. Of course, there are many ways in which social media can be used to help you prepare for an assignment (for instance, you can ask your social community for help tracking down that glossary on fisheries). Take full advantage of the opportunities for learning and information exchange that the social media offer. Also, they help you to maintain contacts with colleagues and clients after an event and build a sense of community.
Social Media and Interpreting
Page 4
And the don’ts? The Internet amplifies everything you say. A general rule of thumb would be to avoid posting online anything that you wouldn’t want to see printed in a newspaper. If you want to shelter your family, share personal details or family pictures only with friends and relatives. Sharing negative professional experiences or views on a meeting or speakers, or even posting meeting documents or pictures of the event, can damage the public perception of the profession, which is based on the discretion and respect for confidentiality of all interpreters. Moreover, you shouldn’t mention client names without their express permission, and pictures taken at an event should only be shared with the prior consent of the client - and of your colleagues, where applicable. Don’t share potentially embarrassing information about yourself or write that you dislike or “don’t know anything” about a specific topic (e.g. “accounting”); the image this transmits to others may well not be the one you intended. Remember - humor doesn’t always come across online, especially to people who don’t know you well. Be wary of sharing your location publicly and make sure to turn off the location services of the social media channels you use. Out-of-home/holiday status updates or “working-abroad” posts are an invitation for thieves to pay you a visit, especially if your home address can be easily found on the Internet. Be aware of the fact that music videos, movie segments, lyrics, drawings, texts etc. are protected by copyright laws. Buildings (including interiors) and artistic works such as paintings, sculptures, craft items, architectural works, clothing, etc. are also protected by copyright. Always respect intellectual property rights; obtain prior permission from the owner. If in doubt, it’s preferable to abstain from using such material. While working? Avoid using social media while on duty (in the booth, hospital, courtroom...). If you feel the need to catch up during the workday, do so during your lunch break or at the end of your shift. Even brief status updates made while working or innocent comments like "wow, this meeting is extremely complex" or "still in the booth and I'm totally exhausted" could be detrimental to your professional reputation. It is, after all, your responsibility to focus on the meeting or conference from beginning to end. Your client may find out that you have been active on the social media during working hours, and this may leave them with the impression that you have not fulfilled your contractual obligations. So... Don’t hesitate to take advantage of today’s online communication tools. With a bit of forethought and common sense, you can get the most out of them. -------------------------------------------------
Social Media and Interpreting
Page 5
The authors: Ignacio Hermo, Michelle Hof, Angela Keil and Luigi Luccarelli are all members of the International Association of Conference Interpreters (AIIC) who have been active on social media, having helped set up and run the association’s Facebook, Twitter and Google+ accounts. A. Keil is currently President of AIIC and L. Luccarelli Editor-in-Chief of AIIC publications.
Angela-KEIL
Ignacio-Hermo
Luigi-Luccarelli
A few years ago the authors thought that general social media guidelines would prove helpful for interpreters. This article grew out of their online discussions and was originally published in The AIIC Blog in March 2013. 1Social
media are technology-based communication channels between groups or individuals, such as
blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, YouTube, Flickr, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Digg, Delicious, Foursquare, etc. But also more traditional platforms or channels like Wikipedia, e-mail, news groups or Internet fora can be regarded as social media. 2AIIC Code of professional ethics, II, Article 2, 1.
Social Media: Cautions and Benefits for Sign Language Interpreters Brett Best Social media offers many professional advantages for sign language interpreters, but it presents some challenges, too. The nature of social media means that information shared online leaves a digital trail and has the ability to very quickly reach large numbers of people around the globe. This means that a lapse in professional judgment could have greater consequences in an online environment than in a traditional face-to-face setting. People may also see the online behaviour of one interpreter as representative of the entire interpreting profession. For these reasons and many others, professionalism online is important to maintain the professional integrity of individual interpreters and the interpreting profession. At the same time, social media offers several professional benefits to interpreters, and knowing how to take advantage of these benefits is also an important part of online professionalism.
Social Media and Interpreting
Page 6
Professional Cautions A recent study exploring perceptions of how sign language interpreters use the social networking platform of Facebook (Best 2015) asked interpreters what challenges this new media brings to the profession. Maintaining confidentiality was mentioned as the biggest threat to interpreter professionalism. This is because sign language interpreters work in a very small community—the Deaf community—and, if an interpreter posts anything about work or their location while working, people familiar with this community can easily connect the dots to figure out where an interpreter is working or with whom they are working. This type of deductive disclosure is often possible even if the interpreter thinks that they have not mentioned specific details. Furthermore, social media has the possibility of reaching more people than the interpreter posting the information may have intended, increasing the possibility that inferring details may reach a large audience. Professional Benefits Interpreters in the same study (Best 2015) felt that the professional advantages of this type of social media far outweighed the challenges it brought to the profession. Social media enables interpreters to network with colleagues in unprecedented ways. For example, many social networking sites and apps now enable quick professional discussions in private forums with other interpreters. Social media is also a convenient form of continuing professional development and helps interpreters keep up to date with new signs, literature, research, conferences and relevant events. Information gleaned from social media accounts can also prove valuable for assignment preparation. Social media is changing how the world communicates, and the interpreting profession is no exception. The digital domain offers both challenges and opportunities for interpreter professionalism. In order to leverage the professional advantages of social media and avoid the pitfalls, interpreters and interpreter educators should collectively work to raise awareness of sign language interpreter professionalism online as we go forward into the digital age. References: Best, B. (2015). How Sign Language Interpreters Perceive Facebook is Used by the Interpreting Community. Masters thesis. Heriot-Watt University. On the author:
 Brett Best is a fully qualified American Sign Language (ASL)/British Sign Language (BSL)/English interpreter. She holds a BA degree in Deaf Studies from Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., a PGDip in BSL-English Interpretation and Translation through Sign Language International (SLI), and an MSc in European Masters in Sign Language Interpreting (EUMASLI) from Heriot-Watt University in Scotland.
Social Media and Interpreting: Responses
Page 7
Your Responses Thanks to the interpreters from over the world who have sent their thoughts on the use of social media by sign language interpreters. Here is what YOU think: Cormac Leonard Irish Sign Language / English Interpreter (CDS Qualified, R1 Accredited) I just want to highight one particular issues, which is how to publicise events that are interpreted. In Ireland and I am sure elsewhere, we have seen many 'PR jobs' being offered to interpreters - interpreting assignments where an interpreter is booked - but no Deaf people are invited. So the interpreter is forced to sign to the wall in some cases. On occasion this is because the organisation, sadly, does not care whether Deaf people are there or not. However sometimes it is because the organisation has no idea the best way to get a message out to the Deaf community, which is something that interpreters can help out with. I have felt very strongly about this and wish to help remedy it, within the boundaries of my role as a professional interpreter. So, if I personally am booked for a public event, I do try and publicise the event among the Deaf community. I will contact Deaf organisations via Facebook or put up a post of the event and inform people that an ISL interpreter will be present, or I will even do a vlog in ISL letting them know about the event. I also see that in Ireland many interpreters post ISL vlogs on Facebook pages and this seems to be welcomed by the Deaf community where the new interpreters are 'introducing' themselves to the community. Of course there are issues in relation to confidentiality. Closed non-public events should not be publicised in this way. But I feel that we interpreters are privileged to have access to so much information about what is going on in the Deaf world - sometimes more so than some members of the Deaf community. I feel it is important that where information is non-confidential, and help empower the Deaf community - information e.g. about upcoming interpreted events - we can have a vital role in spreading the word through information channels we know Deaf people use, or liaising with Deaf organisations to do the same. About more overtly political issues I think we interpreters do need to step back and allow discussion to take place amongst Deaf people themselves. That said I do feel there is a potentially bigger role interpreters can play in online discussions about interpreting issues. For example I did a vlog for my professional website about why two interpreters are needed in certain settings - health and safety, quality, etc. - and it received a very positive response and lots of comments along the lines of "Wow, now I understand why!". Of course we need to do our best not to intrude on online Deaf spaces - but again, we possess information that can be of benefit - so why not offer it for the good of all. Gill Behenna RSLI FASLI BSL/English Interpreter and Administrator of Signs of God (BSL in Christian settings) As the administrator of a National Charity that regularly provides teams of interpreters for large Christian events, (www.signsofgod.org.uk) I have reproduced the note on the use of Social Media that we send to all our interpreters in our guidance notes: As with all interpreting assignments, you should regard the fact that you are interpreting and any information relating to that role as confidential. Please DO NOT post your involvement on Facebook or Twitter. Most Christian Conferences and holidays are not totally public because people have paid to attend and have the right to privacy. Signs of God takes very seriously any breach of this guidance by the interpreters. Personally, I believe the increasing use of Social Media for self-promotion of interpreters is something that should be discussed. Often, posts are made with little thought for the consequences. I have seen posts such as “phew arrived for an interpreting job at x hospital but job is cancelled. Still getting paid hurrah!� I think this undermines the integrity of the interpreting profession.
Social Media: Your Responses
Page 8
Certainly, there should never be any posts naming Deaf people, but I don’t think there should be posts naming the hearing party either. Some interpreters argue that it’s good to get publicity in the public domain and that’s true. However, those posts could simply be to state that BSL interpreters are in place - not that X,Y or Z, are interpreting. Better still - leave advertising up to the event organiser. Trevor—British Columbia, Canada Registered Sign Language Interpreter Overall, I tend to avoid social media: 1. I deleted my FaceBook account halfway through my Interpreter Education Program (around 2010). One reason was that I could see incoming messages would increase as I entered the field, so I wanted to eliminate the often hard to find messages through wall posts, post-replies, FB message, etc; this way, all work messages come to me through email, text, or phone and I don't forget to respond to an inquiry. Secondly, in my IEP we had many community hours volunteer interpreting or simply socializing to develop our language. A common refrain after saying goodbye after these interactions became, "Are you on FB?" Rather than deal with the complex dynamics of picking who to stay in touch with online—which can include very personal information—I decided not having an account was the most effective approach. 2. Emotion is often hard to portray electronically without plastering your message with emoticons. Humour, sarcasm, and intensity can be misread and misinterpreted. Having simple conversations or heavier debates on a daily basis to a wide audience (you never know who's reading your content) is bound to be taken the wrong way. Unfortunately with this medium, you don't have much chance to correct a misinterpretation before it becomes a large-scale online discussion of its own. I do have an online presence (YouTube content, photos on Flickr) but it's on platforms that are not as easily misused—or at least don't generate daily dilemmas with people we serve. On the other hand, social media can be a great prepping tool for an upcoming assignment to gain background context to a person or situation. However, I've found I'm able to cope without the presence of my own account (that is, on FaceBook or Twitter etc). Obed Mambwe - Zambia Sign Language Interpreter/Trainer How is Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat,… used or not used by interpreters? Social media can be used by SLIs for social interaction, sharing of SLI profession/Deaf news, information, education, etc. What can you share concerning assignments, the profession, etc.? SLIs should not share anything about their assignments or interpreting appointments, including their clients' names, places, topics, etc, but may share professional information and news about SLI. What are things you better not put online as an interpreter? Your SLI appointments, assignments, photos of the interpreting venue and clients. Anything that identifies your assignment and clients. What can clients post or not? Clients may post whatever they want, including photos of you interpreting for them. It's their right and discretion. I feel social media can both help and damage our profession depending on how we use it.
Page 9
Deaf Interpreter Advisory Committee
Deaf Interpreter Advisory Committee WASLI’s Deaf Interpreter Advisory Committee – DIAC At the General Assembly in Turkey (2015) WASLI approved to start up a Deaf Interpreter Advisory Committee. We – and you – have elected Nigel Howard to lead this committee. Since then, Nigel has been in contact with Deaf Interpreter’s over the world and WASLI is very honored and excited to announce that the following people have agreed to join the DIAC: Arkady Belozovsky - United States Robert Adam - United Kingdom May Low – Singapore Megumi Kawakami - Japan Juan Druetta – Argentina Stephen Nicholson – Australia Arunas Brazas - Lithuania Our Deaf Interpreter advisor is still looking for a representative of the African region. People who are interested are invited to send an e-mail to dia.wasli@gmail.com. For the moment the committee is developing the four goals they want to achieve in this term (2015 – 2019). A proposal was suggested by Nigel, the committee chair. All DIAC members have been encouraged to suggest, input, change or whatever with the above suggested goals. The goals will be put to the Board by the end of May. To be continued!
Page 10
DeafNET Africa Conference 2016
DeafNET Africa Conference on: ‘Deaf Education: Empowering Deaf Persons in Africa through Knowledge’ 26-30 September 2016. Premier Hotel, O.R. Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg, South Africa. Plenary and parallel sessions will be grouped according to but not limited to the following themes: 1. Early Childhood Development 2. Deaf Literacy and Numeracy: challenges and teaching practices 3. Deaf Education/communication in the Digital Age 4. Higher Education for Deaf students in Africa: Achievements and Challenges 5. Vocational and occupational training/Careers/Employment of Deaf persons 6. Deaf and/or Disabled: Debates and dilemmas 7. Health and Wellbeing of Deaf learners/students 8. ... other Deaf Education related issues Presentations are invited from all interested participants in the form of platform presentations or posters. Pending the number and quality of submissions we may request that you do a poster rather than a platform presentation – or vice versa. Please complete the abstract submission form for ALL submissions, and return to Dr Martha Geiger (mgeiger@sun.ac.za ). Please note that there are two submission deadlines: • an early deadline 16 May 2016 for those who need the assurance of acceptance in order to secure funding and travel arrangements. These early applicants will be informed of acceptance outcomes by 31 May 2016. • the late and final deadline is 1 August 2016 and applicants will be informed of acceptance outcomes by 16 August 2016. A full text of the presentation of an author whose abstract was accepted should reach the scientific committee at mgeiger@sun.ac.za on or before Wednesday 31 August 2016. [for more information, the application form and to download the pdf website call for abstracts ]
Page 11
Newsletter Editor
The WASLI Board is looking for a Newsletter editor and assistants. We are inviting you to send us your expression of interest by May 20th at secretary.wasli@gmail.com. Overview of Newsletter Editor Qualifications ▪ A newsletter editor must have strong written and verbal communication in English and IS. He/she will need to correspond to articles and announcements and pre-plan for successful newsletters. ▪ The newsletter editor will have to find out what topics/stories are out there by constructing and maintaining a professional network across the WASLI regions. ▪ Newsletter editors need to cooperate with other people in the publishing production, advertisers, contributors and with the Newsletter Committee members, but ultimately they will lead in completing the newsletter, from pre-planning to post-production. ▪ The newsletter editor works with and along the WASLI Board. He/she can ask the Board for input, for ideas, but he/she carries the final responsibility of delivering the Newsletter on time. ▪ A newsletter editor must have excellent resources. He or she must have a potent computer with powerful memory, effective software of professional publishing and a printer. A newsletter editor must have sufficient time to dedicate to the work. WASLI Newsletter Editor Duties 1. Recruit a minimum of three people to serve on the Newsletter Committee and help complete the work of determining the scope of each Newsletter, gathering the content (articles, pictures,..) and composing the Newsletter. 2. Plan for a minimum of 4 newsletters per calendar year including the date the newsletter will be released. Share this plan with the WASLI Board and Newsletter Committee. 3. Publish submission dates 30 days in advance of the release date and the process for submission on WASLI website and through Social Media committee. 4. Identify a theme for each issue and write a newsletter editor commentary about what is in the issue and why the theme(s) are critical for WASLI. For example: a. THEME: Interpreters, confidentiality and social media – why are interpreters sharing on Facebook where they are working? How can we teach interpreters not to do this? What does this behavior mean for Deaf community members? b. Interpreting for Television – Tips Techniques and Trepidations c. Interpreting for Cultural Events like Live Theatre or Concerts d. Developing Professional Leadership Traits – How and Why? 5. Secure photos to supplement the stories. 6. Review newsletters from other associations for ideas and inspiration. If reprinting an article from a national associations website, secure permission to reprint and credit accordingly. 7. Contact people to regularly contribute to the newsletter including the WASLI Board and regional reps. 8. Contact individual interpreters in regions to write submissions for the newsletter. 9. Follow up when people have missed deadlines. 10. If the newsletter is too small, the editor should jot down all the stories ideas and then assign committee members to fill the stories. 11. Edit all of the material into one document. Proof edit for English grammar and layout issues. 12. Submit the completed newsletter for distribution by the WASLI secretary.
Page 12
JustiSigns
JustiSigns closing event: Access to justice for Deaf people in the EU On April 27th MEP Helga Stevens hosted a conference on the access for Deaf people to justice in the EU. This was also the final event of the JustiSigns project, funded by the European Commission. The project is coordinated by the Interesource Group (Ireland) and is a collaboration between the following partners; EFSLI, EULITA, Trinity College Dublin (Ireland), University of Leuven (Belgium), Heriot Watt University (Scotland) and The University of Applied Sciences for Special Needs Education (Switzerland). . All information can be found at www.justisigns.com. WASLI was invited to attend the event and Isabelle Heyerick, secretary of WASLI represented our organisation. During the day the focus was on the key implications and impact the outcome of the project – which lasted for three years – will have. Stakeholders such as sign language interpreters, interpreter trainers, members of the Deaf community, legal professionals and police can all benefit from the results of JustiSigns. We would urge our members to have a look at the project’s website and use the materials presented for your national and individual development. As you all know, WASLI is a keen advocate of equal human rights. Access to justice for Deaf people is a key requirement in order to obtain human rights. We want to congratulate the partners in the JustiSigns project for their hard work and valuable contribution to the field of sign language interpreting and to the Deaf community. You can also support the campaign and tweet for access to justice for Deaf people (see picture).
Q&A time with Tobias Haug (University of Applied Sciences of Special Needs Education, Switzerland, Eric Hertog (KU Leuven, Belgium), Carlos Alegria (Directorgeneral DG Interpretation), Helga Stevens (MEP), Christian Peters (President EFSLI), Mark Wheatley (Executive Director EUD) and Adam Kosa (MEP).
Panel of the Justisigns partners: Myriam Vermeerbergen (KU Leuven, Belgium), Lorraine Leeson (Trinity College Dublin, Ireland), Carlos Alegria (Director-General DG Interpretation), Helga Stevens (MEP), Haaris Sheikh (project chair) and Jemina Napier (Heriot Watt University, Scotland).
Page 13
Use the WASLI LOGO
In February we encouraged national associations who are a WASLI member to put our logo on their website. In order to increase visibility of your partnership with WASLI we encourage members to put our logo on their own website. We are pleased and proud to present the members who have put our logo on their page. Did not have the time to do this yet? No worries. You can request the logo through secretary.wasli@gmail.com. When you put the logo on your website, send us a link or a screenshot! ASLI – www.asli.org.uk
WAVLI - http://www.wavli.com
Page 14
Conferences 2016
efsli Greece 2016
AVLIC- 2016
website call for abstracts
Page 15
The 5th Meeting of Signed and Spoken Language Linguistics Friday, September 23 - Sunday, September 25, 2016 National Museum of Ethnology, Japan ⼿話⾔語と⾳声⾔語に関する民博フェスタ2016 2016年9⽉23⽇（⾦）～25⽇（⽇） 国⽴民族学博物館 Call for Abstracts and Website
IMPORTANT The views expressed in this newsletter do not necessarily reflect those of the World Association of Sign Language Interpreters. The Editor, together with the WASLI Executive Board and external contributors, produce the WASLI newsletter. WASLI will work to ensure the authenticity of any information provided. We reserve the right to edit all submissions that are published. WASLI accepts no liability for the accuracy of the contents or any opinions expressed. Readers are invited to reproduce information provided the source is quoted. Readers should contact secretary@wasli.org for permission to use WASLI official photographs, or to advise of a change of email address.
WASLI EXECUTIVE BOARD Officers: Deb Russell (President); José Ednilson Jnr (Vice President); Isabelle Heyerick (Secretary); Susan Emerson (Treasurer) Regional Representatives: Angela Murray(Australasia & Oceania); Natasha Maliko (Africa); Monica Punjabi and Etsuko Umemoto (Asia); Desanka Zizic (Balkans);
Isabel Rey (Latino
America); Liz Mendoza (North America); Igor Bondarenko & Anna Komarova (Transcaucasia & Central Asia); (Europe); Christopher Stone. WASLI VOLUNTEERS Deaf Interpreter Advisor: Nigel Howard WASLI Membership Coordinator: to be announced Social Media Coordinator: Suzanne Ehrlich WASLI Translations Coordinators: Michelle Chang (written translations), Arkady Belozovsky (signed translations) Web: Patrick Wiche & Patrick Galasso Newsletter Editor: Open Fund Development Committee: Chris Grooms & Bibi Dalacey-Mould Educational Video Modules: Simone Scholl