WASLI General Meeting Report 2019 by WASLI Publications

WASLI General Meeting July 17th 2019 12:30 pm - 3:30 pm Paris, France Meeting Package

Executive Summary About WASLI

3 4

WASLI 2015-2019 Executive Board Members

Regional Representatives & Key Communicators

Our Closest Collaborators

Agenda for General Meeting of WASLI National Members

WASLI Paris AGM Report

Nominees for the WASLI 2019-2023 Board

WASLI Executive Board Members Reports: WASLI President By the Numbers WASLI Vice President WASLI Secretary WASLI Treasurer WASLI Financial Reports

10 10 12 16 19 21 22

WFD and WASLI Accomplishments over the past 4 years: WFD/WASLI Press Statements Joint WFD and WASLI Submissions for UN WFD/WASLI Tasks WFD-WASLI Cooperation Development Work WASLI Conference prior WFD Congress WFD/WASLI Keynote Presentations

27 28 28 28 29 29 29

Messages from some of our Partners WFD President, Mr Colin Allen AM United Nations Office at Geneva:â&#x20AC;&#x2039; Rebecca Edgington FIT President Kevin Quirk and FIT-WASLI liaison Alexandra Jantscher

30 30 32 33

WASLI Deaf Interpreter Advisor Report

Regional Representative Reports WASLI Asia WASLI Europe WASLI North America WASLI Australasia Oceania

39 39 41 43 46

WASLI Africa WASLI Transcaucascia WASLI Balkans WASLI Latin America and the Caribbean

50 51 59 60

Nominee Response

Executive Summary This package contains information from the WASLI board of directors and the regional representatives that will help you to prepare for the General Meeting at Paris on July 17th. If you have questions in advance of the meeting please feel free to contact us at secretary.wasli@gmail.com. Each national association is allowed two official representatives at the meeting, and the meeting is open to all observers. There is no fee for attending the General Meeting. On July 17th there are regional representative meetings scheduled for the morning. These are open and available for all delegates to attend to meeting with their respective regional representative and provide input on the plan for 2019-2023. Proxy Voting: for those national members that are unable to have representatives at the General Meeting you can send your proxy vote by emailing the secretary (secretary.wasli@gmail.com) and indicating the name of the national association carrying your proxy and the name of the person to whom you have assigned it.

About WASLI Our Story The World Association of Sign Language Interpreters (WASLI) is an international non-governmental organization representing sign language interpreters. Established in 2005, WASLI promotes the development of interpreting globally, by helping countries to create national interpreter associations and to lobby for effective training and standards of practice. Our members come from 40 nations. By promoting the professionalization of sign language interpreting, deaf people’s human rights can be supported through the provision of qualified and ethical interpreting services. WASLI collaborates closely with the World Federation of the Deaf in order to advance issues of importance for both associations.

Our Mission The aim of WASLI is to advance the profession of sign language interpreting worldwide. In pursuit of the aim we will: ● Encourage the establishment of national associations of sign language interpreters in countries that do not have them ● Be a support network for existing national associations of sign language interpreters ● Share information and be a reference point for interpreting issues, using the World Wide Web and other internationally accessible ways ● Support the work of sign language interpreters working at international events, e.g. conferences, sporting events ● Work in partnership with Deaf and Deafblind associations on sign language interpreting issues ● Encourage research ● Develop and promote standards for high quality training, education and assessment of sign language interpreters ● Host conferences and seminars ● Liaise with spoken language interpreter organisations and other organisations having common interests

Our Values & Guiding Principles WASLI approaches its work with integrity. A key component to WASLI’s work is its professionalism, its commitment to lifelong learning, and to set and follow standards in our interactions.

● Collaboration WASLI follows a collaborative model, and works closely with the World Federation of the Deaf and the World Federation of DeafBlind in support each other’s missions

and goals. We encourage our national members to work in the same spirit of collaboration with the national Deaf organizations in their respective countries.

● Proactive WASLI is proactive in its undertakings. We initiate discussion and influence areas of policy and advocacy at the international level.

● Accountable WASLI ensures it is accountable to its members for its decisions.

WASLI 2015-2019 Executive Board Members President – Debra Russell (Canada) Vice President – Jose Ednilson Junior (Brazil) Secretary – Isabelle Heyerick (Belgium/UK) Treasurer - Susan Emerson (Australia) Deaf Interpreter Advisor – Nigel Howard (Canada)

Regional Representatives & Key Communicators Asia – Etsuko Unemoto & Noriko Chu (Japan) Australasia Oceania – Angela Murray (New Zealand) Europe - Christopher Stone (United Kingdom) North America – Liz Mendoza Transcaucasia & Central Asia –Anna Komorova (Russia) Balkans – Desanka Zizic (Serbia) Latin American & Caribbean – Isabel Rey (Peru) Africa – Natasha Parkins-Maliko Arab Region Key Communicator – Hend Al-Showaier (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia)

Our Closest Collaborators Memos of Understanding signed with the following organizations World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) – 2007 & updated in 2018 United Nations Offices at Geneva (UNOG) – 2011 to now European Forum of Sign Language Interpreters (efsli) – updated in 2014 World Federation of DeafBlind (WFDB) – 2013 Federation of Interpreters & Translators (FIT) – 2015

Red T â&#x20AC;&#x201C; joint collaboration focused on interpreters and translators working in conflict zones. Involved 6 major international organizations since 2015 (Red T, AIIC, Critical Link, WASLI, FIT, IAPTI) and other regional organizations

Photo: Dr Henry Liu, President of FIT & Debra Russell, President of WASLI (2015)

Left to Right: Maya Hess (Red-T), Angela Sasso (Critical Link), Debra Russell (WASLI), Linda Fitchitt (AIIC).

Agenda for General Meeting of WASLI National Members July 17, 2019 Paris, France 1. 2. 3. 4.

Welcome Apologies from National Members not in attendance Approval of tellers to count votes: Gabriela Martinez (MX) & Bonnie Heath (CAN) Minutes of 2015 General Meeting at Istanbul a. Corrections to the minutes and Approval b. Matters arising from the 2015 meeting minutes 5. WASLI Board 2015-2019 Activity Reports 6. WASLI Financial Report 7. WASLI Regional Representatives Activity Reports 8. Reports from WFD-WASLI International Sign Accreditation Advisory Board – Dr. Christopher Stone 9. Report from the 2019 Conference Chair - Michelle Ashley 10. Report from the Delegate Sponsorship Committee – Samuel Chew 11. New Business: a. Ratification of Legal Seat in Switzerland b. Board Member (Swiss resident) - legal seat requirement c. Creation of Arab region d. Election of 2019-2023 Board and Regional Representatives e. Other new business items 12. Recognition and Thanks 13. Photo Call 14. Closing Comments

WASLI Paris AGM Report Paris Conference Convenor Michelle Ashley At the time of writing this report, there are six weeks to go until WASLI Paris 2019. We set the registration target at 250 delegates but we have been pleasantly surprised to see registrations at 435 with more expected to come! We are pleased that our largest ever contingent from Emerging Countries will be joining us in Paris. There are over 50 countries represented with first

time delegations from North Korea, Bangladesh and Iran. We are also pleased to welcome returning and new sponsors to this global event and thank them for their generosity. The planning for this conference has seen a lot of hard work put into it and I would like to thank the entire organising committee for their commitment, patience, open communication and wonderful teamwork. You can see all from the Organising committee here. I must give special thanks to the following people in particular for their contributions: Debra Russell, Stephan Barre, Christian Rathmann, Campbell McDermid, Patrick Galasso, Shauna Jehle, Laura Maddux, Samuel Chew, Tracy Norris, Jeremy Menato, Nigel Howard, Susan Emerson and Danielle Ferndale.

Nominees for the WASLI 2019-2023 Board President: Vice President: Secretary:

Dr. Christopher Stone (UK) Susan Emerson (Australia) Isabelle Heyerick (Belgium/ UK) Tim Tinat (Nigeria) Alan Wendt (New Zealand) Treasurer: Nigel Howard (Canada) Deaf Interpreter Advisor: Arunas Brazasinska (Lithuania) Swiss Member To be announced at GM Regional Representatives: Europe: Latin America and Caribbean: North American: Australasia Oceania: Asia: Transcaucasia: Arab: Africa: Balkans:

Stephan Barrere (France) Marcel Garcia (Venezuela) Daniel Ortega Maya (Mexico) Joneti Rokotuibau (Fiji) To be announced at GM To be announced at GM To be announced at GM To be announced at GM To be announced at GM

WASLI Executive Board Members Reports: WASLI President End of Term Summary Report Debra Russell Dear WASLI Members and Supporters, Over the past four years, I have shared in the collection of stories that illustrate the ways in which WASLI makes a meaningful impact at the international level, and the regional level. While those stories shared in our newsletters, Facebook and Twitter speak for themselves, it is, as always, you, the interpreters, leaders, Deaf community members, our associations and our international partners, such as the World Federation of the Deaf, and the United Nations, who bring those stories to light. As my time as president comes to an end, I want to thank you for the privilege of serving as your volunteer President for the past eight years. I am filled with gratitude and pride in knowing that your vision and determination to support the development of the profession of interpreting has resulted in greater number of interpreter associations being founded, of interpreter trainings offered by WASLI board members and WASLI individual members around the world, outstanding regional conferences, continued development of the International Sign Accreditation system, with the addition of both an arms-length Advisory Board and a Professional Conduct Review Process. And, I am thrilled that we are in the final steps of obtaining our WASLI legal seat in Switzerland, complete with a part-time staff member, bring our contracted staff to two. Thanks to Dr. Joe McLaughlin who helped WASLI organise the adapted bylaws to ensure the legal requirements were met prior to securing legal services. Also, thank you to Heather Shores, who coordinates all of our membership applications and thank you to Irene Strasley, for joining the WASLI team. When the 2015 board developed the strategic plan for 2015-2019, I recall that the board were committed to several goals, including focusing on regional development, the promotion of high ethical and training standards for interpreting, including International Sign high-level work, IS interpreting and obtaining a legal seat. I am proud to say that’s exactly what we did – what you did. Thank you to the hard-working volunteer Board of Directors, Deaf Interpreter Advisor, and Regional Representatives, for pursuing those goals, that has resulted in tangible advancements in our professional and within our association. We have been fiscally responsible, leading to the strongest financial picture we have enjoyed. The planning of this WASLI 2019 conference is a testament to the engagement strategies we have employed – from donor support, to attracting registrants from some 52

countries. For the very first time we will have delegates from Iran and the DPRK, thanks to the generous donations of interpreters and organizations from around the world. Thank you for allowing me this tremendous role in contributing to and participating in the growth of WASLI. I wish I could name all of the people who have contributed to our success over the past four years, but that would take us an entire report â&#x20AC;&#x201C;please know that if you volunteered in any way to support WASLI by donating time, talent, money, and leadership skills to any of our committees, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. It has been such a privilege and honour to work with our individual interpreter members and our national associations in order to advance the profession of sign language interpreting around the world. Over the past four years I have had the pleasure of visiting and learning from interpreters and Deaf communities in Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Panama, the DPRK, Macau, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, UAE, Russia, Hungary, Portugal, Japan, Seychelles, Singapore, Lithuania, Jordan, Bahrain, UK, Belgium, Greece, Croatia, France, Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, USA, Mexico, Turkey, and our Honorary President, Liz, visited Thailand, India, and Iran for WASLI. I hope you have enjoyed reading the updates in the regular newsletters and Social Media posts. It will be a joy to celebrate the achievements of WASLI with you during WASLI 2019.

By the Numbers

Meetings, presentations and conferences 39 Executive Meetings 5 Face to Face Board Meetings – Fiji, Panama, Athens, Istanbul, Paris 629+ Presentations Given by Current Board Members & Honorary President over Past Four Years 32 Video Greetings and presentations 17 Regional WASLI Conferences Hosted Panama, Fiji, Bangkok, Singapore, Moscow, Dubai, Jordan, Johannesburg Latin American - 2 Asia – 2 Transcaucasia – 1 (co-sponsored by efsli & WASLI) Africa – 1 jointly with AFSLI conference Europe – 4 as efsli hosts annual conferences Arab countries - 6

Money raised $35,000 Conference Dollars Raised $20,000+ Sponsored Delegate Dollars

Members 67 National Associations 1 Regional Association (efsli) 32,000+ interpreters represented through National & Regional Associations of WASLI

4 Joint WFD Committees ● International Sign Interpreter Accreditation Advisory Board (ISAAB) – Dr. Christopher Stone, Clark Denmark, Carol-Lee Acquiline, Liz Scott Gibson ● Professional Conduct Review Committee – membership confidential (3 Deaf, 2 hearing) ● Technology - Avatar Issue ● FAQ about International Sign – Dr. Robert Adam Getting in touch with YOU

15,000+ Emails

52,000+ Hours of Voluntary Service

72+ Countries Visited by Board Members

Tweets Since January 2011 (opening of account)

Our Twitter audience:

Facebook page likes at +14000

Big thank you to Suzanne Ehrlich and Patrick Galasso as our Social Media leads!

WASLI Vice President End of Term Summary Report José Ednilson Júnior Honorably, I assumed the vice presidency of WASLI after the election to the board during the General Assembly in Istanbul in July 2015. Since then, I have been dedicated to supporting the activities of our president, Debra Russell, working with the board in managing our association, and representing WASLI in activities with our members. During the past four years I have actively participated in monthly online meetings with the WASLI Board and attended Face to Face Meetings in Istanbul (2015), Athens (2016), Panama (2017), Fiji (2018) and Paris (2019).

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Here are some key administrative activities: Resolutions with Executive Board; Communication with Regional Representatives; Support Translation Coordinator; Contact with national members; Collaboration with WFD for the position paper about ‘Accessibility: Sign Language Interpreting & translation and technological developments’.

Some events where I participated as WASLI vice-president:

Where

When

Event

Brazil

2016

2nd Conference on Deaf Inclusion in High Education

Greece

2016

European Forum of Sign Language Interpreters

Panama

2017

3rd Latin American Sign Language Interpreters Meeting

Colombia

2017

1st National Meeting of Colombian Sign Language Interpreters and Deaf-blind Interpreters (Video)

Colombia

2017

1st Caribbean Meeting

Sign

Language Interpreters

Colombia

2017

Sign Language Interpreters Workshop

Fiji

2018

WASLI Oceania Conference

Mexico

2018

Bilingual Education for the Deaf Movement (Video)

Brazil

2018

Meeting with students and professors of the graduate course in Translation and Sign Language Interpreting

Colombia

2018

First International Inclusion Symposium

Chile

2018

Sign Language Interpreters Workshop

Brazil

2019

Regional Sign Language Meeting - Acatils

France

2019

WASLI Conference Some pictures of events where Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve represented WASLI:

Some of my activities as vice-president are related to communication and branding of WASLI such as: creation of the Member Stamps, taking care of photos of events, and management of Social Media coverage of events (Twitter, Facebook and Instagram) and video recording for WASLI. In addition, I assumed the WASLI Newsletter editor role and I was responsible for the publication of eight issues. I would like to thank all the members, the WASLI board and volunteers, the regional representatives and colleagues for these 8 years (4 years as regional representative and 4 years as vice-president) of work and a lot of learning. Every day dedicated, every activity,

every meeting, everything was done with great dedication and love for our profession and respect for our principles. I hope that in the next four years our WASLI will be bigger and that the new board will be very successful. Long live WASLI!

WASLI Secretary End of Term Summary Report Isabelle Heyerick

In 2015, in Istanbul (Turkey) I was elected as your WASLI secretary. A task I have carried out passionately from that day until today (with a break between February 2018 December 2018). During the four years I have carried out the general tasks as to be expected from a secretary: 1. More than 7000 emails handled It is clear that WASLI as an organisation is becoming increasingly visible. During this four year period, I answered, forwarded, redirected, and handled over 7000 emails coming from all regions in the world. â&#x20AC;&#x2039;2. More than 30 Executive Board Meetings

The Executive Board aims to meet online once a month. This is not always possible or necessary. Nonetheless over the course of this term more than 30 Executive Board Meetings were organised, held and minutes of these meetings were provided by me to the members of the Board and the regional representatives. All of this is also filed in the WASLI Dropbox account. 3. Filing system maintained In order to make sure that WASLI has its activities well documented, I manage the Dropbox filing system. Members of the Board can send important documents to me and these are filed and stored accordingly. These include MOUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, contracts, policy documents, press statements etc. 4. Face to Face meetings The WASLI Board and Regional Reps meet face-to-face once a year. In 2015 we had the meeting in Istanbul, in 2016 in Athens, in 2017 in Panama and in 2018 in Fiji. We will have a last face-to-face meeting with the current board in 2019 in Paris. I was present and organised the first three face-to-Face meetings and am also in charge of the final Face-to-face meeting. This entails: putting together the agenda, securing a venue, put together the schedule and provide the minutes of the meeting. 5. 8 WASLI Newsletters Over the course of my term I have contributed to and was one of the editors of the WASLI Newsletter. 6. Mailchimp campaigns As secretary I was responsible of providing you with information that we as an organisation receive. News about new collaborations, calls for participation in research, asking you for (financial) support, sharing new WASLI policy documents etc. I am sure you have been spammed by me. In a good way. 7. Representing WASLI On numerous occasions I have represented WASLI as its secretary. These could be formal or more informal events. Whenever the opportunity raised to promote the work we do, I was sure to expand our network. I have very fond memories of all the 25th anniversary of ACILS in Barcelona (Spain) where I talked about the strength of collaboration. My participation in the WAR on WORDS hearing at the European Parliament as WASLI secretary has also led to ongoing support for organisations such as RED T. Additionally, I have written articles about WASLI for signed language interpreter associations and have been a member in panel discussions on the professionalisation of our profession and how an international perspective is valuable. 8. WASLI conferences I have attended the WASLI 2015 Conference in Istanbul and was, together with Suzanne Ehrlich, chair of the scientific committee. I will attend the WASLI 2019 Conference in Paris for which I have done prospective visits and was a reviewer for the conference programme. 9. WASLI 2015 Conference Proceedings In 2017 WASLI published the WASLI 2015 Conference Proceedings, edited by Suzanne Ehrlich and me. Word of appreciation

I am sure I have been in contact with most of you in the course of these four years. Through email, through Facebook, whatsapp, in person... It is my pleasure to be able to be of service to you. Answering your questions, directing you towards the information you are looking for, bringing people together. All with the aim of growing and sustaining our global community. Thank you for entrusting me with this task.

WASLI Treasurer End of Term Summary Report Susan Emerson

It has been an honour and pleasure to represent my colleagues as a board member of WASLI, and to work alongside such talented and dedicated people. I would like to thank Debra Russell, Isabelle Heyerick, Nigel Howard and Angela Murray for their friendship and support throughout my two terms as Treasurer. Highlights have been many, but I must mention one in particular – the WASLI Oceania Conference in Fiji, 2018. The idea had been coined over 10 years ago and we finally saw it come to fruition thanks to the contributions of the Organising Committee, sponsors, delegates, presenters and the interpreting and Deaf communities of the Pacific Islands. I will remain committed to working with and supporting my dear colleagues across the Pacific Islands having forged strong ties with them during the lead up to the WASLI Oceania Conference, and during. In my second term as Treasurer I have attended monthly online board meetings and the yearly face to face meetings in Turkey (2015), Panama (2017), Fiji (2018) and France (2019). At these meetings it has been my responsibility to present quarterly finance reports. Outside of meeting times, I have been in regular correspondence with fellow board members, the membership coordinator, regional representatives, members, and the website coordinator. Aside from my role as Treasurer, I have led many a social media campaign by the producing of content in the form of photos, flyers and video. This activity has been ramped up in the lead up to WASLI Paris 2019. I was pleased to be part of the establishment of WASLI’s new national membership scheme (pay three years and receive one year free). I am also on the organising committee for WASLI Paris 2019 on the Sponsorship, Emerging Countries Bursary and Interpreting sub-committees. WASLI’s financial situation is stable due to efficient budgeting, healthy membership numbers, donations, conference registrations and sponsorships, and the amount of pro

bono support that WASLI receives from its members. The main expenses are travel costs for board members to represent WASLI at conferences or related events. The President has represented WASLI, therefore all interpreters, at high level meetings with the World Federation of the Deaf and the United Nations, for example. The Executive Board is committed to meeting face to face once a year, to coincide with an international interpreting conference or event when possible. Other expenditures include website maintenance and hosting, membership database maintenance and upfront costs for WASLI hosted events. This is Debra Russellâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s last term as President. Debra has brought so much to WASLI through her ability to connect, empower, engage and listen. She has been a wonderful mentor, friend and ally through the terms I have worked with her on the board. Debra is an international treasure and her legacy and hard work will continue to impact the global interpreting community for the good. Thank you Deb.

WASLI Financial Reports

January 1 - 30 June 2015

OPENING BALANCES

PayPal

Pay Pal

HSBC

HSBC 2

USD

GBP

829.18

32,354.09

2,023.27

Income Membership National

Organization

25.00 £

Individual

5,095.00

Donations

2,560.00

Sponsorship

1,412.72

Publications

2,335.00

Transfer from PayPal

Conference

Miscellaneous

67,675.00

47,705.19

5,963.47 -

45,607.86 1,987.47

23.72 £

Investment Transfers Interest Earned INCOME TOTALS

79,126.44

47,705.19

53,558.80

19,521.89

0.59

Expenditure Conference

Projects - Website

Executive Board

223.55

977.19

Transportation Fees HSBC PayPal PayPal Transfer

3,388.13

75,641.60

45,607.86

Loan Repayment Miscellaneous

96.71 £

Investment Transfers TOTAL EXPENDITURE

CLOSING BALANCES as at 30 June 2015

TOTAL NET WORTH

79,126.44

45,607.86

20,722.63

0.00 £

2,926.51

65,190.26

USD $

0.00

GBP £

70,140.63

2,023.86

January 1 - December 31, 2016

OPENING BALANCES

PayPal

Pay Pal

HSBC

HSBC 2

USD

GBP

£ 44,430.12

£ 2,024.46

86.73

Income Membership National

65.23

Organization

70.00 £

85.72

Individual

3,260.00

3.76

Donations

323.00

Sponsorship

290.00

Publications

1,270.00

Transfer from PayPal

3,837.86

3,573.71

Conference

285.00

Miscellaneous

157.00

Investment Transfers Interest Earned INCOME TOTALS

5,655.00

3,837.86

3,728.42

1.22

Expenditure Conference

Projects - Website

Executive Board

254.00

Transportation

7,600.20

Fees HSBC PayPal PayPal Transfer

306.09

5,348.91

3,573.63

Loan Repayment Miscellaneous

Investment Transfers TOTAL EXPENDITURE

1,337.86

£ $

5,655.00

CLOSING BALANCES $ as at 31 December 2016

TOTAL NET WORTH

USD $

3,573.63

350.96

9,192.06

£ 38,966.48

GBP -

£ 41,343.12

£ 2,025.68

January 1 to December 31, 2017

OPENING BALANCES

PayPal

Pay Pal

HSBC

HSBC 2

USD

GBP

350.96

38,966.48

2,025.68

Membership National

1,992.50

Organization

180.00

Individual

3,465.00

Donations

1,598.37

Sponsorship

Publications

205.00

Transfer from PayPal

5,331.04

1,327.90

4,695.00

Conference

Miscellaneous

14.57

495.17

Investment Transfers Interest Earned INCOME TOTALS

7,440.87

5,345.61

6,518.07

0.87

Expenditure Conference

743.28

Projects - Website

Executive Board

339.00

Transportation

8,932.46

Fees HSBC PayPal PayPal Transfer

404.49

7,036.38

4,995.36

Loan Repayment Miscellaneous

Investment Transfers TOTAL EXPENDITURE

3,319.82

7,440.87

4,995.36

13,334.56

CLOSING BALANCES as -£ at 31 December 2017

0.00

701.21

32,149.99

TOTAL NET WORTH

USD $

-0.00

GBP £

34,877.75

2,026.55

January 1 to December 31, 2018

OPENING BALANCES

PayPal

Pay Pal

HSBC

HSBC 2

USD

GBP

£ 32,149.99

£ 2,026.55

701.21

Membership National

1,400.00

254.60

Organization

200.00

Individual

5,515.00

Donations

225.00

Sponsorship

300.00

Publications

40.00 £

Transfer from PayPal

16,034.83

14,823.25 23,759.22

Conference

Miscellaneous

355.39

Investment Transfers Interest Earned INCOME TOTALS

7,735.39

16,034.83

39,137.07

17,790.61

2.29

Expenditure Conference

Projects - Website

350.00

Executive Board

455.30

459.90

Transportation

2.96

Fees HSBC PayPal PayPal Transfer

420.66

914.98

6,964.73

15,818.10

Loan Repayment Miscellaneous

Investment Transfers TOTAL EXPENDITURE

CLOSING BALANCES as at 31 December 2018

TOTAL NET WORTH

7,735.39

-0.00 £

USD $

-0.00

16,736.04

18,705.81

£ 52,581.25

GBP £ 54,610.09

£ 2,028.84

WFD and WASLI Accomplishments over the past 4 years: 2016-2019 Agenda

1. WFD/WASLI MoU has led to many similar agreements in countries around the world 2. International Sign Interpreter Accreditation System 3. Second Round of International Sign Accreditation System 4. WFD/WASLI International Sign Accreditation Advisory Board 5. Policy and Procedures 6. Establish International System Accreditation Advisory Committee 7. Review the WFD/WASLI Joint Statement 8. Potential MOU with World Federation of the Deafblind 9. FAQ IS 10. Guideline on CRPD Translations (Country Sign Languages) 11. Review the WASLI Interpreter Education Guidelines 12. Cooperation for WASLI/WFD Training/Workshop 13. Cooperation for Joint Statements

WFD/WASLI Press Statements Fake Interpreters â&#x20AC;&#x201C; South Africa, Peru....

Joint WFD and WASLI Submissions for UN WFD & WASLI Joint Submission to OHCHR Study on CRPD Article 13 WFD, IDE and WASLI Submission for the OHCHR Study on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on Situations of Risk and Humanitarian Emergencies WFD and WASLI Submission for Concluding Observations on Mongolia in the 13th Session WFD and WASLI Submission for Concluding Observations on the Dominican Republic in the 13th Session WFD & WASLI Joint Submission on the Draft General Comment No. 2 on Article 9

WFD/WASLI Tasks WFD and WASLI Guidelines on Securing and Utilising the Services of Sign Language Interpreters for the UN International Sign Fee Guidelines for WFD and UN Events International Sign Interpreter Recognition Policy and Guidelines

WASLI and WFD – Communication during Natural Disasters and other Mass Emergencies for Deaf People who use Signed Language

WFD-WASLI Cooperation Development Work DPRK – development of MOU with KFD and SLIAK

WASLI Conference prior WFD Congress • • •

•

Spain (2007) South Africa (2011) Turkey (2015) France (2019)

WFD/WASLI Meetings: 14 Face to Face Meetings in their countries

WFD/WASLI Workshops: 40 Workshops in their countries

WFD/WASLI Keynote Presentations 15 Keynote Presentations in their countries

Messages from some of our Partners WFD President, Mr Colin Allen AM

Greetings to Sign Language Interpreters from all over the world! The WFD and WASLI have enjoyed close collaboration since a Joint Statement between our organisations was signed by Markku Jokinen and Liz Scott Gibson, as previous Presidents, in July, 2007 in Spain. The original Statement was strengthened, in the form of a cooperation agreement, confirmed during the 3rd International Conference of the World Federation of the Deaf in Budapest, Hungary in 2017. This document reinforced the importance of local, regional and national deaf communities establishing partnerships with sign language interpreters within their country. The intention was that this would be replicated at within counties but unfortunately, only a small number of the current members of WFD and WASLI have signed similar agreements. I would therefore urge you as attendees of the WASLI Conference in Paris to convey this message to the relevant people within your countries with the goal of establishing a formal meeting with the WFD Ordinary member to create a co-operative partnership between the representative organisations of deaf people and sign language interpreters. Since 2011, your President, Dr Debra Russell and I as WFD President and our respective Boards have worked closely together with the result being a number of achievements to the benefit of communities of sign language users and interpreters of which we are both proud. Of particular note during the period 2015 to 2018 are the following: Âˇ Together with the President of the World Federation of the Deaf Youth Section (WFDYS), we visited the Korean Federation for the Protection of the Disabled, the national Disabled Personsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Organisation (DPO), which auspices the Deaf Association

of Korea in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Sign Language Interpreters of Korea; As Chair of the International Disability Alliance from July 2016 until June 2018, I was able to ensure greater visibility of sign language issues in the international arena which included highlighting the significance of sign language interpreters and the importance of teamwork between deaf people and interpreters; In order to respond to the need of the UN to ensure that International Sign interpretation was of high quality, the WFD-WASLI International Sign Interpreter Accreditation system was established in 2015 and calls for applications have since been sought on an annual basis. At the end of 2018, 30 International Sign interpreters (14 of whom are Deaf Interpreters)were accredited in this system. Information about the interpreters with contact details are available on the WFD and WASLI websites to allow international stakeholders to identify and contract these individuals for international events; After several years of joint advocacy work, a relationship with staff of the UN Office at Geneva has been established with a focus on improving sign language accessibility particularly during meetings of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Input from WFD and WASLI was also sought when the UN planned to redesign a meeting room to ensure that sign language interpreter arrangements could be accommodated; With input from the World Association of Sign Language Interpreters (WASLI), joint statements have been published and joint presentations held in different parts of the world to emphasise the importance of cooperation between deaf leaders and interpreters to advocate for the human rights of deaf people. Guidelines and submissions have been developed addressing the following themes: o WFD and WASLI Guidelines on Securing and Utilising the Services of Sign Language Interpreters for the United Nations. o WFD and WASLI Statement on Use of Signing Avatars o Submissions for International Disability Alliance and United Nations;and In the past year, the International Sign Accreditation Advisory Body and the Professional Conduct Review Panel has been formed to monitor the quality and ensure standards are maintained by accredited International Sign Interpreters.

I feel truly honoured to have had the privilege of working with Deb over the past eight (8) years. Despite not knowing each other until we became the Presidents of our respective organisations, we immediately became a unified force with the primary goal of ensuring that the mission and aims of both organisations were realised. During our presidential terms, we collaborated on many presentations and workshops, conducted in almost every corner of the globe. We have also had innumerable video meetings (too many to count!) and 15 face to face meetings in various locations worldwide. Coincidently and very appropriately, our first meeting was held in my home city, Sydney,

Australia in 2011 and our last meeting earlier this year was held in Deb’s home country, Canada, in Edmonton, in close proximity to her hometown. My final wish if that the incoming Presidents of both WFD and WASLI will continue to enjoy close relations over the next four years and continue to further the work of both organisations. With warm wishes for a successful Conference.

United Nations Office at Geneva: Rebecca Edgington, Chief, English Section Interpretation Service

The United Nations Office at Geneva is delighted to be at the WASLI conference. As the largest employer of sign language interpreters in the UN system globally, we are keen to learn more from WASLI members and to develop our cooperation. The UN is extremely grateful to WASLI for assistance in identifying national sign language interpreters for recruitment during CRPD sessions and also for the development of the WASLI/WFD accreditation system for International Sign interpreters. It has been my pleasure to work with the WASLI president and members over the last 5 years to improve the UN’s provision of sign language interpretation and develop the working conditions for interpreters and the technical support to broadcast sign languages, as well as to raise awareness within the UN. The General Assembly adopted resolution 72/161 in December 2017, establishing 23 September as the International Day of Sign Languages to raise awareness of sign languages and their role in ensuring that no one is left behind. In 2018, it was UNOG’s pleasure to host the first UN celebration of this International Day. To give you an idea of the increase in volume of UNOG work, in 2012, we had just a few days of International Sign interpretation, but in 2017 we saw 247 days of sign interpretation with 123 days in International Sign and 124 days of different national sign languages. For the first half of 2019, we have seen 147 days, that is 88 days of IS and 59 days of national sign languages. We see an increasing demand for sign languages at UNOG and other Geneva-based International Organisations and look forward to further cooperation with WASLI to develop training and accreditation initiatives for conference interpreters to meet these growing needs.

Rebecca Edgington Chief, English Section Interpretation Service UNOG

FIT President Kevin Quirk and FIT-WASLI liaison Alexandra Jantscher

Dear conference participants, dear colleagues, In 2017, WASLI and FIT, the International Federation of Translators, signed a ground-breaking memorandum of understanding, to promote the understanding that aspects of good quality translation (in the widest sense of the word) are universal and not linked to spoken and/or signed language. Spoken and sign language interpreters and translators have very much in common; some associations have members from both fields and a few sign language interpretersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; associations have already become members of FIT or are considering doing so. Communication and collaboration among international as well as national associations is vital to promote the interests of all interpreters, translators and terminologists worldwide. WASLI and FIT have already completed two important activities in this context: documents on how to successfully create national associations have been shared and reviewed; training materials (worked out under the auspices of UNHCR) for interpreters working with refugees have been disseminated. Further projects are underway! FIT will be represented at your conference in Paris. We look forward to a most interesting event and wish you all the best of success. At the same time, we would like

to invite all participants to the 2020 FIT World Congress in Varadero, Cuba in December 2020! We look forward to seeing you at one of these events!

WASLI Deaf Interpreter Advisor Report End of Term Summary Report Nigel Howard

DEFINITION of DEAF INTERPRETER – on-going There is a D R A F T Definition of Deaf Interpreter Will make revisions and changes to incorporate from feedback from Lithuania (Arunas Brazinskas), Japan (Megumi Kawakami), Norway (Truls Yggeseth) and Argentina (Juan Druetta) ACTIVITIES: 06.2016 Panama – Panama City: One week on Deafhood course/workshop and Deaf Interpreter training 10.2016 United States – Lexington: Conference of Interpreter Trainers – side meetings with Deaf Interpreters 02.2017 Japan – Tokyo: Deaf Interpreters: Do-do What? Why? 07.2017 Panama – Panama City: WASLI and Latin America Interpreters Conference 08.2017 France – Toulouse: European Forum of Sign Language Interpreters – Deaf Interpreters pre-conference workshop 08.2017 France – Toulouse: European Forum of Sign Language Interpreters Conference: What’s Up Doc?” Side meeting with European Deaf Interpreters 10.2017 United States – Pasco: InterWINEd 12.2017 South Africa – Cape Town: Informal gathering of Deaf Interprets and interested parties (one day) 01.2018 United States – Nashville: Deaf Interpreting – What is it? 01.2018 United States – Austin: Deaf Interpreters in Mental Health 03.2018 United States – Minneapolis: Deaf Interpreters in Medical Settings 05.2018 China – Macau: International Sign training (co-presented and -trained with Susan Emerson and Megumi Kawakami) – WASLI & WFDRSA joint partnership 05.2018 United Arab Emirates – Dubai: 5% Within Frequency Range 08.2018 Fiji – Nadi: WASLI Australia & Oceania Conference and side meetings with Fijian Deaf Interpreters (in discussion to provide two online training sessions plus up to one week in-person training) 10.2018 Brazil – Florianópolis: VI Congresso Nacional de Pesquisas em Tradução e Interpretação de Libras e Língua Portuguesa. Side meetings with group of Brazilian Deaf Interpreters and IS interpreters. 10.2018 United States – Salt Lake City: Conference of Interpreter Trainers – side meetings with Deaf Interpreters 12.2018 Colombia – Medellin and Barranquilla: Interpreter training and presentation

02.2019 Australia – Melbourne: Co-Interpreting (how Deaf and non-Deaf interpreters work together) 04.2019 Colombia – Medellin: Role of Interpreting and Relationship with Deaf Community 04.2019 Australia – Brisbane: Deaf Interpreting and their Roles and Responsibilities 06.2019 United States – Monmouth: Deaf Interpreters Conference 07.2019 France – Paris: WASLI Pre-Conference Deaf Interpreters workshop (co-present with Megumi Kawakami) CORRESPONDENCE: Most was via Marco Polo due to preference in the use of International Signs over English. - Clarification of roles between advocacy and interpreter - Deaf person's role in the Deaf community - Earnings to be on par with non-deaf interpreters? - Co-interpreting responsibilities - Situations where Deaf Interpreters might be essential - Mediate some disputes (i.e. Deaf persons doing voluntarily whilst non-deaf interpreters get paid, only non-deaf persons teaching, Deaf Interpreters mixing in advocacy role, Deaf Interpreters assuming to lead fully, etc.) - Support and provide resources to develop Deaf Interpreter training and/or workshops - Interpretation techniques (co-interpretation, management of processing, etc.) - Ethical clarification including boundaries Provided Deaf Interpreter workshop materials, as well as IS workshop materials in numerous of countries (i.e. Australia, Lithuania, Colombia, South Africa, Japan, China (Macau and Hong Kong) SPECIAL EVENTS: 03.2019 Organised and hosted two fund-raising workshops by bringing Colin Allen and Rebecca Ladd APPRECIATION: Thank you for the tremendous opportunity to share our knowledge, experience and wisdom globally. DEFINITION OF DEAF INTERPRETER It defines Deaf persons being fluent in their country’s native language(s) as it is usually their primary language and have appropriate interpreting skills. Some countries may possess more than one such as Canada having two sign languages which are American Sign Language (ASL) and Langue des Signes Québécoise (LSQ). And they have reasonable 35

foundational comprehension of their country’s language, for example, English and French. They are to have the ability to adapt in fluid manner the lingual and cultural needs of the consumer(s) in a wide variety of settings akin to non-deaf interpreters. However, there are numerous sensitive situations that are advisable to include Deaf Interpreters. Such situations amongst many may be mental health, medical, legal settings, televised emergency announcements and so forth. It may include different modality of communication such as regional/dialect differences, non-standardised native sign language or gestures.

The Deaf persons possess excellent communication skills to ensure messages are conveyed and interpreted effectively. Additionally, they usually possess “Deaf Extra Linguistic Knowledge” (DELK) (Gile 1995; Russell & Stone, 2014?) Both Deaf and non-deaf interpreters develop co-interpretation techniques where they determinate effective conveyance of discourse between Deaf and non-deaf consumers in any particular setting. The dynamics of co-interpretation between Deaf and non-Deaf interpreters are that they perform equally and consumers being their primary focus. EXPLANATION: The role and responsibility of the Deaf Interpreters are in parallel with non-Deaf interpreters and to abide their country’s sign language interpreters’ associations’ Code of Ethics and Guidelines of Professional Conduct. For example, in Canada, it is the Canadian Association of Sign Language Interpreters (CASLI – www.casli.ca ) and, in Australia, it is the Australian Sign Language Interpreters’ Association (ASLIA – www.aslia.com.au) and in the United Kingdom which is the Association of Sign Language Interpreters (ASLI – www.asli.org.uk) The role of advocacy is outside the realm of the profession. Bear in mind that just because a person is Deaf and fluent in the use of native sign language, it does not automatically constitute appropriate and sufficient qualification to become an Interpreter. Interpreter Education Programmes are the best avenue for Deaf individuals to obtain an interpreter degree. However, and currently, it is not feasible due to a variety of reasons such as economic barriers, limited employment opportunities, lack of financial support/sponsorship/bursary, specialised education and so on. There are very few such Deaf Interpreter Education programmes globally; hence, most acquire necessary skills and techniques through series of workshops and trainings. As for any profession, the definition, role and responsibility of Deaf Interpreters continues to be evolving, adapting and progressing References: Boudreault, P. (2005). DI. In T. Janzen (Ed.), Topics in signed language interpretation (pp. 323–353). Philadelphia: Benjamins.

Forestal, E. (2014). DI: the dynamics of their interpreting processes. In R. Adam, C. Stone, S. Collins and M. Metzger (Eds.) DI at work: international insights. (pp.29-50). Washington, DC: Gallaudet University Press. Forestal, E. (2005). The emerging professionals: DI and their views and experiences on training. In Cynthia Roy (Ed). Sign language interpreting and interpreter education: Directions for research and practice, (pp. 235-258). Gile, D. (1995). Basic concepts and models for interpreter and translator training. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: John Benjamins. Russell, D. (2017). Deaf/non-deaf Interpreter Teams: The complexity of professional practice. In Christopher Stone & Lorraine Leeson (Eds.) Interpreting and the Politics of Recognition. Routledge: New York City Stone, Christopher. (2009). Toward a Deaf translation norm. Washington, DC: Gallaudet University Press. Stone, C., & Russell, D. (2013). Interpreting in International Sign: Decisions of Deaf and non-DI. In B.Costello, R. Shaw, and M.Thumann (Eds.), Proceedings of the Conference of the World Association of Sign Language Interpreters. 100-118. Stone, C., & Russell, D. (2014). Conference interpreting and interpreting teams. In R. Adam, C. Stone, S. Collins and M. Metzger (Eds.) DI at work: international insights. Washington, DC: Gallaudet University Press. 140-156. Suggs, T. (2012) A Deaf perspective: cultural respect in sign language interpreting. Street Leverage.http://www.streetleverage.com/2012/08/a-deaf-perspective-culturalrespect-in-sign-language-interpreting/ WEBSITES: Deaf Interpreter Institute: http://www.diinstitute.org/

Regional Representative Reports WASLI Asia End of Term Summary Report (August 2018 – April 2019) Noriko Miyazawa, Regional Representative Update of the Situation in Asian Countries I asked Asian countries to update answers of to the questionnaire “Situation of Sign Language Interpretation” and sent them out the results to share information in the region. Meanwhile, SLIAK(DPRK), PNASLI (Philippines) and KASLI (South Korea) became WASLI National Members. MASLI (Mongol) tried to pay a 3-year membership fee in 2017 which didnʼt work well and resulted in paying only for 2017. Now they are going to proceed with the payment for 2018 and 2019. Noriko Miyazawa joined the WASLI Board in 2018 after the retirement of Etsuko Unemoto. We thank for her many years of services to WASLI and the Asia Region. Some highlights: We held the Meeting of Sign Language Interpreters in Asia as below (reported on WASLI Newsletter). Debra Russell,WASLI President, sent us a video message for the opening of the meeting, and Liz Scott Gibson, WASLI Honorary President, gave a presentation “the Development of the Sign Language Interpreting Profession” on the 2nd day of the meeting. Date: Dec. 11 (Tue.) - 14 (Fri.), 2018 Place: The Berkeley Hotel Pratunam, Bangkok, Thailand Participants: 22 people in total India: 2 delegates (1 observer), Indonesia: 2 delegates, Japan: 2 delegates (3 observers), Korea: 2 delegates, Macau: 2 delegates, Nepal: 2 delegates, Thailand: 2 delegates. Vietnam: 2 delegates Acting WASLI Asia Representative and an IS interpreter

Summary of the meeting: (1) Challenges in Asia - Needs for information sharing: information sharing and discussion on a common platform - Learning: workshops on interpretation skill, IS/interpretation, and case study; establishment and enforcement of an organization - Awareness and education: expertise/tool (e.g. certificate of attendance) for negotiation with governments; improvement of compensation - IS: training of IS/IS interpretation; online training (2) Policies and rules of the Asian Meeting - Reverting the name of the meeting was decided (e.g. Sign Language Interpreters Meeting in Asia 2018) but some members prefer to use “WASLI-Asia” as it is. - Qualification to attend the meeting: we hope any interpreters in Asia can attend the meeting while encouraging associations to become WASLI National/Organization Members. - WFD RS-Asia thinks that there is no need for IS interpreter at the meeting, participants shall be able to communicate in IS in the future, and, if it is so hard, shall arrange an IS interpreter on their own. Until we can communicate in IS, participants will support each other. (3) About WASLI - We hope to organize “WASLI Asia” with board members sharing roles to support the Asia region. - We confirmed to proceed with the election of the next WASLI Asia Representative according to the WASLI announcement. * Financial support: JASLI provided US$500 to Nepal and NRASLI provided US$500 to Vietnam.

Selection of WASLI Asia Representative (2019-2022)

Since the post of WASLI Asia Representative is vacant, Noriko Miyazawa of NRASLI, on behalf of former representative, Etsuko Umemoto, proceeds with the selection. Sep. 13, 2018: Announcement on the qualification of WASLI Regional Representative, and schedule for renewal and payment of WASLI National Membership and procedure for the selection Jan. 30, 2019: Call for nomination of WASLI Regional Representative Apr. 26, 2019: Sending out of bios and letter of intention of 2 nominees to WASLI National Members in Asia region Present: Waiting for votes Current Situation and Challenges in Asia Request for sharing information was made by participants in the 8â&#x20AC;&#x2039;th â&#x20AC;&#x2039;Meeting of Sign Language Interpreters in Asia. Then we started communicating through posts on Facebook, Messenger and LINE Group. Given that most of their users are the participants of the Meeting, it is crucial for us to increase their members.

WASLI Europe End of Term Summary Report Christopher Stone, Europe Regional Representative Goals Engage in developing a clearer relationship with efsli to better understand our roles within Europe and globally. Consider applying for capacity building funds to develop a training package.

Develop networking opportunities that are also considerate of junior professional interpreters. Represented WASLI at a number of conferences and events listed below: ·

Annually attended efsli conference/AGM with a combined role of efsli board member and WASLI European representative (Athens, Toulouse, Dubrovnik).

· A ttended WFD conference in Budapest ·

Will attend WASLI board face-to-face meeting in Paris, France July 2019 as well as represent Europe at the WASLI Conference.

Major goal for the term: To better understand the relationship between efsli and WASLI. Meetings were held with efsli and WASLI twice a year either in person (e.g. at the efsli conference and WFD conference) or via skype. This lead to the development of the MOU between efsli and WASLI to better delineate roles and responsibilities. The WASLI European representative served on the efsli board for three years and undertook DI liaison work for the efsliDI committee which was also a significant contribution to efsli-WASLI work. Training, after discussions with efsli it was decided that we would move forwards with: Deaf refugees and their interpreter needs Although discussed further work needs to be undertaken to understand how we can work together. There has been some training undertaken by efsli and it could be interesting to better understand the training and see whether this can be made available via our website. First stages might also involve reviewing materials that are made available to spoken language interpreters. Preparing interpreters to deal with national emergencies Initial thoughts suggest reviewing materials that are currently in existence and then consider outlining curriculum or training needs. WASLI has distributed the UN training materials for interpreters working with refugees as part of our work with FIT as this has relevance for interpreters around the world. As these were the training that was agreed upon we did not look at capacity building which would then have also included networking. This is something that can be taken forward in the next 4 year period if this remains something that members are interested in. Limitations One of the issues in this 4-year period has been the WASLI European representative also served on the efsli board for 3-years and undertook DI liaison work; this will continue in the next 4-year period in line with the MOU made with efsli. While this does mean there are

clear lines of communication with efsli it means that it can cause some confusion when the representative attends an event as they could be attending in either role and it is often not clear to those attending events in which role the representative is present. Although there are 38 interpreter associations within the European regions associations they generally seem to join efsli and far fewer also join WASLI. Partly this is due to the cost and there could be some benefit to reducing the cost of 4 year membership as this does not appear to be our main source of funding. A larger direct membership would increase our ability to say that we represent a greater number of associations directly (via membership) rather than indirectly via efsli’s membership as a regional organisation. The other reason that we have a few NASLI members is that it is not clear what WASLI offers Europe. We need to have greater clarity regarding what membership provides our members (international representative and dialogue with other international organisations, etc.). One thing that we could do going forwards is better disseminate the work that happens that can impact interpreters globally such as red-t.org, discussions with FIT and AIIC, etc. Currently we are mindful of the MOU and the work that we do within Europe, it would be good to revisit the MOU and either see if similar structures would be useful in other regions or whether we continue to have a similar operation to the WFD. With this relationship we would defer to efsli with respect to the EU and the UN when European matters are being discussed. But we could more directly engage in funding initiatives (potentially jointly with efsli) at the Council of Europe and UN affiliated bodies.

New regional representative The WASLI executive board, in line with the efsli MOU have asked efsli to provide the name of the next European representative – Stéphan Barrère the current efsli Vice-President. This should again ensure clear lines of communication but greater discussion needs to be had to better understand how WASLI can active engage in Europe in collaboration and co-present with efsli.

WASLI North America End of Term Summary Report Liz Mendoza, Regional Representative Progress on Goals: 1. Represented WASLI at the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf conference August 6-12, 2015. Participated in a leadership panel with volunteer leaders in North America.

2. Represented WASLI at the Street Leverage Live in St. Paul Minnesota, 22-23 April 2016. 3. Represented WASLI at the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) conference 5-9 July 2016. 4. Held a face-to-face meeting on 05 July 2016 for WASLI North American country representatives. a. In attendance: • • • • • • • • •

Debbie Parliament, AVLIC Frank Folino, CAD-ASC Daniel Maya Ortega, AITLS Dawn Whitcher, RID Melvin Walker, RID David Quinto-Pozos, Mano-a-mano Carla Garcia-Fernandez, Council de manos Rogelio Fernandez, Council de manos Liz Mendoza, WASLI North American Rep

b. Discussed issues regarding Mexico’s needs: • • • • •

Mexico needs a model for interpreter testing that is more recent. Colombia (with Ontario’s help) has a new program being set up. Collaborate with linguistic researchers to request government support. Must partner with the Deaf community in Mexico. Identify key people with whom to collaborate.

5. Attended the Face-to-face WASLI Board meeting in Panama 14-15 July 2017. a. Discussed possible North America conference. There seemed to be positive reaction, but the logistics were complicated. 6. Held WASLI North America face-to-face meeting in Albuquerque, NM prior to the RID Region IV conference. Present: Liz Mendoza – WASLI NA Howard Rosenblum – NAD Carmelo Falu-Rodriguez – Mano-a-mano Daniel Maya Ortega – AIT Gabriela Martinez – AILSDF Jeff Pollock – CSUN professor, guest

1. Update emails – AVLIC change to CASLI 2. Daniel Maya Ortega danielmayaortega@gmail.com ait.lsmexico@gmail.com Gabriela Martínez V ailsdf@icloud.com gabrielamarti@gmail.com Organizations in Mexico: - FEMESOR operates in CMX (Mexico City) - Union Nacional de Sordos de Mexico (Works with AIT) - Federación Deportes para Sordos de México - Federación Nacional de Intérpretes 7. Attended the WASLI face-to-face meeting in Fiji 15-16 August 2018.

8. Represented WASLI North America at the Oceania Conference in Fiji 17-19 August 2018. 9. Held 3-4 online meetings per year with WASLI North America country organizations and interested organizations. 10. Paid for yearly subscription to GoToMeeting to hold online meetings. 11. Will attend the Board face-to-face meeting in Paris, France on 14-15 July 2019. 12. Represent WASLI during the WASLI conference in Paris, France 16-19 July 2019.

WASLI Australasia Oceania End of Term Summary Report Angela Murray, Regional Representative The WASLI Oceania Regional Conference, held in Fiji from the 17th-19th August 2018 was the focus of my regional rep role for a large chunk of the last 2 years of my term as rep. As conference co-chair, along with Susan Emerson, I was responsible for a large amount of the organisation and delivery of the conference. I believe the conference was a great success and definitely made an impact on the participants from all over Oceania and beyond. The theme of collaboration and being an ally came through strongly, particularly between interpreters and the Deaf community. This was shown in the post conference workshops when some of the interpreters from emerging countries began to realise the impact their role and ethics can have on the lives of Deaf people. Collaboration in Oceania The presidents of ASLIA and SLIANZ have regular online meetings where they share professional development opportunities and any issues impacting the interpreting profession. SLIANZ have been helping SLIAF with their constitution. New regional rep: Joneti Rokotuibau The WASLI executive board, ASLIA and SLIANZ discussed the position of the WASLI Oceania Regional Representative for the next term 2019-2023. Previously the role has alternated between Australia and New Zealand as the only two countries in the region to have registered national interpreter associations. The Sign Language Interpreters Association in Fiji (SLIAF) is growing and almost at a stage of registration so based on the work we saw at the conference in Fiji we offered Fiji the next regional representative role. We received one nomination from Fiji: Joneti Rokotuibau. Joneti has extensive experience as a sign language interpreter in Fiji and is a previous chairperson of the Sign Language Interpreters Committee (SLIAF). Joneti has been involved in supervision, mentoring and training of interpreters. Joneti worked with George Major during her term as regional representative and also had the experience working with Angela Murray to train and 45

support teachers, sign language interpreters and Deaf students in the Solomon Islands. Her vast experience and passion for interpreting and seeing the profession grow makes her a suitable candidate to represent Oceania. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have full confidence that Ms Rokotuibau will do an outstanding job in terms of building rapport with sign language interpreters in the Pacific and maintain a sustainable network that will allow for training and assistance within our Pacific countries.â&#x20AC;? Patricia Rokotuinuku, SLIAF Chairperson. In addition ASLIA and SLIANZ give their full confidence and support and have offered to support the regional representative with an advisory group made up of the outgoing rep, ASLIA and SLIANZ members. A terms of reference is currently being written for this group. Draft design on the Deaf People in the Pacific. There are significant gaps regarding the situation of deaf children and adults living in Pacific Island Countries. Deaf children and adults are not able to participate in development opportunities and enjoy their human rights due to some fundamental barriers that includes a lack of service provision. Dr Elena Jenkin, Philip Waters, Krishneer Sen and Paul Heuston were the project team appointed by Pacific Disability Forum to design a Situational Analysis on Deaf People in the Pacific. The team had collaborative development approach to the design that included consultation with deaf people, their families, government and non-government stakeholders in Solomon Islands, Samoa and Fiji. In addition, individuals and organisations working in the region, together with DPO representatives from neighbouring Pacific Island countries were also consulted. The draft design report found the following key themes to stand out: Education, sign language interpreters, deaf community/association, employment/livelihoods and sign language communication. The situational analysis design proposes to gather an evidence base by which to: A) Promote, develop and record sign language B) Promote inclusion within human rights reform C) Foster and expand early intervention and education services The proposed design recommends that interventions are to be made over two phases: A technical team will be established to carry out activities with the aim of handing over the work to local organisations to provide advocacy or service delivery. The Technical team will provide technical advice to key stakeholders, provide training and capacity building activities to strengthen service delivery. The team also provided 7 recommendations. The second recommendation was focused on sign language interpreters: Increase the availability, accessibility and skill of sign language interpreters. It is proposed that Pacific wide, there would be certificates in sign language that lead to a 1-year Diploma/Certificate IV of sign language interpreting course. Further, there was a recommendation to increase the number of sign language interpreters via paid employment opportunities.

Upcoming activities SLIANZ National Conference and AGM will be held on the 6-7 July in Wellington, New Zealand. ASLIA National Conference (ANC) will be held 18-21 September in Newcastle, Australia. Deaf View 4 13-15 September 2019, Auckland New Zealand. Deaf Aotearoa has bid to host WFD 2023 and if successful the WASLI Conference could be in New Zealand. SLIANZ have been preparing for this possibility. This would have significant impact for Oceaniaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s interpreter and Deaf community and Deaf Aotearoa has already approached the New Zealand Government to support Pacific Is attendance. Personal note It has been an absolute pleasure to be the Oceania representative for the past 4 years. I have learnt a lot and feel very honored to be welcomed into the wider Oceania community through this role. I thank the interpreter associations of this region, especially SLIANZ who have been extremely supportive and generous. My passion for the interpreter development in the Pacific has grown and I look forward to staying involved and supporting Joneti going forward.

WASLI Africa End of Term Summary Report Natasha Parkins-Maliko, Regional Representative 1. Executive Summary The period July 2015- July 2019 report provides a summary of activities in the Africa region. With the final report and the term of the current ARR ending, the contents of this report is a summary of previous annual reports submitted. The 5 year period surpassed the expectation of WASLI activity and awareness in Africa. The success in Cameroon, Gambia, Botswana and Eswatini is where activity of sign language interpreting has taken to scale nationally and has inspired us to continue our efforts to advocate for recognition of sign language interpreters as professional language practitioners, providing access for their Deaf communities, throughout Africa. For the elected ARR it was a challenge to ensure the WASLI 2015-2019 activity plan is kept on schedule and it was indeed a David and Goliath experience, especially when financially it was not viable to reach all the regions and countries in Africa, but the support from sub-regional representatives and in-country representatives made the tasks doable. 2. Work Plan For the full version of the African Work Plan see the wwww.wasli.org under the African tab.

Number of WASLI trainings: · Namibia · Botswana · Zambia · Nigeria · Cameroon Number of Africa Regional WASLI Meetings: 3 Online 1 South Africa (Johannesburg) 1 Nigeria (Abuja) 1 Kenya (Nairobi) 48

Partnerships formed

University of Nairobi (Interpreting Department) University of the Witwatersrand (SLLM and HuMEL) Pan-African Masters in Interpreting and Translation (PAMCIT) Namibia Training Authority (NTA) Botswana Government (Training and Education) DeafNET Africa Group CODA – SA & Africa Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) Université Internationale de Rabat Eswatinit National Broadcasting Corporation Gauteng Premier's Office (Disability Desk) African Federation of the DeafBlind (AFDB)

4. Challenges The reporting period 2015-2019 challenges include: Ø Centralised focus of sub regional representatives on their national association which should be decentralised to their sub regions Ø Lack of funding to support WASLI activities on country level Ø Friction between NAD’s and interpreters where there is a claim on the ownership of interpreting thus hampering the forming of a formal structure for interpreters Ø Continued colonized view of overseas interpreting programs as superior than that of Africa Ø SL interpreting not being recognized as a profession Ø No access for Deaf Interpreters to train at a tertiary level in African Universities Ø Lack of access to WASLI International Sign Training seminars and workshops Ø Cultural sensitivities related to gender and leadership positions

Conclusions

In conclusion the term of 4 years proved a challenging yet exciting path for the development of sign language interpreting in Africa. Engagement in constructive dialogue with key stakeholders on professionalization of SLI is an ongoing activity and SLI’s are encouraged to organise themselves and engage their Deaf

association/s to start formal working relationships working towards equal access for clients. WASLI Africa will continue to build the capacity of SLIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s through formal and informal training programmes, webinars, and conference attendance. Most of the objectives as set out in the work plan 2015 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 2019 has been achieved. The establishment (legal registration) of 6 new interpreter associations is a highlight of the term.

WASLI Transcaucascia End of Term Summary Report Anna Komarova, Regional Representative GENERAL INFORMATION: 9 countries of the region which officially confirmed the alliance are: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Byelorussia, Georgia, Kirgyzia, Russia, Tadjikistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan.

I have problems trying to establish communication with Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan although I think it will be possible to have some links as some changes have been seen lately. Kazakhstan : Deaf Organisation administration does not seem to be interested in SLI work. There are a lot of interpreters even with some sort of training, there are some regional units of SLIs, I had contacts with the group from the town of Aktobe about training there in 2019. Turkmenistan (Organisation of the Deaf and the Blind) never replied to emails but once at the Deaf education conference of the region in Tajikistan I met a SL interpreter from the Central office who was very interested in participation both in the regional and WASLI activities. They follow all information about WASLI and WFD in the magazine published in Moscow and have limited access to internet due to political reasons. Two countries which belong to other regional groups also showed their interest in participation in the Transcaucasian activities. Mongolia: The organization is part of WASLI Asia but due to the Soviet heritage, similar structure of the Deaf organization and SLI role and training, Cyrillic alphabet with Russian fingerspelling and some similarities in SL lexicon (centralised teachers’ of the deaf training in Moscow and Leningrad) some Mongolian interpreters and Deaf leaders expressed their interest in cooperation with the region. Moldova: mainly by the same reasons explained above the country is interested in contacts. Traditionally links between Moldova and Russia, Byelorussia and Ukraine were very close and strong. Although there have been certain influence of the Romanian SL, the similarities between SL are obvious. 9 countries of the region unite about 250 thousand deaf and hard of hearing people, including nearly 180 thousand members of the national Deaf associations, WFD ordinary members (with the exception of Kirgyzia which has Union of the Deaf and the Blind). The figure of quarter of million deaf people shows only the number of SL interpreting consumers. The statistic data on the number of SLIs are less reliable as it varies depending on the sources: the data received from the Deaf organisations often include only interpreters working for the organization and its clubs or they do not include SLIs working in educational settings or, what makes the whole picture even more confusing, substitute positions of secretaries, assistants, social workers and even accountants by counting them as “interpreters”. So, the figure for the whole region of nine countries varies from 950 to 1400 with a striking difference between countries like 1 SLI per 640 deaf people in Tajikistan to 1:72 in Georgia. Armenia: 3000 deaf people, 1300 Deaf Ass members 8 SLIs – 4 in Yerevan, 4 in other towns, all CODAs; There was also an independent group of 12 SLIs trained by a US religious mission but little is known about them. 2 SLIs have university level education (not as interpreters).

No SLIs in educational settings, although there are 2 schools for deaf and hard-of-hearing children, in deaf school SL is taught as a subject. SLIs are paid by the Deaf association: either month salary of 147$ or for separate assignments 4$ per hour, travel expenses are covered; 4 SLI on 2 TV channels are paid by TV companies, news and children’s programmes are interpreted; There is a distance relay interpreting service in Yerevan; SL law was issued in 2011. There is an official association of SLI in the country. Azerbaijan: About 8000 deaf people, about 4000 Deaf ass. members; About 20 interpreters mainly CODAs; There are problems in the Deaf organization and an independent NGO is dealing with various issues now. During January-April 2019 I had a number of consultations with interpreters from Baku helping them with statutes and other papers and they handed in all documents to the Ministry of Justice to form “Union of SL interpreters of Azerbaijan” . Byelorussia: There are 9000 deaf people, 4000 Deaf association members; About 60 interpreters, among them 20 are qualified – received university level education in the State Pedagogical University (2 years course), specialization “SL interpreter and teacher”, prerequisite for entering the course was any 1st university education , B.A. or M.A. One of the group of 20 is deaf and works as teacher of SL at school. It was possible to get this special education in 2005-2010 now they say there is no need for the interpreters with higher education. Some interpreters work in educational settings, 9 SLIs at special factories belonged to the Deaf association. There are interpreters on the national TV. There is an initiative group who wants to set up SLI organization based in Minsk but the Deaf organization is not supportive and nothing changed during these 4 years. Georgia: 2500 deaf people, 1250 members of Deaf association; 35 interpreters, nearly all of them are CODAs, the number of interpreters increased 7 times during the last 10 years, more than 20 work in Tbilisi, the capital, the rest are in provinces, only one is male; no provision for deaf-blind people, no deaf interpreters; 13 SLIs work in education: school, college, inclusive settings, the number of hours are unlimited, individual interpreting is secured by the law; 9 SLIs work in the emergency centre 911; 3 SLIs work on TV – news and entertainment show; additional intensive trainings are organized by the Ministry of education with support of USaid or Norwegian donors; 52

They have set up an organization of SL interpreters with their documents in the Ministry of Justice at the moment but the head of the organization is also the president of the Deaf Union, two deputy heads are his hearing wife and the Organisationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s interpreter. There is no SL law. Kirgyzia: About 5500 deaf people, 3400 are registered within Union of the Deaf and the Blind; When the president of the Union Mr Mambetakunov resigned the links became much weaker. The number of SLIs is not very clear, officially 5 in Bishkek and 4 more in the regions with no systematic training. Some hard of hearing people also function as interpreters substituting hearing interpreters. There is no SL law. Russia: 140000 deaf people, 91000 are Deaf association members; about 25000 are based in Moscow and Moscow region. The number of SLIs is very unclear depending on registration-from 450 to 900 SLIs; since 2010 university level training is available for SLIs, B.A.,M.A. (2016), at the moment 2 universities provide university training (Moscow B.A.+M.A., Novosibirsk B.A.), one college About 30 interpreters have graduated from the Moscow State Linguistic University since 2016. 28 trained SLIs for deaf-blind including 20 deaf and hard-of-hearing, about 40 people work altogether. There is an official group of Deaf interpreters who work for deaf-blind clients and 3 as IS interpreters. There are no SLIs on central TV channels but there are some on regional channels. Many SLIs work in education but their work is paid only for groups and not with individuals. There is a 24/7 SL distant interpreting service in Moscow. SLI organization was set up in 2010. SL Law dates December 2012. Tadjikistan: 9000 deaf people, 4500 are Deaf association members; 14 official interpreters. Interpretersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; association was formed in December 2018 but the juridical papers are not ready yet as its head was elected as a provisional president of the Deaf association (Zebo Bidieva, SL interpreter, CODA). News TV on one TV channel with 2 interpreters for 4 years. No training for SL interpreters and no SL law.

Seminar in Tajikistan, October 2017 Ukraine: About 40000 deaf people and about the same number of Deaf association members with 324 registered interpreters (info dated 2017) and some sources give figure 1 SLI per 115 deaf clients. All training and retraining courses for SLIs are organized by the Deaf association. About 40 SLIs work at factories; There is regular TV news interpreting. No SL law but SL is recognized as means of communication and instruction. Uzbekistan: There have been new links with young deaf leaders and SL interpreters since 2018 and the training course is planned for July 2019. There are about 31000 deaf people, about 22000 are deaf association members; 45 SLIs with 14 people working in regional deaf organisationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s branches, 15 SLIs work at specialized factories or workshops. 20 deaf, hard-of-hearing and hearing people had 3-days training to work as interpreters/guides for the deaf-blind. There is a new strong initiative group of interpreters planning to set up organization after the training in summer 2019. There used to be short-term training courses organized by various donors, especially from Japan and South Korea as well as FAD with Moscow experts. 54

There is no SL law.

Meeting with Uzbek interpreters Russia is the only country in the region which provides interpreters’ training at the university level. SL is taught at university level throughout the bachelor's degree in Belarus but for special teachers of the deaf only. If there are some short retraining courses and both interpreters and Deaf associations in many countries think that they are lucky to have at least some sort of training. So, in terms of enhancement of interpreting training we think the high quality training courses are needed for many countries in the region. There are no fully qualified deaf interpreters but the profession is emerging in Russia, Uzbekistan and Ukraine (12 week courses at a Moscow University for deaf interpreters for deaf-blind people) Although the countries’ word languages belong to different groups and families (Aramaic, Caucasian, Iranian, Karluk, Kypchapsk, Ogyz, Slavic, Turkic), culture and religions are different (Russian Orthodox, Armenian Catholicos, Georgian Orthodox, Muslims, other) but

they are united by the Soviet historic heritage and, what is very important, very similar sign languages.

ACTIVITIES: 1. Spreading the information about WASLI and interpreters organization: regular publications in the Russian Deaf Association magazine “VES” which is distributed among Deaf organisations in all ex-Soviet countries; in voginfo.ru and our social group (45K members) both in written from and in RSL. Some of them are: VES #9 2015 I wrote a big article about Istanbul conference and in #12 published an article “WASLI mission” (chief editor’s title:)), # 6,10 2017, # 4,11 2018, etc. The information was also published in www.vog.ru and in http: vk.com/deafsign (45K deaf and hearing users). I also wrote an article about the Moscow WASLI/efsli conference in October 2018 and sent it for publication in efsli and WASLI. I also talked about WASLI at the Moscow TV channel (2016, 2017), Radio Russia 2 in connection with the Sign language Interpreter Day, October 31, gave interviews to internet newspapers Nash Gorod (Our City) and Vesti (News) . During my trips to Tadjikistan and Georgia and in Russia (Novosibirsk, St Petersburg, Moscow, Lipetsk, Elets – international seminars) I also talked about the role of national SLI organisations and WASLI. 2. In October 2015 Russian Deaf Society VOG organized a big event called SL interpreters contest which had participants from 32 Russian regions and international guests. I had to be the chair of the jury and both at the event and the conference after it I talked about profession and WASLI. 3. In November 2015 I participated in the International seminar on deaf education in Dushanbe, Tadjikistan and had a chance of talking to the Minister of education, deputy minister of social policy and Dushanbe city administration about the importance of interpreting service and payment for it, as well as WASLI, of course. 4. In January 2016 I also attended the TISLR conference in Melbourne. 5. In June 2016 Tatiana Davidenko and I were trainers at the 5-day workshop in Georgia organized by the Ministry of Education with support from Norwegian donors. Although we had been in Georgia many times before and the last time in 2013, the changes in the country in terms of interpreting service are striking. We had 27 trainees in the group, all working interpreters, 25 were codas and 2 had deaf members in the family. Besides training we had chance to discuss issues of setting up a SLI organization which seems very realistic if the Deaf organization supports it. We also discussed issues of training SLIs “from scratch” with the Ministry of Education and deaf and hearing instructors there concerning the content of the curriculum and accreditation system. 6. In September 2016 I participated in the WASLI Board meeting and efsli conference in Athens. 7. In October 2016 VOG (Russian Deaf Association) celebrated 90 anniversary and held a big conference which was a good opportunity to meet interpreters from the neighbor countries.I managed to have a meeting with interpreters from Moldova,

Byelorussia, Tadjikistan and I also had a talk with the president of Armenian Deaf Association about interpreters in the country. With Mr Grigoryan we discussed the situation of the registered interpreters and the group of interpreters trained by some religious mission and not recognized by the Deaf association. Representative from Belorussia explained the situation that it would not be easy to set up an independent organization of interpreters in the country but it is realistic to have a special interpreters group or council. 8. In October 2017 I organised a training seminar for Deaf sign language instructors in Dushanbe, Tajikistan and also held a 1-day seminar for SL interpreters. We discussed various possibilities to expand interpretersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; service to distant mountain parts of Tajikistan. 9. In December 2017 there was a CODA meeting in Moscow with guests from Belorussia, Moldova and Ukraine, talk delivered by Raili Ojala (Finland) and I also talked about WASLI and the difference between professional interpreting and CODAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s signing and the need for SLI organisations. 10. In September 2018 I participated in efsli conference in Dubrovnik and had a meeting with WASLI Board members concerning the regional conference in Moscow which was held in October 2018. The report of the conference was sent to WASLI and published. We are very grateful to WASLI Board that the participation of the Tajik interpreter Zebo Bidieva became possible thanks to WASLI funding. 11. In November 2018 I had a meeting with an initiative group of SLIs from Uzbekistan about their plan of action and forming an association. The first seminar was planned for July 2019. 12. In January- April I had a number of sessions to work at setting up a SLI association in Azerbaijan. As there are only 2 officially registered SLI associations in the region (Armenia and Russia) with 3 more waiting to receive juridical accreditation (Azerbaijan, Georgia, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan??) we thought that it would be logical to choose an English-speaking interpreter with at least some international experience who could organize international work in the region. Katya Golovanova (b.1995, BA in SL interpreting, Moscow State Linguistic University) agreed to work together with me for at least the first one or two years until she knows the situation with deaf organisations and interpreting in the region and then she will continue on her own completely. To be discussed in Paris together.

WASLI Balkans Summary Representative Report Desanka Žižić Balkans representative

Within the reporting period of last 4 years, my effort was primarily devoted to trying to reach interpreters from 11 countries from the Balkans region, and to motivate them to be more active and to get involved. Specifically I have conducted the following activities: 1. Collected contacts of SLI associations and interpreters from the geographical Balkans region and invited them to be a part of the WASLI Balkans region. Albania, Kosovo, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey and Slovenia accepted to be part of the Balkans region in WASLI. Association from Slovenia and from Serbia are members of the WASLI. Contact list of the interpreters and Associations of the Balkans region will be available to the wasli board. 2. Held online meetings with interpreters, organizations and interested organizations in the Balkans, provided support on how to establish respective SLI associations, promote profession and how to connect with EFSLI and WASLI. 3. Established the FB group WASLI Balkans for all interpreters from the Balkans. WASLI fb group has 29 мembers and is not very active. Most of the posts are promotion of the EFSLI events, though the EFSLI is most active organisation in this field. 4. Represented WASLI at the General Assembly of the Association of Serbian Sign Language Interpreters in April 2017. 5. Represented WASLI at the presentation of the Justisigns project - Access to Justice for the Deaf Community in Belgrade, hosted by efsli in cooperation Intersource Group (Ireland) Limited in May 2017. Interpreters and SLI Association representatives from Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia and Macedonia participated, as well as guests from the University of Belgrade & Consulate of Ireland. 6. Strengthening SLI Profession in the Balkans - Intensive TOT Training Balkans draft project proposal submitted to efsli and send to wasli. Application pending - no response yet. 7. Provided support to the interpreters from the Balkans to apply for EFSLI SAF. One of them was successful and attended EFSLI Conference in Dubrovnik in September 2018.

8. Held online meetings with Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina (all three entities), Montenegrian and Serbian representatives. Discussed issues regarding Balkans needs for: • • • • •

Further promotion and increase of respect of the profession in the community, Additional support from peers from abroad, primarily from the western countries, Linguistic research of respective sign languages, Intensive networking activities among interpreters, Identification of more people to collaborate with in the Balkans countries.

9. Will attend online Board meeting in Paris, France on 14-15 July 2019.

WASLI Latin America and the Caribbean End of Term Summary Report Isabel Rey Clemente, Regional Representative ACTIONS CARRIED OUT WITH THE DELEGATES 17 virtual meetings with the representatives of the countries affiliated to Wasli of the region, we have elaborated 3 regulations for the development of our activities: • Regulation of virtual meetings • Regulations for face-to-face meetings • Regulations of the Latin American Conferences Affiliation to Wasli of 3 new associations of interpreters: Argentine Civil Association of Sign Language Interpreters - AAILS Network of Sign Language Interpreters of Chile - RICH Association of Uruguayan Sign Language Interpreters – AILSU COUNTRY Argentina Brasil Chile Colombia Costa Rica Cuba Ecuador Panamá Paraguay Perú República Dominicana Uruguay

PARTNERS (O) 15 14 asociaciones 50 809

PARTNERS (S) 7

------40

-------7

36 21

Venezuela

130 *(O) hearing

*(S) deaf

REPRESENTATION July 2015 - Face-to-face meeting with Wasli's Board of Directors in Istanbul, Turkey September 2015 - Exhibition on Wasli in the Celebration of the Deaf Person organized by the Ombudsman's Office in Peru March 2016 - Participation in the work table for the preparation of a proposal for a regulation for Law 29535, a law that recognizes Peruvian sign language as the official language of deaf people in Peru, with representatives of the Peruvian state, organizations of Deaf people and Civil society organizations. October 7 to 9, 2016 - I National Meeting of Interpreters and Guides Interpreters of Colombian Sign Language, meetings with Henry Mejía, current representative of WDF for South America, an agreement was signed between Fenascol and Aniscol to initiate joint actions since 2017 January 18 to 21, 2017 - I National Encounter of Interpretation and Translation of Venezuelan Sign Language. Presentation of WASLI, meeting with the president of the Venezuelan Federation of the Deaf, the relationship between ASOIVE and the Federation are good. I received a recognition for WASLI. July 17-21, 2017 - The III Latin American Meeting of Translators and Interpreters in Sign Language and Interpreter Guides for the Deafblind in Panama, the Declaration of Panama was drafted. April 6 to 8, 2018 - International Conference on Education, Inclusion and Development of Deaf People in Uruguay, I made a presentation and I was able to contact the Uruguayan Interpreting Association that was inactive, I encouraged them to reactivate and join Wasli. August 14, 2018 - Virtual meeting with the Wasli Board of Directors October 9 to 13, 2018 - I National Forum of the Deaf Community, II National Meeting of Interpreters / Translators of LSC and III National Symposium on Linguistic Planning held in Bogotá - Colombia. April 9, 2019 - Meeting with the Board of Directors of the Association of Translators of Peru and the Association of Interpreters and Guides Interpreters of Peruvian Sign Language ASISEP to sign an agreement of understanding. May 8 to 11, 2019- Trip to Argentina for meeting with government entities to support the work of the new Argentine Civil Association of Sign Language Interpreters - AAILS. Wasli presentation lectures and topics related to the interpretation to Institute and University. NEW REPRESENTATIVE OF THE REGION On May 18, 2019, the election of the new representative was held and Mr. Marcel Cristhopher García, representative of Venezuela, was elected by a majority vote.

Nominee Response ❖ President:

Christopher Stone (UK

❖ Vice-president:

Susan Emerson (Australia)

❖ Secretary:

Isabelle Heyerick (Belgium/UK), Tinat Timothy Gwazah (Nigeria), Alan Wendt (New Zealand

❖ Treasurer:

Nigel Howard (Canada)

❖ Deaf Interpreter Advisor: Arunas Brazinskas (Lithuania)

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WASLI 2019 Nomination Form Name of Candidate: Christopher Stone Name of National Association supporting the nomination: ASLI UK

Position: President Platform: 1. I wish to run for this position because: (maximum 250 words)    Over the last four years I have been involved in WASLI as a regional representative. During this time, I have seen WASLI grow in its membership and its standing. It is currently in the process of establishing an office, paying for a part-time member of staff and looking to establishing a secure future for the organization. I believe I have the appropriate skills and experience to lead WASLI into this new era. Ensuring that there is better support for capacity building in our regions which in turn will enable better support of national associations in line with our mission statement and our MOU with the WFD, the WFDb and other partner organisations. 2. My experience, qualifications and approach have prepared me for this role. (maximum 250 words)  I have been a member of WASLI since its inception and attended inaugural meetings and conferences and so have a sense of WASLI’s history and how it has grown. I have been involved in interpreter led organisations and associations at all levels: • • • •

regionally (ASLI UK – Bristol region chair), nationally (ASLI UK Vice-Chair/President and Chair/President), transnationally (esfli Treasuer and Vice-President) and internationally (Critical Link board member, AIIC Research Committee, WASLI regional representative Europe)

One of the experiences most relevant to undertaking the role of the WASLI President was as the elected National Chair of ASLI UK. Here I !1

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oversaw the establishment of a formal contract with a larger sister interpreter and translator organization to provide and office and administrative services. This was enabled by the growth in our membership and the funds that were made available to us due to this. The establishment of an office for ASLI UK meant better membership support and enabled strategic engagement at a regional and national level to support interpreters doing their daily job. This meant effectively managing and delegating work to elected national officers and regional representatives. It also meant ASLI UK could engage with government to mitigate against changes to national frameworks such as for the provision of legal interpreting in the criminal justice system. For WASLI, the legal seat will enable us to support regional representatives to engage in capacity building within their regions. This project is not dissimilar to the evolving nature of ASLI UK during my tenure and the skills learned during that process could be effectively deployed for WASLI if I were elected as President.

3. If elected, I will contribute these skills and abilities by: (maximum 250 words)    As an academic and while an office holder within ASLI UK and efsli I have experience managing grants, projects and people. These skills will be transferable in WASLI to ensure work is undertaken within realistic timeframes and lead appropriately by board members and regional representatives.     As a previous national chair/president I am able to lead a team, delegate appropriately and manage organisational goals in a sustainable way. I am able to ensure clear communication within and outside our organisation and work alongside other organisations to improve the standing of the sign language interpreting profession. This communication needs to be delivered in an appropriately both linguistically and culturally and I have a track record of ensure multilingual communication (written English, IS, etc.) and officially delivered by both deaf and hearing colleagues. 4. My vision, goals and objectives for the next 4 years in this position is to: (maximum 500 words) WASLI is now well known across the globe because of the excellent work of former president Liz Scott-Gibson and the outgoing president Dr Debra Russell. We have now arrived at a new era with the establishment of a legal seat in Switzerland. !2

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The next four years need to be a period of consolidation, reflecting upon the effectiveness of the board structure and engagement with our regions and our members. I envisage: •

A greater role for regional representatives within the board: o Representing WASLI within their regions o Using their regional knowledge and cultural sensitivity to gather feedback on possible capacity building projects o Providing a clear channel of communication between our members and the board to foster a membership-led ethos o To work with regional WFD representatives and other stakeholders to strengthen our understanding of collaborative engagement with Deaf communities and other communities we serve

•

To increase the capacity of WASLI by: o Applying for appropriate grants for INGOs o Strengthening our collaborations with other interpreter INGOs (FIT, AIIC, etc.) o Strengthening the collaborative work of the board with its NASLI members o Engage in culturally appropriate capacity building to support the establishment of national and transnational interpreting associations

•

To continue our work in line with our MOUs and finding appropriate ways of working with our partners.

The future needs to be one of greater engagement with our membership, greater support of those countries wishing to become members and greater diversity in terms of representative, communication and capacity building.

Signature: ! Date: 30th March 2019

Name of Candidate: SUSAN EMERSON Name of National Association supporting the nomination: AUSTRALIAN SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETERS ASSOCIATION (ASLIA) Position: VICE PRESIDENT

1. I wish to run for this position because: (maximum 250 words) I feel that I have more to contribute to WASLI, during my tenure as Treasurer I have had the opportunity to further develop my knowledge regarding the undertakings of WASLI and thus of the gaps facing our global interpreting community. By undertaking the position of Vice President I would be able to utilise my networking, marketing, event management skills and importantly my international leadership experiences to engage with all interpreters, particularly our peers in emerging countries to enable access to training opportunities and resources. I subscribe to the ethos of WASLI and am determined to further the development of the profession globally.

2. My experience, qualifications and approach have prepared me for this role. (maximum 250 words) The learnings I have taken from my 33 years experience in the profession have enabled me to gain a comprehensive understanding of the successes and the gaps. Through my local, regional and international undertakings in leadership; ASLIA Victoria (Committee member then President, 2006 to 2012); ASLIA National sub-committee (Editor of ASLIA Newsletter, 2006 to 2011); WASLI Oceania CoConvener (2018); WASLI/WFD IS Accredited International Sign Interpreter; working as an Interpreter and Interpreter Trainer in developing countries (Kosovo, Cambodia, Vietnam, China and Turkey). I have secured a breadth of knowledge that is instrumental in change making. I have taken the time to educate myself on the issues facing interpreters; the implications of political climate, the regions socio economic standing, government investment, and the global context of many regions. I have often worked in a voluntary capacity locally and as part of WASLIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s organising committee for Turkey (2015), WASLI Oceania (2018) and Paris (2019). This, alongside my eight years as part of the WASLI Executive has allowed me a keen sense of the priorities held by WASLI, the mission and the objectives. I also hold an extensive knowledge of the finer machinations of the organisation, with particular attention to future direction as outlined by the current committee. It is my intention whilst in the role of Vice President, should I be successful, to continue to actively strive for the advancement of ALL sign language interpreters.

3. If elected, I will contribute these skills and abilities by:(maximum250 words) With the outgoing of two executive board members it is important to have someone on the board with extensive knowledge and experience of the boardâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s workings to ensure no valuable information is lost in the transition.

I will contribute my marketing skills, specifically, content creation for social media by way of videos, to ensure members are not only informed, but able to access our content by always including sign language. I will also contribute my experience and skill in event management having convened an international conference (WASLI Oceania), a national conference (ASLIA National Conference, Melbourne 2009), sat on the organising committee for WASLI Turkey and WASLI Paris, and sat on many sub-committees for various interpreter related professional development workshops and events. I have demonstrated leadership skills as the former President of ASLIA Victoria, and as business owner of a theatre interpreting organisation Auslan Stage Left. I am a current practising interpreter – IS and Conference level in my home country – thus am well abreast of the everyday issues facing working interpreters. I can also understand the situation of those working in emerging countries having lived and worked in Kosovo (three years) and Cambodia (six months), as well as most of my international work taking me to emerging countries.

4. My vision, goals and objectives for the next four years in this position is to: (maximum 500 words) I would like to see WASLI devote more attention to the skill development of interpreters working in

emerging countries. This means developing resources for such interpreters to access online (an online learning portal with webinars, for example), or commissioning training programs or workshops to be delivered in-country or in-region with a focus on Asia, the Pacific and Africa. I would like to work on streamlining the recruitment and selection criteria of International Sign interpreters and International Sign trainers, as well as any Interpreter trainer being employed to work in emerging countries. I strongly believe in the philosophy of ‘nothing about us without us’ and in all that I do, work alongside or in support of, deaf people. That is, when I deliver interpreter training, international sign training, produce content, initiate a program or idea – as long as this is in aid to support more and improved access for deaf people, then deaf people should be included. I would like to see this philosophy embedded in our industry, continuing the good message that Debra Russell has inspired in the concept of “allies”. I also envisage being a holder of knowledge and support to the next organising committee of the WASLI conference in 2023.

Signature:

Date: 29th March 2019

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WASLI 2019 Nomination Form Name of Candidate: Isabelle Heyerick Name of National Association supporting the nomination: BVGT (BeroepsverenigingVlaamse Gebarentaal Tolken), Belgium, Flanders.

Position: Secretary Platform:

1. I wish to run for this position because: (maximum 250 words) Since 2015, the world conference in Istanbul, I have served on the WASLI Executive Board as the secretary. The AGM elected me at that point and I am still grateful for the trust they invested in me. One of my aims was to “assist with the small and practical things that need to be done “behind the scenes” in order to assure continuity and keep WASLI strong”. During my term I have indeed experienced that the office of secretary is key to the internal working of WASLI. At the same time, it is a crucial position in terms of responsiveness to all sorts of questions and enquiries coming from our members, organisations and individuals. And it is the most rewarding commitment in my life. Being able to point people to possible solutions, connect people to collaborate, or answer a simple question and allowing someone to move forward on their journey as a SLI. It is so rewarding. I do not feel my job is done after this first term.

2. My experience, qualifications and approach have prepared me for this role. (maximum 250 words) I am an accredited signed language interpreter and spoken language interpreter (Master in Dutch – English – Flemish Sign Language interpreting). I am a PhD and postdoctoral researcher in Applied Linguistics and Interpreting Studies at the University of Leuven (Belgium) and University of Warwick (United Kingdom). My research is on signed language interpreting strategies used by hearing and deaf interpreters.

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I speak English, Dutch, French, Flemish Sign Language and International Sign. In 2015, I was the chair of the WASLI scientific committee and was the coeditor of the WASLI 2015 Conference Proceedings. I am a member of my national interpreters association, BVGT, and the founder (2008) and vice-president of Tenuto, an organisation offering continuous professional development for Flemish Sign Language interpreters. I am also an individual member of EFSLI. Recently, I have launched a bilingual (Flemish Sign Language and English) research blog in order to disseminate research findings in a more publicly engaging way (www.strategicinterpreting.blog). I have been the secretary of WASLI for four years (2015 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 2019). In this capacity I have served as a member of the IS interpreter accreditation panel, organized the face-to-face Board meetings in Athens (2016), Panama (2017) and Paris (2019). Additionally, I have represented WASLI at various events in Europe, fortifying our network. 3. If elected, I will contribute these skills and abilities by: (maximum 250 words) - supporting the WASLI executive Boards by organising the monthly online meetings and drafting and distributing the minutes - supporting the WASLI regional reps - respond to all WASLI emails - representing WASLI when and if required - assisting in organisation of WASLI events such as regional conferences and the 4-yearly conference - editing the Newsletter - expanding the WASLI network by liaising with potential partners and representing WASLI at events - supporting national and individual membership growth by making WASLI better known - looking for collaborative opportunities - documenting and filing all relevant information to secure the organisational structure 4. My vision, goals and objectives for the next 4 years in this position is to: (maximum 500 words)

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Secure continuity in the working of WASLI as a growing organisation by fulfilling the tasks expected from a secretary. WASLI is expanding in terms of membership, collaborations with partners but also as an organisation. The securing of a legal seat and the appointment of a residence manager in Switzerland for instance bringnew challenges for WASLI to grow into a wellestablished organisation. Streamlining information during the transition period will be a crucial task of the secretary, which I am happy to carry out. Additionally, I wish to explore more practical and concrete ways of how WASLI can support the national members through our regional representatives and specific projects. Each region has its own challenges and demands in terms of training, research, and advocacy work. These are identified by the regional members and the regional representative in a fouryear plan. As a secretary I would like to work more closely with the regional representatives in identifying priorities and investigating funding possibilities to further the regions. Throughout it all I sincerely hope that the strong connection and collaboration between WFD and WASLI will remain as it is now. The partnership and open communication WFD and WASLI maintain is a model for the Deaf and Interpreting communities worldwide. Without losing focus of what each organisation stands for and the communities we serve, it is important to have one voice regarding shared points of interest.

Signature:

Date: March 27th 2019

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WASLI 2019 Nomination Form Name of Candidate: TINAT TIMOTHY GWAZAH Name of National Association supporting the nomination: ASSOCIATION OF SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETERS (ASLIN)

Position: WASLI Secretary Platform: 1. I wish to run for this position because: (maximum 250 words) It has been a great pleasure being a part of the evolution of this profession since 2007. My encounter with WASLI goes down memory lane when I started searching for answers to what is sign language interpretation on Google. This coincides with the first WASLI conference in Durban, South Africa. Though I could not attend the conference but was able to have an understanding of what it takes to start an association in my country. I owe my progress in this field to the sponsorship and support I got from the leadership of President Liz Gibson whose board was able to support me to attend the Durban Conference in 2011. This gesture has continued to boost my commitment to ensure that this professional body attends its full potential as we continue to Act locally and think globally. For this reason I put on my candidature for the position WASLI Secretary to enable me contribute my quota to the development of this noble organization. I have carefully noticed the need to create some balance in the board by involving interpreters from low income countries in decision making process of our great Association and to continue making their voices heard which will also create ownership and sense of belonging. I also recognized that moving forward in this professional organization we have to balance professional development and organizational development as both are very key to achieving our goal in WASLI.

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2. My experience, qualifications and approach have prepared me for this role.(maximum 250 words) My academic qualification is in the field of social science with a Bachelors of Science Degree in Criminology and Security Studies form the Open University of Nigeria. I also hold an associate Degree in Law (Diploma) from the University of Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria. I attended other International training at the Folk High School in Orebro Sweden (Sign Language Interpreters Trainer) I was also nominated by the United State of America Embassy in Nigeria to participate in the International Visitors leadership Program (IVLP) for the better understanding of the America with Disability Act and disability Issues across the Federating unites of the USA. I have the opportunity to attend the whole session of the United Nation Committee for the Rights or Persons with Disabilities which also gave me understanding of disability rights, the committee as a treaty body and drafting of initial country reports etc. As a law enforcement officer specialized in fighting human trafficking, I have attended other courses in respect of this job status. These courses are Intelligence training, cell phone forensic training, Customers service training, identified fraud documents training, management of database training. I have attended other leadership Programs that added value to my academic certification, these training programs are in the area of Citizens Leadership capacity, Strategic communication training by the British government.       If elected, I will contribute these skills and abilities by: (maximum 250 words)

The generosity of WASLI brought my knowledge to the need for professional development at local level, understanding the dynamics of diversity and servant leadership principles that every professional organization should possess. I trust that only visionary leadership will take us to our professional goal. I am ready to contribute my skills in strategic planning, organizational development, lobbying, advocacy and diplomacy. While exploring the opportunities and resources of developed interpreting communities I want to also represent the developing interpreting communities of Asia, South America, Africa and the Middle East at board level. !2

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I will also bring the spirit of team work, humility in learning from other members of the board. I will also bring in my listening skills and pay attention to details. As a person with legal background my knowledge of law, Diplomacy and international relation will for sure help the team with bringing up memo that can consideration by the board in making resolutions. I also have a network of influential personalities within the global disability community; my mentor is presently the Chairman of United Nation Committee for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). I am also ready to bring my lobbying and advocacy skills to take WASLI to the global stage. I have a lot of potential that will be needed in the team and I am ready to work with the team to bring these potentials into good use for the benefit of our profession. â&#x20AC;¨

3. My vision, goals and objectives for the next 4 years in this position is to: (maximum 500 words) My Vision for this Association is to promote equal and equitable opportunities for members irrespective of their geographical or economic status to ensure quality, accessible and inclusive service delivery that will bring together common interest among our associates and affiliates. We need to take our global status to regional and continental recognition by building bridges of partnership among relevant stakeholders. I have the concern for sign language interpreters in vulnerable communities to ensure that they have proper and rewarding system through advocacy with regional government and also upholding the rights and dignity of the profession. My Goal is to unveil an office of the secretary that is more accessible and responsive to the needs of members through consulting and coordinating with my colleagues in the board. Encouraging the setting up of new associations where we have none and to also solicit for the increase education of sign language interpreters in such countries. The remodeling of our membership style is also a priority which will reflect in the association income generation drive to make the association self sustained for meeting request for the different needs in capacity building among professionals in law income countries. This will also reflect in the increase for our online presence by using technology to organized mentorship trainings in both Professional Development and Organizational Development

To achieve this goal I will ensure that I and my colleagues in the WASLI Board (If Elected) approachâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s International partners to include WASLI in its development agenda at various project levels. Such partners like United Nation, European Union, Africa Union, the Arab league etc to carry out inclusive projects in developing and under developing countries, to ensure that Sign Language interpretersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

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received capacity building training and mentorship support that will increase quality service delivery and increase our resource base to ensure that WASLI also have regional offices. As the secretary of WASLI if elected, I will ensure the proper documentation of all our correspondence and also to facilitate the systematic filing of folders to enable the secretariat have records of all transactions which may include request for support, complaints or reports of the day to day business of the office. As the secretary I will also ensure that the records of board meetings are properly kept for future reference.

Signature: Date:

Name of candidate

Alan Wendt

Name of National Association supporting the nomination Position

Sign Language Interpreters Association of New Zealand (SLIANZ)

Secretary

Platform I’m keen to be a part of the next WASLI Board that builds on its established relationships with WFD and other stakeholders to build new connections, and to continue progress on our objectives that advance the profession of sign language interpreting worldwide for both established and emerging interpreter communities. Some of the issues I’m particularly interested in are: • educational resources for WASLI members • action research capacity in our membership to support local advocacy • WASLI communications, including social media and engagement • individual (“sponsoring”) WASLI membership of interpreters from established professions • regional support for emerging interpreter communities.

Approach and experience I come from a bilingual Samoan immigrant family. My minority upbringing in the New Zealand context informs my approach to my work, which is to find ways to connect with colleagues and supporters, to understand our aims and issues from diverse perspectives, and to build consensus to achieve and resolve them. Previous committee / board experience • • • • •

2005-2006: Committee member, SLIANZ 2006-2008: President, SLIANZ 2006-2008: Council member, New Zealand Society of Translators & Interpreters 2008-2010: Board member and Secretary, Interpreting New Zealand. 2010 (6 months): Interim President, SLIANZ

I qualified as an interpreter over 15 years ago and I’ve interpreted across most settings, especially health, court/legal, conference/platform, academia, and government. For 8 years, I freelanced in community, university, and workplace settings in New Zealand. In 2011, I moved to London where I studied BSL and then worked for 3 years as an in-house BSL/English interpreter for the Deafness Cognition and Language Research Centre (DCAL) at University College London (UCL). I also spent 2 years there as both a research assistant on the BSL Corpus and as an adjunct lecturer on the UCL MA in Translation programme. Since returning to New Zealand in 2015, I’ve worked as the senior interpreter at Deaf Aotearoa, the national DPO for Deaf New Zealanders, which owns and runs iSign, New Zealand’s largest national sign language interpreting service. Most of my interpreting work is in government, parliament, conference/platform, and community settings. I’m also responsible for overseeing Deaf Aotearoa’s iSign interpreter professional development programme. Qualifications • • • •

Diploma in Sign Language Interpreting, AUT University, New Zealand (2004) Bachelor of Arts (Linguistics), Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand (2008) Postgraduate Diploma in Interpreting, Macquarie University, Australia (2012) Level 6 Certificate in British Sign Language, Signature, United Kingdom (2012)

Skills & abilities If I’m elected, I offer a range of professional and personal skills and abilities that would help me contribute effectively to the WASLI Board work. My strengths are collaborative discussion, problem-solving, and communications. I also have other useful skills: • • • • • • • •

intercultural communication teaching workshop design and delivery computer software literacy social media excellent written English research skills multilingual skills: English, NZSL, and BSL, as well as functional with IS and ASL.

My vision, goals, and objectives for the next 4 years My vision for being in the role of Secretary is the same as WASLI’s mission in concert with WFD’s mission: to advance the profession of sign language interpreting worldwide that also supports the realising deaf people’s human rights in all parts of their lives. To continue the work to achieve this vision in the role of Secretary, I would want to support our organisation’s 9 objectives by fulfilling the main duties of the Secretary (as outlined in our Governing Document) as well as the general duties of the Executive Board; that includes ensuring accurate records are kept and supporting other Board members to fulfil their responsibilities. In addition to the Secretary’s listed duties, there are some pieces of work that I would be keen to be part of over the next 4 years: • • • •

further developing the accessible educational resources WASLI can offer members online encouraging and supporting opportunities for action research across our membership to support their own advocacy enhancing WASLI’s communications to continue to keep its members connected widening the appeal of WASLI membership and involvement to individual interpreters from established professions.

With regards to personal goals, attending the recent WASLI Oceania conference in Fiji in 2018 was a learning experience for me, so one of my goals is to learn as much as possible about the challenges Deaf and hearing colleagues contend with and the breakthroughs they make around the world, and to understand better how WASLI assists, or could assist. Since 2010, I have been a sponsoring member of WASLI (on and off) because I believe in the work that it does, particularly the regional work in emerging professions and developing countries, so my second personal goal would be to be as useful as I can to WASLI’s regional representatives and the work they do. I feel that I could achieve these personal goals, help to make progress on WASLI’s objectives, and participate in the ongoing work to realise WASLI’s mission, and so I submit myself for nomination to the role of WASLI Secretary, 2019-2023.

WASLI 2019 NOMINATION CANDIDATE: NIGEL HOWARD NATIONAL ASSOCIATION: CANADIAN ASSOCIATION OF SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETERS (CASLI) POSITION: WASLI Treasurer PLATFORM: WASLI is an organisation that I am honoured to have been involved since the first informal gathering of interpreters at WFD Congress in Montreal in July 2003. Through the years, I have seen amazing growth of this organisation which continues to make positive impact globally on the profession of sign language interpreters, and the important relationship with the Deaf communities. Being out there amongst fledging and seasoned interpreters is always inspiring because there is always so much to learn and appreciate each otherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s endeavours. This position as WASLI Treasurer is befitting for my ability to contribute my experience and knowledge. As a potential treasurer, I believe I have the ability to manage and organise WASLIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s financial affairs including budgeting. My experience is derived from numerous of organisations and activities I have been involved in the past years and currently. One such organisation that I am currently involved is the British Columbia Deaf Community Foundation (DCF - http://deafbcfoundation.ca/ ). My role is Vice President and we as the board members of DCF oversee the investment and growth of 2.3 million dollars, and the granting/distributing of funds to various organisations within the province of British Columbia. In the past, I was responsible budgeting several million dollars per year for the management of transportation of children and youth from their homes throughout the province to commute to Vancouver and then back home. Naturally, there is always opportunity and room for growth in acquiring finesse for financial management even though I have years of experience with budgeting, including receiving and dispersing payments and donations. For the next 4 years as potential WASLI treasurer, I thrive to ensure fiscal conservativity and stability in ethical manner. Not only this and however, I hope to creatively seek different avenues to achieve financial growth in order for WASLI to enhance its support globally. There are means to seek donors and sponsors to contribute towards WASLI allowing it to achieve a variety of goals set forth by the Board Members. One example is to create a network of like-minded people to seek donors and sponsors, and to connect them individually to recognise the importance of their contribution towards WASLI and its mandate. Setting up a foundation is another example that may be achieved. This is where I have the experience and hope to achieve within 4 years. Thank you for your consideration and I look forward to see all of you in Paris during the WASLI conference, and hopefully to serve 4 years as your treasurer. SIGNATURE: DATE:

31.03.2019

WASLI 2019 NOMINATION CANDIDATE: Arunas Brazinskas POSITION: WASLI Deaf Interpreter Advisor PLATFORM: see video in IS

Arunas Brazinskas WASLI Deaf Interpreter Advisor