DCID Prroject News DCID P oject News The Deaf Communications Infrastructure Development (DCID) Project has received

over 865,000 from the EU INTERREG IVA Programme and brings together a consortium of six public sector and not-for-profit organisations from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Each organisation specialises in adult education and vocational skills development. The purpose of coming together is to build an infrastructure that addresses the critical current shortage of communication professionals working with deaf people to access public sector services. For more information about the project, please visit http://teachsign.eu/about/

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DCID Project Partner Profile County Donegal VEC provides a broad range of educational services including post primary schools and colleges of further and adult education. It actively pursues the further development of educational services in the County. Co Donegal VEC has a history of responding flexibly to community needs and aspirations since its foundation in 1905. Co. Donegal VEC manages 15 of the 26 postprimary schools and colleges within the County. Its Adult Education Service is the primary provider of Adult Education within Co. Donegal and programmes include the following: Adult Literacy & Basic Education Youthreach Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme (VTOS) Back to Education Initiative (BTEI) Traveller Training Local Music Education Services Project Find out more on : http://donegalvec.ie

Project? Whats happening in the DCID Project? If you use Irish Sign Language (ISL) and come from the eligible area you could Realise Your Potential (RYP) as part of the DCID Project. EGSA is running its award winning RYP programme for ISL Learners on the 11th and 12th of May 2012 in the Sligo City Hotel, Sligo If you use British Sign Language (BSL) and come from the eligible area you could Realise Your Potential (RYP) as part of the DCID Project. EGSA is running its award winning RYP programme for BSL users on the 21st and 22nd Omagh. of April 2012 in the Silverbirch Hotel, Omagh Both programmes are free of charge and include overnight stay, meals and travel. More information can be obtained from the project website or you can contact Mairead McFadden at EGSA. Details over the page.

Paul Keenan from Signature meets the Sign Language Ulster Club at an event in Mossley. If you want to find out more about the project please see our website.

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My Irish Sign Language Journey Growing up in rural Ireland in the 1950s along with my brother and sisters was a happy, if uneventful experience for me. However, our neighbours, two brothers, could not hear or speak to us. I watched my parents communicate with them both in writing and sign but sadly never really understood what was happening. During my teen years I always wanted to germinate this seed of interest in signing and found the idea of communication with hands fascinating. Fortunately, I was able to begin my learning journey in Sligo VEC and it has been hugely rewarding. I have made new friends and feel part of a community that I could only look at with curiosity in the past. It is a very visual language and the importance of body language cannot be underestimated. For me this is a difficult area as I tend to concentrate more on making the actual signs. Hopefully, through the classes and my involvement with the local deaf community, my fluency in the language will develop in time. I am planning to continue my learning journey with the VEC and immerse myself in deaf culture with a view to working in a voluntary capacity in this area in the future. Student, Margaret Scott - FETAC 4 Student, Sligo VEC

Pictured left are a group of beginners in an Irish Sign Language (ISL) class in Monaghan VEC VEC. Pictured second from left in the back row is Philip Cassidy, Irish Sign Language Tutor. This was Philips first time tutoring a class in ISL and he is delighted at the opportunity that the DCID project has given him, not only in terms of upskilling the participants but also for his own personal development.

Who works on the DCID Project? Mairead McFadden has been a part time Guidance Development Adviser with EGSA since October 2011. She provides information, advice, support and guidance to people considering careers where they use sign language skills. She meets with deaf and hardof-hearing people to explore their skills, interests, abilities and range of career options. They are then supported to make decisions, set goals and action plan so that their career/personal learning ideas may be realised. Mairead has had a varied career working in Guidance and Career Advice on both sides of the border. She has worked in Higher and Further Education both as a tutor and in Guidance. Her qualifications include a BSc Degree in Occupational Psychology and Masters/PG Diploma in Career Guidance. Outside work Mairead loves music and is a busy mum with 3 young sons. e-mail: mairead.mcfadden@egsa.org.uk airead.mcfadden@egsa.org.uk telephone/text: 00 +44 (0)7712872169 0 Next Issue See how the DCID Project is delivering learning right on the western edge of Europe. Useful Project Contacts Staff contact details for each partner organisation are on the project website. Why not follow us on twitter @teachsigneu or use our unique QR Code:

ISL learners, Monaghan VEC

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