International Deaf University Symposium’s 10th Anniversary Symposium
David Tharp
The Nippon Foundation
The Nippon Foundation
Exploring Technologies for the Deaf
Indepth Articles
[Jul. 08, 2010]
Symposium Participants – Chairman Yohei Sasakawa in front row (blue suit)
An international symposium entitled “Technology and Deaf Education” was held recently( 21-23 June) to explore instructional and access technologies for the deaf. The symposium was sponsored by the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NITD) at Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester , New York, The Nippon Foundation, and PEN-International.
The National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID) is the first and largest technological college in the world for students who are deaf or hard of hearing. As one of eight colleges within the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) in Rochester, New York, NTID provides academic programs access, American Sign Language (ASL) in-class interpreters, and support services—including on-site audiological, speech-language, and cochlear implant support. As of winter quarter 2007, NTID encompasses 5% of RIT's enrollment, or about 799 students. There are also 492 deaf and hard of hearing students who are cross-registered into another RIT college's program with support from NTID. In addition to a master's degree in deaf education, NTID also offers a bachelor's degree program in ASL-English Interpretation.
The Postsecondary Education Network-International (PEN-International), a multinational partnership of colleges and universities worldwide, was created in 2001 through grants funded by The Nippon Foundation of Japan. Its goal is to improve and expand postsecondary education for deaf and hard-of-hearing students around the world by sharing educational technology and conducting faculty development and training, particularly in developing countries.
Chairman Sasakawa talks to participants with sign language translation
In a few words, the 2010 Symposium was considered a great success. Over 300 deaf education professionals, from 17 countries met at NTID, for the June 21-23, 2010 Technology and Deaf Education Symposium. The program consisted of two plenary addresses, 64 formal presentations, 28 poster sessions, and 11 commercial exhibits.
Papers, PowerPoints, handouts, caption files and related media for the presentations and poster sessions have been posted on this site: http://www.rit.edu/ntid/vp/techsym/
Simply click on the "Daily Program" link under "Program,” select the session you wish to review, click on the associated "session number," and you will be able to access all available associated files and resources for the selected session.
Yohei Sasakawa, Chairman of The Nippon Foundation and one of the sponsors of the symposium, gave a talk to the participants in which he praised their educational achievements and encouraged them to use their accomplishments in society to a greater degree. He also strongly called for a society with equal opportunities for the deaf.
It is actually one of the main aims of the supporters of the symposium to increase the employment and training of the deaf with the purpose of increasing their employment and training.
Taking the lead in 1992, The Nippon Foundation began funding studies for deaf students at Gallaudet University in Washington DC, and the National Technical Institute for the Deaf. Then in 2001 the Foundation established a major world scholarship funding program that brought together Tsukuba University of Technology with the other two institutions. These three organizations now share information from their work.
NTID school campus
This cooperative program then expanded to technological cooperation among students at universities in China, Vietnam, the United States, the Czech Republic, Korea, Philippines, Russia, and Thailand, expanding to 18 universities in a total of seven countries with 12,000 participants working on 350 projects in the countries involved in various projects.
The joint work of these organizations will continue to improve deaf participants cooperation internationally through the assistance of training scholarships, and will contribute to the circle of activities within each country linked together through the program.
Chairman Sasakawa spoke to the symposium’s 100 international organizational representatives to encourage them to continue their high level of educational efforts to increase the number of well trained deaf graduates from their institutions – not only in the advanced countries represented at the symposium, but also to foster the same level of deaf education in developing countries as well. He encouraged the heads of institutions and teachers to take a leading role in this effort.
Dr. James J. DeCaro, one of the project collaborators (right), with Mr Sasakawa
He said that society must be made equally aware of the accomplishments of the deaf as they are of those who can hear. He called for the raising of the awareness of the hearing public and increasing the abilities of young deaf people.
Prior to the start of the symposium’s proceedings, a dinner was held for participants at Rochester Institute of Technology, which was attended by Chairman Sasakawa. Dr James J. DeCaro, who helped expand the multi-university scholarship network was honored at the dinner. In gratitude for his work, the scholarship name “Sasakawa Scholarship” was changed to the “DeCaro Sasakawa Scholarship.”