The London 2012 Games gave many deaf people the opportunity to participate as Games Maker volunteers and ceremony performers as well as to attend as spectators.
Prior to, during and after the Games, their experiences were collated through group forums and face to face meetings with the aim of gaining an insight into the challenges and highlights that deaf people encountered during the lead up to and throughout the Games.
A resulting report underlines, amongst other things, the importance of the use of correct communication support for deaf people, whether they are Deafblind, Deaf BSL users, deafened, hard of hearing or pre-lingually deaf. It also includes feedback given by some of the sign language interpreters who provided services to the London 2012 Games.
Former Chair of LOCOG Deaf Community Outreach Team, Josef Baines, who compiled the report said;
“I would like to say a big thank you to the peer reviewers and report contributors for their support over the past five months and for giving me feedback to make the report as robust and comprehensive as possible. It has been an interesting and challenging journey but I certainly hope that the report will make a difference to deaf and deafblind people nationally and internationally for many years to come.
A big thank you to the report sponsors and supporters. Without their financial support, this report would not have been made accessible to deaf and deafblind people.”
Signature and NRCPD are pleased to support the findings of this report. You can read the full report – Accessibility review for deaf and deafblind people at the links below;
