The Kentucky School for Deaf which opened for students in 1823 is celebrating its 200 years. During the school’s history, the dorm was used by soldiers fighting in different armies of the American Civil War at different times. Faculty, staff, students and alumni came together to celebrate. At one time speaking and lipreading classes were required! Festivities included a speech from the Mayor, the theatrical performance of the school’s founding, an art center and museum exhibit, a time capsule, a gala with silent auction which was sold out, and “Deaf Education Day” with state senator Donald Douglas.

A musical “Lorelei. Maid of the Rhine”, a German work premiered in St. Petersburg with hearing artists using sign language. It is a story about a mermaid’s love for a young prince. In an underwater world, they communicate in sign language. Hearing artists learned sign language in just 4 months and plans include doing a tour in Russia.

Unlike many, many museums in the world with very few offering accessibility for Deaf people, the Deaf Museums project helps achieve maximum access in terms of information. They make video guides, share tips on working in the museum with Deaf visitors. Soon more places with accessibility may become available to us.

In 2001, Guo Rui joined the first Deaf undergraduate class anywhere in China – at Beijing Union University. She graduated in 2005 and moved south to Sozhou near Shanghai. After working as a warehouse manager and volunteering at the Suzhou Association of the Deaf for five years, she became its chairperson where she created the Sign Language Public Service Center Center to improve accessibility through high quality interpreters and sign language teachers. Then she began work on her next big project – Deaf employment. After a year of working with image retouching businesses, in 2019 she was ready to open a training center to build teams of Deaf professionals in image editing. The business venture now has over 20 employees and four locations.

The School of Deaf Education and Applied Sciences (SDEAS) in Manila partners with businesses in the Philippines to create employment opportunities for Deaf workers. During the pandemic, PayPal’s office was struggling to find staff. They connected and agreed to work with SDEAS to create a technical training program with an interpreter. After three months of training, the Deaf team started working at PayPal doing customer support. It is the first time PayPal has tried this anywhere. If successful, they hope to expand the program.