Princess Lalla Asmaa, the sister of King Mohammed VI of Morocco, recently launched a new initiative aimed at supporting children with Deafness. The program focuses on providing specialized education and resources to help Deaf children lead better lives and become more active in society. The initiative focuses on creating tools for learning and personal growth, which were lacking for many Deaf children in Morocco. Without the proper tools and support, many of these children found it hard to learn and grow, limiting their independence and opportunities.

In Amsterdam, SignLab Amsterdam and Koninklijke Auris Groep have developed an app called ZininNGT to help parents of Deaf and hard-of-hearing children learn Dutch Sign Language (NGT). This app is designed to support parents in teaching their children sign language, and improving communication and language development. The project was funded by an organization that supports health-related research and innovation, called ZonMw. The ZonMw grant helped to kickstart this project, and it is expected to help parents develop conversational skills in NGT more quickly. The app works to enhance parents’ conversational skills and improve the language environment at home so that the cognitive, emotional, and social development of Deaf children can continue to improve as they grow.

The documentary “Vibrations from Gaza” which was released in 2023, tells the story of Deaf children in Gaza living through trauma caused by constant war and violence. Directed by Rehab Nazzal, the film shows the impact bombings have on their well-being. As Deaf children, they are not able to hear the explosions but can feel the strong vibrations of everything that happens around them. The documentary shows Deaf children from Gaza communicating through sign language, and their stories give us a window into how war affects them, not just physically but emotionally too. The documentary was based on the experience of war and conflict in 2021 and 2023 but was recently brought to light again due to the current conflict between Israel and Gaza, and to be a reminder that Deaf children face harsher conditions in war due to barriers to communication and information.

The AUC Center wants to teach sign language because they have noticed that many people do not recognize or acknowledge Egyptian Sign Language. Many Deaf people use Egyptian Sign Language, and Deaf individuals have been teaching basic sign language to hearing people. They focus on essential skills such as greetings and how to interact with a Deaf person. So far, about 130 hearing individuals have learned sign language. AUC aims to provide structured sign language education, starting with basic lessons and progressing through Levels 1, 2, and 3. They will also teach Deaf culture to help hearing people understand the Deaf world and engage more effectively with the Deaf community.

In Rwanda and around the world, when Deaf children are born, they often do not receive early language exposure because their parents do not know how to communicate with them. This creates significant barriers to the child’s development. To address this, there is a need for a pre-language acquisition center where Deaf children can learn language from an early age. Rwanda is collaborating with Canada and various associations to establish a center for Deaf children from birth to five years old. At the center, children will learn language through sign language, drawing, and other activities that support language development. The project has been successful so far, and there are plans to expand it to other countries like Malawi and Kenya. The center also aims to empower parents of Deaf children by teaching them sign language, as well as training teachers to support language development effectively.