The Seychelles National Assembly, with the support of the Commonwealth Parliamentarians with Disabilities Network, have demonstrated how to create a sustainable plan for an inclusive Legislature - by directly involving members of the hearing-impaired community. This blog looks at how this was achieved.

Experiences of isolation, feelings of inequality, difficulties accessing public services, cases of financial abuse and the difficulties of integrating into a non-inclusive society are just some of the challenges faced by deaf individuals. Unfortunately, there is still limited awareness and education of the wider public on the experiences of the deaf community.

To help tackle some of these issues, the National Assembly of Seychelles is undertaking a ‘Deaf Cultured and Inclusive Parliament Project’ with the financial support of the Commonwealth Parliamentarians with Disabilities (CPwD) Capital Investment Fund. This fund has been established by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) as a means of raising the accessibility of CPA member Parliaments to persons with disabilities and has already supported several projects, including in Jamaica and the Isle of Man.

As outlined by Anita Gardner, Chairperson of the Association for People with Hearing Impairment (APHI) in the Seychelles, who said:

“Awareness of the deaf community is much needed by people, not only in Seychelles but worldwide. We all need to make an effort to educate and teach everyone, including our children.”

The National Assembly of Seychelles obtained the CPwD grant earlier this year and has focused its efforts on increased accessibility of the Legislature for the Seychellois deaf community. Signed sittings of the National Assembly and inclusivity training for parliamentary staff and Members of Parliament are some mechanisms being used to achieve this.

Creating a focus group

To ensure that stakeholders from the Seychelles’ deaf community were involved throughout the project, the National Assembly hosted a focus group of interpreters, parents and members of the Deaf Community. The focus group ensured that stakeholders had a forum to share their specific challenges and aspirations for the future of accessibility and that there was a clear path for the implementation of the project.

The stakeholders’ group was comprised of persons of all ages and genders to ensure that a full spectrum of information on the different experiences of being hearing impaired was gathered. Participants were given the opportunity to communicate their thoughts and opinions freely, either during the group discussion, surveys, or filmed testimonials.

Anita Gardner, Chairperson of the Association for People with Hearing Impairments (APHI) said:

"During the workshop hosted by the National Assembly Service, we saw the need for more sessions for the community, as this sort of platform is not readily available. The sense of being valued and appreciated was emphasised throughout the day."

Challenges for the future

The focus group came up with several recommendations for a more inclusive Seychellois society, with particular emphasis on how the Legislature could lead the way. These proposals included recognising Lalang Siny Seselwa (Seychellois Sign Language) as an official language of the Seychelles, having a sign language interpreter present during Sittings of the Assembly, creating more curated online content and hosting activities to promote national awareness of the challenges faced by the hearing impaired. This emphasised the need for all hearing-people to reflect and endeavour to consider the needs of the hearing impaired, whenever possible, particularly the provision of equal access to information and services.

Outside of these specific priorities, the attendees were pleased with the opportunity the focus group presented to release their frustrations and express themselves freely without judgement. As one member of the focus group noted:

“We will never have equality until hearing-people understand the realities of the deaf community.”

The accessibility project is led by the Deputy Clerk of the National Assembly of Seychelles, Alexandria Faure and comprised of the Chairperson of the Association for People with Hearing Impairment (APHI),  Anita Gardner; Research Officers, Shannon Surman and Emma Didon; Public Relations and Protocol Manager, Angelique Hill; Senior Parliamentary Media Operations Officer, Travis Boniface; and Private Secretary to the Deputy Clerk, Lucy Michel.

To find out more about the financial support of the Commonwealth Parliamentarians with Disabilities (CPwD) Capital Investment Fund click here.