The Disability Information and Resource Centre

Ten Deaf children participated in a two-day photographic workshop with professional Deaf photographer Sophia Borick during the October 2011 school holidays. The participants were aged 8 to 12 and came from three primary schools – they took many photos and had lots of fun.

The children edited their best work using Photoshop in preparation for this exhibition, which will be on display in the DECS gallery 9am to 5pm weekdays from Monday 5 December 2011 to Monday 2 January 2012.

Come and see a different perspective through Deaf eyes.

Exhibition dates: Monday 5th December 2011 to 2nd January 2012

Opening night: 4.30pm, Tuesday 6 December 2011

Where: Dept. of Education and Children’s Services (DECS) Gallery. Ground Floor, 31 Flinders Street, Adelaide

RSVP: 1 December 2011 to 0408 807 511 (text only) or email sborick@internode.on.net.

5 December 2011 – 2 January 2012, 9am-5pm

A Photographic Exhibition by Deaf Children with Professional Deaf Photographer Sophia Borick, in conjunction with the celebrations of the International Day of People with Disability.

Exhibition opening date 6th December 2011 at 4.30pm

To be opened by Sofya Gollan, Deaf Artist/Film Maker and a presenter of TV ABC’s PlaySchool program.

Accessible, Auslan Interpreted

Dept of Education & Children’s Services (DECS) Gallery, Ground Floor, 31 Flinders St, Adelaide

Please RSVP Thursday 1 December by text 0408 807 511 or email sborick@internode.on.net.

Better Hearing Australia are having a Coffee Morning on Wednesday 30th November 2011 at 10am at SACOSS.

Guest speaker will be Frank Gratton.

For more details have a look at the flyer.

Better hearing Australia Adelaide have released their Adelaide Bulletin for September 2010.

Read it here.

Adelaide Hearing Consultants invites you to a fundraising event to raise funds for Indigenous Ear Health on 23rd August 2010.

Full details here.

Do you live in the City and have the following attributes?:

1. A broad appreciation of issues associated with living with disability and of access issues within the City of Adelaide
2. A demonstrated ability to work cooperatively and ethically with others
3. Experience of disability personally or indirectly through family members

The Adelaide City Council is seeking City residents with disability to become members of their Access Planning Group which monitors the Access Action Plan 2010-2012 as well as advising on access priorities and issues.

The group will meet quarterly during office hours at Council. The Council is particularly interested in making contact with residents living with hearing loss and deafness.

If this sounds like you please contact:

Felicity Schievenin
Community Planner
City Community

T. (08) 8203 7385
E. f.schievenin@adelaidecitycouncil.com

The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) has a range of information and services available to support voters with a disability to ensure their vote in the 2010 federal election on Saturday, 21 August 2010.

A new initiative at the 2010 election, telephone voting, is now available in 125 locations across Australia to allow voters who are blind or have low vision to cast a secret vote.
http://www.aec.gov.au/election/bvi-do-locns.htm.

This service is available both before and on election day in all AEC divisional offices and other selected locations. Voters using this service will have their name marked off the electoral roll and then cast their vote in private over the phone. To find out how this voting will work including opening hours, visit How to vote if you are blind or have low vision or call 13 23 26.

Essential election information, including the ‘Your Official Guide to the 2010 Federal Election’ delivered to households across Australia, is also available online in a range of accessible formats, including large print, e-text and audio, and in braille and other formats by calling 13 23 26.
http://www.aec.gov.au/election/electors-with-disability.htm.

Polling places with disabled access are shown at www.aec.gov.au, including identifying those that are fully accessible or accessible with assistance. Each polling place also has at least one wheelchair access table top voting screen. At the polling place, if anyone needs help to vote, polling place staff are trained to assist or the voter can have a family member of friend assist. Anyone that makes a mistake filling in their ballot paper should ask a polling official for a replacement ballot paper and start again.

People who are deaf, or have a hearing impairment or speech impairment can use the National Relay Service (NRS) to call the AEC. TTY users phone 133 677 and ask for 13 23 26; Speak and Listen (speech-to-speech relay) voice only users can phone 1300 555 727 and ask for 13 23 26.

IDEAS NSW announces their competition for the hottest inclusive night club event in New South Wales, happening on the 27th August at Home Nightclub, Darling Harbour.

SenCity is a multi-sensory, multi-faceted, special event for people who are hearing impaired and deaf and with any other ability or disability.

During this spectacular event the emotions and passions of music are converted to all senses.

Special techniques employed at this event include an imported vibrating dance floor, so that people can really feel the music. The vibrating dance sensors are attached to the amplifiers so that the entire dance floor responds to the frequency of the music. Sign singers interpret lyrics.

Visual Jockeys, Food Jockeys and Aroma Jockeys are on hand to provide aroma compositions to interpret music for other senses.

The chill space has side performances to engage other senses like hairdressers, makeup artists and masseurs.

To be part of the 1000 (over 18yrs) people attending this one-night-only experience you can win tickets sponsored by Ideas NSW by:

1. Registering your email at http://sencitywin.wordpress.com/ so that you can be kept updated on the event.

2. Provide one of two entry options:

(a) Submit a video of an original dance off which incorporates the IDEAS SMS number which is 0458 296 602, interpreted however you would like. Your entry must then be uploaded to SENCITY WIN Facebook fanpage at www.facebook.com/sencitywin.

3. Submit an original still photo shot of yourself displaying the IDEAS SMS number which is 0458 296 602, at the most creative spot that you can think of. Your entry must then be uploaded to SENCITY WIN Facebook fanpage at www.facebook.com/sencitywin.

To upload images/video simply go to the write a comment area at the top of the SENCITY WIN Facebook fanpage site and click on the photo/video link, browse for your photo/video and click share. All entries must be uploaded before the end of the promotion period. The promotion will end at 5.00pm (AEST) on the 20th of August 2010.

There a five double passes for each category. Please make sure you read the terms and conditions available at http://sencitywin.wordpress.com/ before you enter. For more information call IDEAS NSW on 1800 029 904 or email prmedia@ideas.org.au.

Hear For You is a place teenagers can hang out among deaf peers, have fun and make friends.

More than 83% of deaf children and adolescents attend mainstream schools where they are often the sole hearing impaired student in the class or even the school. Others have challenges at work.

At Hear For You young adults who are successful in academia, business and sport and have grown up with deafness act as mentors. Kate Locke is one, along with Olivia Andersen, David Brady, Dave Carter (who has bilateral cochlear implants), Nick Doyle, Lizzie Eakin and Rania Saab.

Hear For You also has a group of inspirational speakers who use cochlear implants or hearing aids including Prof. Jennie Brand-Miller, Heather Cook, David Herridge, James Kelly, Holly McDonnel and Daniel O’Halloran.

For more information see www.hearforyou.com.au

The Graeme Clark Scholarship is a unique award established to help recipients of Cochlear hearing solutions further themselves by undertaking university studies. It provides financial assistance towards a degree at an accredited university and is paid in annual instalments on the successful completion of each year of study for up to three years.

It is available to cochlear implant and bone conduction implant recipients who have been accepted into a university course or who are current university students. This includes mature age students.

The scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic achievement  and a demonstrated commitment to the Cochlear ideals of leadership and humanity.

The Australia and New Zealand Cochlear Scholarship honors Professor Graeme Clark, the inventor and pioneer of the modern day cochlear implant.

Applications are now open for the 2010 Scholarship. The closing date is 3 May. See www.cochlear.com.au for details of how to apply.