Back in 1997 when I was a US high school student, I was fortunate enough to personally meet Howard "Rocky" Stone, a former distinguished CIA agent, the founder of Self-Help for Hard of Hearing in the US and a tireless advocate for hearing loss worldwide.
When I visited Washington, D.C. to organize a Russian Deaf art exhibit at Gallaudet University in 2000, I met "Rocky" Stone once again, for the last time. Stone had a tenacious personality and was a leader who generated warmth, calm confidence and integrity. His critical thinking skills, ability to empathize with people, to listen to them and involve them with various causes were stunning to me. When I listened to one of his articulate speeches, I knew what I wanted to learn, what I was capable of, and what I wanted to do with my future. That was the moment when I decided to become an advocate for the needs of hard of hearing people.
"Rocky" Stone served on numerous committees and organizations. From 1996 to 2000, he was a president of IFHOH, International Federation of Hard of Hearing People. And that is where my exploration of IFHOH began...
I have since then observed that organizations for the deaf and hard of hearing communities are not always aware of the activities run by the other community. For the deaf community, let's unveil a couple of facts about IFHOH. This might be especially interesting for those who are thinking of attending the IFHOH Congress "A Global Community of Communications," in Vancouver, Canada on July 2-5, 2008.
IFHOH was founded in 1977 and has a special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). It works with hard of hearing people of all ages and their families, including deafened adults; people who suffer from tinnitus or menieres disease; and people who have a cochlear implant. IFHOH also works together with the International Federation of Hard of Hearing Young People, IFHOHYP, to serve young people who are hard of hearing.
Today, IFHOH's priority is centered on raising awareness of the United Nations Convention on Human Rights for People with Disabilities and its ratification within individual member states. In particular, IFHOH seeked to ensure that the Convention's sections concerning communications and accessibility, as well as education, fully meet the requirements of hard of hearing persons. Often, it is the hard of hearing population that is less visible- contrary to the Deaf population- and is sometimes considered a "minority within a minority". IFHOH is also concerned about the complexity of translating the concept of “Deaf/deafness” and the importance of considering hard of hearing people’s special needs as being different from those of Deaf persons. IFHOH has been, and continues to be, part of the international lobbying and work on the UN Convention as a member of the International Disability Alliance (IDA). Countries around the world are being urged to take the next step to the passage of the United Nations Convention on the Rights with Persons with Disabilities - ratification.
I am sure "Rocky" Stone would have been happy about these developments and the role that IFHOH played in the creation of the UN Convention. Let's be fair here- it was not an easy process for IFHOH to gain full access as a member, even technically. Sometimes at the meetings, representatives of other disability organizations forgot about the communication needs of the hard of hearing, and forgot to use the microphone, forgot to use the induction loop system or simply forgot not to cover their mouth while speaking. Sad? Maybe. However, the good step forward is that more and more representatives with different disabilities have become aware of hearing loss and are confronting their own stereotypes towards hard of hearing people. Final collaboration on the UN Convention inside the International Disability Caucus (IDC), a coalition of 70 international, regional, and national organizations of people with disabilities, proved to work very well.
Many of the projects that "Rocky" Stone began were continued by successive presidents of IFHOH - Marcia Dugan and Jan-Peter Strömgren. IFHOH keeps in contact with its member through its website - www.ifhoh.org - which houses its Journal, which is published three times a year. Position papers and guidelines on accessibility, cochlear implants and education are being developed and will be posted on the website. IFHOH is also actively involved with the World Hearing Organization's hearing awareness project.
Every four years since 1980, IFHOH has organized a World Congress where people with different levels of hearing loss and different perceptions of hearing loss could meet together. This year, IFHOH is excited to offer a Congress program that will feature four plenary sessions. Dr. Kelly Tremblay, of the University of Washington, Speech and Hearing Sciences, will speak on how the brain processes sound (codes acoustic information), how this coding changes as a result of hearing loss, and how it changes again as a result of the use of hearing devices. Johan Hammarström, the first hard of hearing pilot to fly around the world, will describe his journey and the challenges and issues faced with colleagues from several countries. Important developments at the United Nations level on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities will be highlighted by IFHOH current and past presidents, Jan-Peter Strömgren and Marcia Dugan, along with Charlotta Göeller. Closing the conference will be a discussion of future directions in hearing research and networking by Dr. Charles Laszlo, a former IFHOH President, and Dr. Kathy Pichora-Fuller. As well, Gael Hannan will do her widely acclaimed performance, "Ear Rage", a hilarious but thought-provoking rant that tackles many of the pet peeves of hearing loss.
All the forum sessions will be centered around the main key topics- Global Challenges and Issues, Quality of Life Issues for Persons with Hearing Loss, Technology and Technical Advances, Education and Employment Issues, and Early Childhood Intervention and Development. There will be close to fifty workshops offered by the Congress and for each workshop, a dedicated youth session will be organized. The Congress will include poster sessions, unique entertainment, receptions, a silent auction, a trade fair, and lots of opportunities to meet and mingle with other hard of hearing people from around the world.
Check out www.chha-ifhohcongress2008.com for more details. The early bird registration deadline is Feb. 29, 2008.
Will I see you there?
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