P2 / PRESIDENT’S WORDS P5 / ARTICLE P7 / EVENTS P8 / SPECIAL

Read a messenge from
WASLI’s President, Debra
Russell, about recent
activities of WASLI the world.
50th National Assembly on
Sign Language Interpretation
of Japan in Fukuyama city.
Check out the upcoming International Translation Day
events about deaf 2017 in a special article by
communities, sign language International Federation of
studies, translation and Translator - FIT
interpreting studies.

WASLI newsletter.
no. 4 2017 WINTER EDITION

We are proud to share with you our next conferece logo and theme.
 local context, and building the skills and Our WASLI Board will hold its next
President’s capacities of local interpreters to work with meeting in Panama City July 14-15, 2017,
in conjunction with the Second Latin
the deaf community. My personal thanks to
words Rachel Locker McKee, George Major and American Sign Language Interpreters
conference. Those representatives who are
Ly n x , f o r h o s t i n g t w o e v e n i n g
Debra Russell
presentations, where I had a chance to meet not able to secure their funding to attend
with interpreters, signed and spoken, in will participate by technology, which
Dear Members and WASLI Supporters,
Wellington and Auckland. It was great to makes it possible for our dedicated group
spend time with the communities and I so of volunteers to learn from other regions
Welcome to this edition of our WASLI
appreciate the warm hospitality. and share their own successes. The Latin
Newsletter. Not only can you enjoy this
American conference is shaping up to be a
newsletter, but you can also enjoy reading
In a similar vein, I met with Bunko, efsli very exciting event, and several WASLI
the WASLI 2015 Conference Proceedings,
President, Ivana and our Europe Regional Board members will participate in it. I look
which have just come out! If you were a
Representative, Christopher Stone via forward to co-presenting with Kaisa
delegate in Turkey, the proceedings are
skype during December. These Alanne, WFD Board member.
included in your registration and you will
conversations help us to work
have received a link for it. To those wishing
cooperatively, and to also consider ways in Our collaboration with the World
to purchase, you can do that easily from our
which well-developed regions such as Federation of the Deaf continues and most
website. Thank you to Suzanne Ehrlich and
Europe can support countries where recently we have struck a shared
Isabelle Heyerick for their editorial work in
interpreting in still emerging. committee that will oversee the
bringing this project to a completion, and to
International Sign Accreditation
each of the authors who have generously
Liz Mendoza, North American Regional Standards, ensuring we have a constant
shared their work with you.
Representative, has been holding regular improvement loop built into reviewing
meetings between Mexico, US and processes on a regular basis and dealing
Our executive board has approved the logo
Canadian interpreter leaders and we look with any concerns that may arise based on
for WASLI 2019 in Paris, and we hope you
forward to seeing the fruits of their labor in an IS interpreter’s conduct. Dr. Christopher
are excited by the color and imagery
supporting interpreters in Mexico, Stone will chair this group that also
represented in the logo. More importantly,
especially on the challenging issue of included Liz Scott Gibson and Bo Hardell.
we are working hard to secure an
accreditation. Watch the Streetleverage site The next round of accreditation will be
appropriate conference venue, and our
for an interview between her and Brandon announced soon, and WASLI extends
thanks to WASLI members living in Paris
Arthur, where they discuss WASLI in the congratulations to those candidates who
who are helping Michelle Ashley, WASLI
context of international learning. w e r e a w a r d e d W F D - WA S L I I S
2019 Conference Chair. It’s never too early
Accreditation in December 2017. Finally,
to begin saving so that you can attend this
Our Fund Development co-chairs, Bibi on this same topic, Colin Allen, WFD
event.
Moulder and Chris Grooms, have been President, and I have been selected to
busy with a GoFundMe campaign targeting present at the Federation of Interpreters
Our regional representatives continue to
dollars towards the Africa Regional and Translators conference in Brisbane in
work hard to raise awareness of
Conference which was held in Nigeria this August of this year. The FIT conference,
interpreting issues in their region, and to
month. To each of you who have joined me for the first time, will highlight sign
plan learning events that can support
in making a donation, I thank you. Our language interpreting, in a dedicated track
interpreters and Deaf communities
African regional representative, Natasha and through a keynote delivered by Dr.
working collaboratively. During February
Malika, and conference chair, Tim Tinat, Jemina Napier. It will be an exciting event
I was fortunate to meet Angela Murray, our
have put in countless hours to ensure that and we are very pleased to share our
Austoceania representative in Wellington,
African interpreters could meet to take the innovative approach to accreditation.
New Zealand. While there I attended a
next steps of developing the profession in
meeting with her and representatives from
Africa. Several of us presented via video, WFD and WASLI have also put forward a
Deaf Aotearoa, the national Deaf
keeping the travel costs low for presenters, joint submission to the United Nations
association, where they reviewed
and increasing the funding available to OHCHR regarding the review of the
opportunities to support interpreters in the
African delegates. Our congratulations to CRPD. We have focused on submission on
Solomon Islands and Fiji. This region has
all on what looked like a very successful barriers and access to judicial processes for
been an outstanding model of working
and productive conference. deaf people via professional and trained
towards making training relevant for the
sign language interpreters. We believe
these joint submissions are a
demonstration of solidarity at the
5th Pacific Regional Conference on
international level, and send a strong Disability in Samoa
message to the United Nations from two
key stakeholder groups, deaf people and
Australasia Oceania representative attends
the interpreters that serve the local
communities.

During 2017 we will also review a number

of key documents, including the WASLI-
WFD Memo of Understanding that was
signed ten years ago. Our intent is to update
the MOU, including the perspectives of the
WFD Youth Section (WFDYS). We are
also in touch with the World Federation of
Deafblind to canvas their interest in a tri-
party arrangement between our three
organizations, as WASLI has a MOU with
WFDB and WFD does not yet have that.
We also have a small working group
reviewing our WASLI Philosophy
Statement on Training and our Educational
The fifth Pacific Regional Conference on Samoa Deaf club, Mr. Ali Barnabas from
Guidelines, which were also ratified in
Disability was held 20-24 February 2017 in Solomon Islands Deaf Association, Mr. Kyle
2007. Rachel Locker McKee is leading this
Apia, Samoa. This conference saw the largest Miers from Deaf Australia and Ms. Gael Seru
work.
group of deaf participants of any previous pacific Fiji Interpreter.
regional conference. Deaf participants from Deaf participants had a real presence during the
As always, I thank each of you for your
Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, Samoa and conference as they chaired sessions, presented,
generous support for me as President and
Solomon Islands attended. There were were panelists and a local Deaf Samoan Mr.
for the board of directors. I thank each of
interpreters from each of those countries and Simona Simati was honored to present the kava,
you working as volunteers for WASLI. As
Angela Murray, WASLI Australasia Oceania a traditional cultural custom, to His Royal
we share the work of raising awareness of
representative, used this as an opportunity to Highness Tui Atua Tupua Tamese Ta'isi Efi at
the profession of interpreting, I hope you
support and assist the interpreters from the the opening ceremony.
will see the value that WASLI brings to
islands who were attending and working at the A meeting of all deaf participants and
your world. Our new membership year
conference. interpreters discussed current challenges for
started January 01, 2017 – If you have not
Interpreter training in the Pacific Islands has Deaf Communities, the need for cooperation
renewed, please do and recruit your friends
been sporadic and mostly only available to those and mutual support to achieve and agreed that
to do the same! For more information see
in Fiji. Since this conference was held in Samoa, formation of a new deaf association in Samoa
our membership information in this issue.
two local Samoan interpreters spent the week and supporting the Solomon Islands Deaf
If you have questions or comments, please working alongside experienced interpreters Association should be priorities going forward.
e m a i l m e a n y t i m e a t from Fiji, New Zealand and Australia. The local The Conference outcomes statement recognized
president.wasli@gmail.com. interpreters said this was a very valuable the need for more sign language work and the
learning experience for them and they were need to recognize and promote sign languages in
Sincerely, hungry for more opportunities and training. the Pacific.
Angela Murray presented about WASLI and the There was also a particular outcome that urged
work of WASLI in Australasia Oceania as part of the Pacific Disability Forum to support the
a panel presentation on the situation of the Deaf parallel work of WASLI Australasia Oceania
community in the Pacific led by WFD Expert with WFD Oceania to develop skilled and
Group on Human Rights Coordinator, Ms. Elena qualified interpreters, professional codes of
Down. There were 6 other panelists: Mr. Isoa ethics to improve accessibility for deaf people in
Nabainivalu and Mr. Krishneer Sen from Fiji the Pacific to information, education,
Association of the Deaf, Mr. Faleasi Loto from employment and services across all sectors.
Gallaudet University
The 2017 Symposium on Signed Language Interpretation and Translation Research

From March 31st until April 2nd, Gallaudet University hosted the
symposium on Signed Language Interpretation and Translation
Research. Scholars, interpreters and students from all over the
world joined at this 3-day event to share and discuss research on
signed language interpreting and translation.
Keynote presenters were prof. dr. Beppie van den Bogaerde on the
first day, dr. Xiaoyan Xiao during the opening of the second day and
dr. Robert Adam delivered the closing keynote.
During the symposium, 36 presenters shared their research with
the attendees. These included a presentation by the WASLI
president, Dr. Debra Russell (co-presenting with prof. Dr. Jemina
Napier), the WASLI secretary, Isabelle Heyerick, and our social
media coordinator Suzanne Ehrlich (co-presenting with Dawn
Wessling).
We were also very lucky to have our regional representative for
North-America with us, Liz Mendoza and our Deaf Interpreter
Advisor, Nigel Howard.
The symposium offered the participants a look into the history of
signed language interpreting research, the profession of deaf
mediators and interpreters, and into the right of deaf people to
interpretation throughout history.
Additionally, on-going research on current matters such as the
quality of interpreting, deaf interpreters, signed news broadcasts,
the access of deaf people to justice, the right of deaf people to
function as a juror in court proceedings was presented.
The symposium was a unique opportunity for anyone working on
signed language interpretation and translation to meet up, to share
new ideas and explore possible future cooperation. The thrill of
being able to experience this at Gallaudet University made even
©Gallaudet
more exciting. Truly, there is no other place like it in the world.

©Gallaudet

- WASLI would like to acknowledge and pay respects to Elena
Down who passed away suddenly, shortly after the Samoa
conference. Elena worked tirelessly for the rights of people with
disabilities and in particular for the Deaf community in the Asia
Pacific region. Her contribution and passion for the ongoing
work in the Pacific disability sector will be sorely missed.
- Professor Tomoki Hayashi, Vice President of the Japanese
Association of Sign Language Interpreters (JASLI) passed
away on April 6, 2017. Professor Hayashi, as Chairperson of
the International Affairs Committee of JASLI, attended WASLI
Conferences and facilitated some workshops at WASLI-Asia
Meetings making a significant contribution. We sincerely pray
for his soul to rest in peace.

Call for Volunteers

TRANSLATORS

WASLI wishes to offer news and information in multiple languages. In that way we are
looking for dedicated translators who are willing to support our organization. For the
written language translation department we are looking for people who can translate from
English into Hindi, Russian and German. For the written translations, send an e-mail to
translations.wasli@gmail.com with the following information: full name, e-mail address
and your working languages (which can be others than the ones listed above) and your
level of proficiency in them.
Legal Interpreters for
Deaf People in
Serbia
In Serbia, the Ministry of Justice has appointed
17 permanent court "sign language interpreters
for deaf people" which is the first appointment
of the kind after almost two decades. So far only
3 "interpreters for the hearing impaired" have
been registered in electronic records of court
translators and interpreters.
The Association of Serbian SLI (ATSZJ) in
cooperation with the Belgrade City
Organization of the Deaf have translated the
Law on the Use of Sign Language. This is the
first law translated by Deaf Sign Language users
and interpreters in the region.
Futher details: http://gogb.org.rs/tvoje-
pravo/zakon-o-upotrebi-znakovnog-jezika.
50th National Assembly on Sign
Language Interpretation in Japan
The forum will be held in Fukuyama city in
Hiroshima Prefecture, in the western part of
Japan, from August 18, Friday, to August 20,
Sunday. It includes lectures on “Human Rights”
and “Community Development”, discussions
on issues of employed sign language
interpreters, and workshops where you can
learn from the lives of Deaf people.
Also, there will be a special course where
participants will visit Hiroshima Peace
Memorial to consider the preciousness of peace
walking around the atomic bombed city of
Hiroshima.
The event will attract more than 1,000 people
from across Japan, including Deaf people, sign
language interpreters, sign language learners,
government officials and medical
professionals.

65th Japanese
Federation of the Deaf
(JFD) National
Congress in Fukuoka
Japanese National Congress of the Deaf, hosted
by JFD, was held from June 1, Thursday, to June
4, Sunday, 2017, in Fukuoka city, southern part
of Japan.
JFD marks the 70th anniversary of the
foundation this year and Mr. Colin Allen, WFD
President, gave a keynote speech in the event to
commemorate it. Also, WFD board members
participated in 4 separate sessions (1: Sign
Language, 2: Human Rights, 3: Information
Access, and 4: History) as panel members.
WASLI African Representative has
Called on the Nigerian Government to
Make SL an Official Language
The Africa Regional Representative, Natasha disabled community, but rather a linguistic
Maliko, made the call in Abuja during the first and cultural minority. The only difference
Regional Conference on Sign Language between us and them is our language, the only
Interpreting and Deaf Rights in Africa jointly thing that sets the deaf people aside is sign
hosted by the Africa Federation of Sign language which is not a physical disability, we
Language Interpreters, Deaf Resource Centre are part of the disabled community but we are
and the World Association of Sign Language in alliance and partnership with them”
Interpreters, WASLI. Natasha said.
Maliko also said political will and appropriate On her message for the Nigerian government,
legislation is needed from the Nigerian Natasha said, “what we are asking for is the
government to make Nigerian sign language political will and legislation that will change
an official language as it is in other countries. the plights of the deaf in Nigeria, the
government should make sign language in
“It’s important for us to realise that partnership
Nigeria official”
is very important, Deaf people without
©VoiceNigeria
interpreters will not reach the goal and reach
their full potential and without the Deaf people
, sign language will not exist; we coexist in this
world and we need to carry vision of complete
access for deaf people and as well as give them
their human right which is sign language
recognition” she stressed.

“Deaf people don’t think they are part of the

African Forum of Sign Language EVENTS
Interpreters has in Nigeria PANAMÁ
3rd Latin American Sign Language
During the First Regional Conference of utilization of material, technical, and human Interpreters and Deaf-blind Interpreters
Africa Region, delagates created the African resources. Meeting
Forum of Sign Language interpreters. · Identifying new practice and trends in the Panama City
field of sign language interpretation and 17 - 21 July 2017
E-mail: latinamerica.wasli@gmail.com
Conference Goals: sign language research methodology
· Building leadership capacity among sign · Developing partnership strategies with AUSTRALIA
language interpreters and Deaf leaders in WASLI, WFD, EUD, NAD, and NAOBI in XXI FIT - International Federation of
Africa achieving the goals set by AFSLI and AUD. Translators World Congress
· Strengthening the capacity of AUD & Brisbane
AFSLI for regional activities that will Next conference will be held in Nairob, 3 – 5 August 2017
Website: http://www.fit2017.org
promote Deaf rights and sign language Kenia in 2018.
interpreter education
DENMARK
· Building synergy with the regional 8th Deaf Academic Conference
government for inclusion in developmental Aarhus
activities of the region 10 - 12 August, 2017
· Building a network of all organizations of Website: http://www.dac2017.com/
the Deaf and interpreters in Africa for
FRANCE
EFSLI 2017 - AGM & Conference
Toulouse
Do you have a national interpreter’s association in your country? Or are 8 - 10 September, 2017
you thinking of setting one up, with support from your national Deaf
association? If so, we would welcome you as a national member. WASLI Conference
Paris
Be a member or renewal for 2017. 17 - 20 July, 2019
http://wasli.org/membership Website: www.wasli.org

XVIII World Congress of WFD

Join us! Paris

23 - 27 July, 2019
Website: www.paris-wfd2019.org
International Translation Day 2017
Translation and Diversity
In our digital world, a product or service is
often marketed in many countries, and
information appears to flow instantly across
most national boundaries. Yet we don’t want
other societies to impose their way of
thinking on us. How does translation relate
to the desire to access everything while
retaining diversity?
Cultural diversity is closely tied to linguistic
diversity. Losing your language means
losing a part of your cultural identity.
Translation is important both to maintaining
and learning from a culture.
Globalisation brings greater international
cooperation, but the downside of that can be
cultural homogenisation, which in turn
threatens diversity. In an effort to access
global markets effectively, products and
services are often translated with sensitivity
to the target culture, rather than imposing
the culture of the source content. This type
of translation, called localisation, thus
supports diversity.
Language transcends physical barriers of
distance, borders and time. Translation of
literature and other culture-specific
material, such as foreign film through
subtitling and dubbing, is different from
localisation. In contrast to localisation, this
type of translation typically aims to open a
window to the source culture, and thus
helps share local insights and alternative
views of the world, giving the experience of
another culture through one’s own
language.
Both localisation and source-culture-
specific translation are challenging
intellectual tasks that involve much more
than mechanically matching up the words
and phrases of two languages. Only skilled
human translators are able to perform these
creative types of translation, which help us
maintain our own culture and learn from
other cultures, respectively.
Each culture in the world should be in
control of its destiny. By promoting diversity
of cultures and languages, we can hope to
create a bright and colourful world, full of
possibilities for learning, growing and
sharing a peaceful vision for humanity
based on mutual respect. We thank
translators for their contribution to diversity
as we celebrate International Translation
Day 2017.
by International Federation of Translators - FIT
WASLI 2015
CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS
Get your copy!
The WASLI Board and the Conference Proceeding
editors, Isabelle Heyerick and Suzanne Ehrlich,
proudly present the proceedings of the 2015 WASLI
conference.
This edition compiles a selection of papers
presented in Istanbul during the 2015 WASLI
Conference “Human Rights, where do Interpreters
fit in?”. The eight papers reflect the themes
presented at the WASLI conference: interpreting as
a means of access to religion, interpreting for deaf
professionals, International Sign interpreting, new
models for the professionalization of interpreters
and the challenges interpreters and Deaf
communities face in countries such as Jordan and
Kenya.
The full publication can be purchased from the
WASLI website.

The views expressed in this newsletter do not necessarily reflect those of the World Association of Sign Language Interpreters. The Editor, together with the WASLI
Executive Board and external contributors, produce the WASLI newsletter. WASLI will work to ensure the authenticity of any information provided. We reserve the
right to edit all submissions that are published. WASLI accepts no liability for the accuracy of the contents or any opinions expressed. Readers are invited to
reproduce information provided the source is quoted. Readers should contact secretary@wasli.org for permission to use WASLI official photographs, or to advise of
a change of email address.

WASLI EXECUTIVE BOARD WASLI VOLUNTEERS

Officers: Deb Russell (President); José Ednilson Souza Junior (Vice President); Deaf Interpreter Advisor: Nigel Howard
Isabelle Heyerick (Secretary); Susan Emerson (Treasurer) WASLI Membership Coordinator: Rebecca Thurrowgood
Social Media Coordinator: Suzanne Ehrlich
WASLI Translations Coordinators: Michelle Chang (written translations),
Regional Representatives: Angela Murray(Australasia & Oceania); Natasha
Christian Rathmann and Arkady Belozovsky (signed translations)
Maliko (Africa); Monica Punjabi and Etsuko Umemoto (Asia); Desanka Zizic
Web: Patrick Wiche & Patrick Galasso
(Balkans); Isabel Rey (Latin America and Caribbean); Liz Mendoza (North Newsletter Editor: José Ednilson Júnior
America); Igor Bondarenko & Anna Komarova (Transcaucasia & Central Asia); Fund Development Committee: Chris Grooms & Bibi Dalacey-Mould
(Europe); Christopher Stone. Educational Video Modules: Simone Scholl

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