Funding secured to develop Deaf Legal Theory worldwide
We are thrilled to announce that we have successfully been awarded £14,796.20 funding from the University of the West of England (UWE) Bristol’s Arts and Humanities Research Council International Impact Fund.
With this funding, we can take our work on Deaf Legal Theory to the next level with a Co-Producing the Deaf Legal Theory Model project. We hope this will help researchers all over the world to magnify the voices and rights of the Deaf community on a global scale.
Our journey to realise the full potential of DLT began with a call for contributions to an edited volume. This call has so far garnered enthusiastic responses from scholars in Brazil, China, Uganda, Portugal, Norway, Canada, the United States, and the UK, covering a diverse range of topics includinge equality law, linguistic human rights, constitutionalism, mental health and sign language recognition. More information about the call can be found here.
Although DLT has already sparked interest, it remains a nascent concept in legal studies. The aim of the project is therefore to scale up the impact of DLT. We will use the co-production method and work with three sources of expertise: citizens (people with lived experience), practitioners (for application), and academics (for rigour) to revise and refine the DLT Model.
The Project will consist of seven specific activities.
- The existing website will be upgraded for content hosting, including blog/vlogs, exposés, webinars, and publications.
- A Working Group of eight members, representing diverse perspectives within the deaf community, will be formed.
- An initial survey in English and International Sign will be deployed to gather 200 responses, utilising Non-Government Organisations (NGO) partnerships and social media outreach.
- A 1.5-day Brainstorming Workshop, conducted in International Sign, involving eight participants, will analyse survey results and revise the DLT model, resulting in an interim report.
- A subsequent 1-day Development Workshop with 18 participants, including the Working Group and 10 respondents identified through the initial survey, will refine the model, leading to a final report.
- The final report, translated into International Sign, will be disseminated through the website and social media, accompanied by a satisfaction survey targeting various stakeholders.
- A webinar will be conducted via Zoom to share final report results, reaching out to survey respondents, NGO members and academic networks, with attendance and views tracked for impact assessment.
Please contact us for more information.