Jel Alapítvány / Sign Foundation

Jel Alapítvány / Sign Foundation is rated 3 out of 5 in the category civic & social organization. Read and write reviews about Jel Alapítvány / Sign Foundation. Jel Alapítvány (Sign Foundation) was established in 2016 with the goal of providing possibilities and tools for people with hearing impairment in Hungary to enable them fully live their human and language rights. Deafness, as we see it, is a condition where the individual cannot hear but is able to fully communicate in a language ideal for him/her, which has all the necessary linguistic functions, and to make a community through this language. The right of early childhood access to sign language, to use the language one chooses, as well as the possibility of receiving clear information free of any obstacles is a right everyone should have regardless of their social context. Our Foundation focuses on making the life of people with hearing impairment easier and spreading sign language in a wider community. This is our mission, and we work to achieve our goal using innovative and up-to-date methods such as applied improvisation or other nonformal educational techniques. Our activities are built around the deaf individual and sign language. Sign language is a natural language used as a mother tongue by many, having the same functions any spoken language has. The deaf community is a linguistic minority. Their community exists by the power of sign language and deaf culture. Sign language is not an option they can choose, it is the language of smooth communication. We at our Foundation work to make Hungarian sign language easy to access for anyone, for deaf or hearing people, children or parents, for deaf school teachers or ambitious language learners as well. Despite the relevant legislation, bilingual education, that is, education in sign language and spoken language, has not been introduced yet in the Hungarian special schools for the deaf; the majority of the teachers do not use sign language, which creates substantial disadvantages for the deaf children and young people. Our aim is to provide support in this slow change of the education system.