Did you know IDEAL hosted the FIRST ever East African Deaf Youth Education & Leadership Summit? In June 2013, the IDEAL team made a trip to Uganda to host the first East African Deaf youth leadership summit; bringing together over 50 participants from the five countries making up the EAC (Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi). Our participants ranged from ages 18-30, with varying educational backgrounds. Our goal was to benefit the EAC (East African Communities) by uniting Deaf youth and giving them the opportunity to collaborate as a team. The summit gave them the chance to share their experiences and struggles, find solutions, and create change in their respective countries. The youth first focused on identifying common challenges faced in their communities and then worked as a team to develop possible strategies that can be applied in a variety of settings. This unique opportunity allowed the youth to validate their experiences and build strategies that could improve the quality of life for Deaf youth in the EAC. These Deaf youth are prime examples of talented, intelligent and driven individuals, who are reliable self-sufficient citizens that can contribute immensely to their country. For the next step, the youth participants will implement these strategies by using the tools and resources gained through the workshops held at the summit; spreading the knowledge in their own communities. Our aim is to reach as many Deaf individuals as possible, through these great role models, thus, creating more and more solution-oriented leaders who will have the skills and tools necessary to become activists, educators, entrepreneurs, and change makers. KPBS Interview video link: youtu.be/WFwhm0FZRyQ
Posted on: Sat, 22 Feb 2014 08:06:39 +0000
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