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Deaf Enterprise: Entrepreneurship Training for Deaf Sign Language Users
Start date: Sep 1, 2016, End date: Aug 31, 2018 PROJECT  FINISHED 

Sign languages are recognized as equal languages of the EU. Sign language users however are a traditionally under-served minority. Many Deaf sign language users are unemployed, or working in unfulfilling and/or unrewarding jobs. Entrepreneurship is recognized as a key competence that enables people to develop the skills they need for life and work. Entrepreneurship education generally address active citizenship, social entrepreneurship, venture creation as well as employability (European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice, 2016. Entrepreneurship Education at School in Europe. Eurydice Report. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union), and is considered a priority at all levels of education throughout Erasmus+. All or most of the mainstream resources in this field however, are not accessible to Deaf sign language users: texts do not meet their reading requirements, videos are not subtitled, examples, tools and other resources are inappropriate or inaccessible, mainstream support services, career counselors, mentors, trainers have little or no experience with sign language users. As a result, in the UK labour market, one in five of deaf respondents were unemployed and looking for work compared with one in twenty in the overall UK labour market (RNID, 2006).The objective of the Deaf Enterprise project is to develop, test and implement an OER and curriculum for Deaf sign language users of all ages and all backgrounds that meet their specific strengths as well as requirements. All output will be developed by and for Deaf sign language users from day one and will include interviews with successful Deaf entrepreneurs, training modules, examples, videos, interactive resources, guidelines, and more. All information will be tested for its accessibility, appropriateness and attractiveness for the target groups. To this end, we will organize a transnational training event and several national multiplier events. The output of the project can be used for individual study, for dedicated training programmes for Deaf sign language users, and to supplement / support mainstream entrepreneur education activities with Deaf participants. The University of Central Lancashire is the main contractor and has an international reputation for its Deaf Studies and Interpreter Training programmes, its International Institute for Sign Languages and Deaf Studies (iSLanDS), its Institute for Innovation, Enterprise and Entrepreneurship and its many activities and online and face to face resources for aspiring entrepreneurs. A transnational consortium will add experts, skills, and knowledge from additional perspectives, cultures, countries. A large international network will support the project, not just within the EU but globally. The Deaf Enterprise target group is not limited to Deaf sign language users in the participating countries, but will include Deaf sign language users across the EU and possibly world-wide. Therefore, the OER and curriculum will be made available in International Sign and (easy to read) English, as well as in the sign languages of partners.Because so little is available for our target groups, we will not limit ourselves to young people; we will make sure that all the project's output can be used by, or adapted for a wide range of Deaf sign language users: different age-groups, nationalities, interests, backgrounds. A EU wide Survey will provide the project with input and feedback, and will result in a report and recommendations for the training and support of Deaf entrepreneurs.
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