SIGN-IN! HEAR ME OUT HOW I PLAY! - Sport Interaction and Game as a New way of INclusion

Background In our society there is an invisible community of deaf people, who is often forced to experience situations of discrimination and lack of information, due to a poor accessibility to public and private services, sports included. On the other hand, hearing people often have no information about deafness and sign language, and this brings up difficulties in communication and a social gap between them and deaf people. Due to that, there are barriers to participation in sports among deaf people. Objectives The project aims to break down barriers to participation in sports for deaf people, addressing the European priority of promoting social inclusion in sports. The goal is to help to increase knowledge and interest in the culture and language of deaf community and to boost deaf athletes’ confidence in themselves. Thanks to the planned sport activities, deaf and hearing people can overcome communication barriers and get to know each other without prejudices in a mutual learning process. Implementation The core activity was the “SIGN-IN!” camp, which was a one-week sport camp promoted by 4 EU organizations from IT, BE and DK, with the objective of breaking down barriers to participation in sports for deaf people. During the camp, 37 young people of different nationalities, both deaf and hearing, performed various activities under the mentorship of 12 inclusive coaches and got to know each other’s by playing sports and discussing, and learned to respect diversity, without prejudices. Achievements The project provided an opportunity for deaf and hearing people to interact and socialize, building their confidence and self-esteem. It contributed to increase deaf people’s interest and participation in sport activities, combat isolation and loneliness and strengthened effective forms of communication between deaf people and their hearing peers. It contributed to increase awareness and understanding of diversity and it gave hearing people tips to communicate effectively with their deaf peers.