GNBA targets increased accessibility for persons with disabilities
The Guyana National Broadcasting Agency (GNBA) is working to increase accessibility to information for Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) by 2019 with specific focus on the hearing-impaired.
Speaking with this newspaper GNBA Chairman Leslie Sobers said that the agency is already in the planning stage and such a change can see greater inclusion for those often excluded in society.
“One of the things that the GNBA will be looking at very shortly is the accessibility of persons with disabilities to broadcast materials. That is going to be very soon on the agenda because we have come to realise that a considerable amount of Guyanese are persons with disabilities, especially those with hearing impairments,” he stated.
In many countries it is not uncommon to see sign language services being provided, especially during television news and emergency broadcasts catering for the deaf or hearing-impaired.
Although this provision only tackles one disability, Sobers believes it is a just cause and necessary step towards greater inclusivity.
“We may not be able to do anything much for those with visual impairments, but for the hearing-impaired there’s more that can be done for the thousands of persons in Guyana who are left out of the information flow.
“There is signing for the news and signing for other events. I know some persons have tried — E-Networks and NCN — but we don’t have a policy to say that television stations must have at least one broadcast per day or one newscast per day with signing. We don’t have that, but we will be considering things to that respect,” Sobers said.
In understanding the wide spectrum of challenges which come under the umbrella of being hearing-impaired, the GNBA will also be working to ensure that the right degrees of loudness are adhered to by broadcasters.
“Are the broadcasters transmitting at a uniform level, so that when persons move from one station to the next you don’t have to adjust the volume of the television or your radio? All those things will be examined as we prepare to increase the accessibility to information for the hearing-impaired,” Sobers said.
Research shows that individuals with hearing loss cannot understand speech in noisy places and noise often worsens the symptoms for those with disorders such as tinnitus and hyperacusis.
Meanwhile, according to a 2002 census, there were 42,577 disabled adults and 5,842 disabled children in Guyana of which 4,287 were hearing-impaired.
Source: Guyana Chronicle
