The Association of the Deaf and INFONET Alliance made an approach to the Audiovisual Council, presenting a series of recommendations for ensuring the access of persons with hearing impairments to audiovisual media services. In a news conference at IPN, Victor Koroli, INFONET Alliance executive director, said that separate decisions referring to persons with hearing and visual impairments should be taken because the necessities of these persons are different and a universal solution does not work in their case.
In TV programs intended for persons with hearing impairments, the window on the screen intended for sign language interpretation should be increased from 1/9 to minimum 1/3 of the area. This window should no way be covered by another image, such as logos, signs, titles or infographics. The hands of the interpreter should not go out of this window.
The characters in titles should match the visual information on the screen and the audio information. The speed, size, background, contrast, color of letters in titles need to be regulated so that these are easily readable. In exceptional situations, all the official messages should be broadcast live, with the presence of a sign language interpreter, says a letter addressed by the two organizations to the Audiovisual Council.
Also, the Association of the Deaf and INFONET Alliance recommend extending the number of TV channels that would broadcast special programs with sign language interpretation, including on local TV channels. A solution is to alternatively produce weekly digests of 45-60 minutes in sign language and to organize, under the aegis of the Audiovisual Council, periodical meetings, at least once a year, which would involve representatives of media service providers, sign language interpreters and members of communities of persons with hearing impairments.
The two organizations also ask to stage a “user safari” exercise involving persons with hearing impairments, experts, interpreters, civil society organizations, the Audiovisual Council, local and national TV channels.
In the Republic of Moldova, there are about 5,000 persons with hearing impairments and 2,500 of them are members of the Association of the Deaf.
Note: IPN News Agency gives the right of reply to persons who consider they were touched by the news items produced based on statements of the organizers of the given news conference, including by facilitating the organization of another news conference in similar conditions.
