Users, ICT and Politics: The Case of the Inclusion of Sign Language Communities

摘要

An essential improvement of the access of deaf people to education, information and modem communication methods can only be reached by comprehensive interdisciplinary applied research and the use of modem ICT. In order to guarantee an optimal development in this respect, two main conditions have to be fulfilled: First, the situation and needs of the sign language users have to be clearly acknowledged (especially in comparison to other hearing impaired people). Second, the intellectual, scientific, organisational, and political barriers for the necessary developments have to be brought to the attention of all decision-makers so that they can be removed. The paper recommends major changes and measurements in order to realise the very positive programmatic declarations on inclusion optimally.