Newsletter March 2025
Dear friends and supporters of Deaf Journalism Europe,
Welcome to our March newsletter, the first edition of 2025! We are delighted to share a summary of the key activities and events that have taken place in our project over the past month.
See you in Paris?
On 29 and 30 March 2025, DJE invites you to join us in Paris for two inspiring days at the conference “Immersed in Deaf Media: Understanding the Present, Building the Future”, hosted by our French DJE partner Médiapi. Together with professionals, journalists, and organisations, we will discuss the future of Deaf media in Europe.
On Saturday 29 March, we will hold a conference open to all, featuring various lectures, workshops, and networking opportunities. Topics include the role of Deaf journalists, accessible media, and the future of Deaf media. There will also be an interactive editorial simulation.
On Sunday 30 March, the focus will be on the European Deaf Media Association (EDMA), covering topics such as its structure, membership, and strategies for strengthening Deaf-led media in Europe.
Location: Bibliothèque de la Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie, Paris
Don’t miss it! You can register here.
We look forward to exchanging ideas and shaping the future of Deaf media together in Europe.
Study on news consumption by Deaf people and their willingness to pay for DJE news services
As part of the DJE project, surveys were sent out in six countries involved in the European project to examine how Deaf people consume news in our partner countries and their willingness to pay for sign language news services.
This cross-national study was conducted under the direction of Jorn Rijckaert from Visual Box, based on responses from 877 participants from Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Slovakia, and Sweden. The full report is available on the DJE website: https://www.deafjournalism.eu/our-study-shows-deaf-people-want-more-news-in-sign-languages/
Key findings of the study:
- A clear majority prefers news presented directly in sign languages by Deaf presenters or translators.
- Digital platforms such as social media and the internet are the most important sources of news.
- There is a strong demand for dedicated Deaf news.
- Willingness to pay for sign language news services varies significantly between countries.
This research serves as the foundation for three upcoming DJE deliverables: (1) developing sustainable business models for Deaf-led media companies, (2) a marketing plan targeted at Deaf people and (3) recommendations for governments and public broadcasters
Stay tuned – these three valuable deliverables will be published soon on the DJE website!
New article on the anti-racism movement in European Deaf communities
In October 2024, a workshop on anti-racism took place in Flanders, led by Lydia Gratis (Ireland) and Romel Belcher (Sweden) from Saved By the Sign. Organised by Visual Box, a media company for Deaf people in Flanders, the workshop was exclusively for Deaf BIPOC individuals.
“BIPOC” stands for Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour, an inclusive term highlighting the shared experiences and challenges of systemic racism faced by these communities. This workshop was remarkable as it brought together Deaf BIPOC youth from across Flanders for the first time.
Visual Box took this opportunity to highlight the need for Deaf BIPOC spaces in Europe.
The article is available in multiple languages on our website: https://www.deafjournalism.eu/anti-racism-movement-in-europe-the-need-for-deaf-bipoc-spaces/
DJE… to be continued?
At the end of May 2025, the Deaf Journalism Europe (DJE) project will officially conclude. However, the DJE partners have already begun brainstorming for a follow-up!
With DJE II, we aim to cover daily news, collaborate on transnational articles, and launch projects to bring the Deaf community closer to news and journalism.
On 20 January 2025, we announced a call for new partners (https://www.deafjournalism.eu/announcement-new-partner-dje-ii/) to strengthen our consortium for DJE II, which is expected to start in November 2025. After a careful selection process, two enthusiastic candidates were chosen. Together, we have worked hard on our funding application to the European Commission, which has now been submitted.
Fingers crossed!
Spotlight on Visual Box
We would now like to highlight Visual Box, one of our key partners in the Deaf Journalism Europe project.
Founded in 2011 by Deaf volunteers passionate about sign language media in Flanders, Visual Box has grown into a professional enterprise offering a range of services, including: producing documentaries, translation services (Dutch–Flemish Sign Language & English–International Sign), creating fictional films, marketing support about/for the Deaf community, developing an original comic book series in Flemish Sign Language, providing training for deaf translators and filmmakers, organising cultural events, …
Thanks to the DJE project, Visual Box has also started producing news broadcasts in Flemish Sign Language. The company is led by two passionate Deaf media professionals and interpreters: Jorn Rijckaert and Jaron Garitte.
Check out our productions on www.visualbox.media, https://www.instagram.com/visual.box/ and https://www.facebook.com/visualboxmedia !
We, the partners in this project, hope to see many of you at our upcoming conference in Paris.
Stay tuned for more news and updates from us!
If you have any questions or suggestions, please do not hesitate to contact us at: info@deafjournalism.eu
Best regards,
The Deaf Journalism Europe Team
www.deafjournalism.eu
Photo: Leandro Neumann Ciuffo