ICED 2010 Update

Submitted by James Tucker [1] on Thu, 08/19/2010 - 15:02

The 21st International Congress on the Education of the Deaf (ICED) held in Vancouver, British Columbia on July 18-22, 2010 drew over 800 participants from 62 countries. MSD Board members Barbara Raimondo, Esquire, Dr. Cynthia Neese-Bailes, Dr. Angela McCaskill and I along with 84 other Americans attended the Congress. The first ICED was held in 1878 in Paris, France and is now held every five years. Today, ICED is perhaps the most recognized international conference for educators and researchers working with deaf and hard of hearing individuals.

The theme of the Vancouver Congress was “Partners in Education” and the 2010 ICED Organizing Committee took this to heart. The British Columbia Deaf Community, led by former MSD assistant principal and teacher Wayne Sinclair, and the 2010 ICED Organizing Committee together produced a historic document titled “A New Era: Deaf Participation and Collaboration”.

This New Era Accord basically rejects all resolutions passed at the 1880 ICED at Milan, Italy and promotes the use of sign languages and Deaf citizens’ participation in decision-making in all aspects of their lives. The Milan Resolutions had favored the pure oral method and suppression of sign language. The New Era Accord and the full ICED conference program are posted on the official 2010 ICED website address: www.iced2010.com [2].

Initially, there was some uncertainty about the logistics of how the ICED Organizing Committee would reject the Milan Resolutions as ICED is not a typical organization. It does not have officers, a constitution, nor by-laws. But, the ICED Organizing Committee joined forces with the global deaf community and produced an unprecedented document that hopefully will reverberate in the halls of governments, universities, and schools all over the world.

The New Era Accord was announced at the opening ceremonies and was met with much celebration and tears, and then the Accord was again celebrated at the closing ceremonies. The World Federation of the Deaf president Markku Jokinen (of Finland) participated in both ceremonies, giving a moving speech at the close of the Congress.

I arrived in Vancouver one day before the start of the Congress to attend an all-day Leaders Summit. It was held at the Wosk Centre of Dialogue, a conference center operated by Simon Fraser University. Over eighty leaders in the field of deaf education were invited to “dialogue” on current issues and challenges in our field. A panel of students of diverse backgrounds contributed much to the discussions. The spirit of listening to and respecting differing points of views carried over to the Congress.

The seven main topics at the Congress were: Early Intervention, Language and Literacy, Sign Languages and Deaf Culture, Educational Environments, Technology in Education, Educating Learners with Diverse Needs, and Unique Challenges in Developing Countries. I had the honor of giving the opening keynote speech, “The Bedrock of Deaf Education in North America: Center Schools”. Ms. Raimondo coordinated a panel of presenters from Canada, Norway, South Africa, and the United States who each gave a presentation on laws governing deaf education. She also gave the presentation on U.S. laws. Dr. Neese-Bailes presented papers on “Deaf Pre-Service Teachers with Hearing Students: Reflective Journal Content” and “Language and Literacy Acquisition through Parental Mediation in American Sign Language”.

2010 ICED was my fourth Congress, having attended Tel Aviv, Israel in 1995, Sydney, Australia in 2000, and Maastricht, The Netherlands in 2005. I wish to applaud the 2010 ICED Organizing Committee for hosting an outstanding conference. They put together a balanced conference program which brought together individuals from all across the ideological spectrum. All participants had full and equal access to all activities. No one was left out. There were deaf individuals on the 2010 ICED Organizing Committee, and a greater number of deaf and hard of hearing individuals gave keynote speeches.

It took 130 years before the infamous Milan Resolutions were finally repudiated. Although the New Era Accord may appear to be symbolic at the moment, we all know the power of words. The next Congress will be held in Patras, Greece in 2015; and time will tell if this symbolic deed will be translated into an era of renaissance for deaf people, sign languages, and deaf education everywhere.

Article by James E. Tucker, Superintendent of the Maryland School for the Deaf, in the Spring 2010 issue of The Maryland Bulletin, reprinted with permission.