What is coming up – Future Events
Join us for “Making Real Change” in our upcoming conference, Signs of the Times XVI, our 16th conference. A full day event dedicated to encourage activism and drive social change.
Learn from keynote presenters, leading activists, non-profit leaders, and policymakers as they discuss the most pressing issues facing our deaf, hard of hearing and deafblind communities today.
We have confirmed our first Deaf keynote presenter: Victoria Manning. Also joining our conference will be another keynote speaker: Rebecca Falkingham PSM, the CEO of NDIA. Please see the below information on our two esteemed presenters!
Attendees will also have the opportunity to participate in panel discussions and networking opportunities with community and industry leaders.
The conference will take place on Saturday 25 March 2023 at Vision Australia, Kooyong (Melbourne).
Register now to secure your spot at this empowering event and be a part of creating a more just and equitable community for everyone.
Don’t miss out on the opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals, gain valuable insights, and learn the skills to be an effective advocate for change. Register today!
Only 100 tickets available so book yours as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.
TICKETS:
– Day registrations – available to purchase now
Full price after Friday 17 February 2023: $50 + eventbrite booking fee
– Concession card holders:
Please email SOT@deafvictoria.org.au with photo proof of your valid and current concession card. Our team will verify and respond and assist you purchasing your registration on a discounted price.
ACCESSIBILITY:
This conference is fully accessible: Auslan interpreters and live captioning will be provided for the entire duration of the day and evening.
SPONSORS:
A huge thank you to Access for All Abilities (a program funded by The Victorian Government) for sponsoring this event along with our major partners: Deaf Sports Australia and Deaf Recreation Sports Victoria.
Follow the event on Facebook.
What’s been happening – Past Events
Here is our road map!
Our team will be travelling to all six towns to meet all deaf and hard of hearing locals. If you want to learn more about our services, please come to one of the events! Full details are listed below:
Deaf Victoria 39th Annual General Meeting
Thursday 25 November, upstairs- The Provincial Hotel, Fitzroy.
The Deaf Victoria board are pleased to announce our 39th Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held on Thursday, 25 November 2021 at 6:00 PM.
Our AGM will be held in-person, upstairs at The Provincial Hotel- Level 1, 299 Brunswick St, Fitzroy. Numbers are limited and registration is a must via Eventbrite: https://tinyurl.com/DeafVicAGM
Please note that in line with government regulations, you must be able to show your COVID-19 vaccination or exemption certificate to enter the venue.
Deaf Victoria or Deaf Australia (must be Victorian based) ordinary (with voting rights) members present can vote. If you are unable to attend in person, you can fill in a proxy form and give this to someone to vote on your behalf. Our AGM will be live-streamed directly to Facebook for any deaf and hard of hearing Victorians and interested parties to watch.
At the conclusion of the AGM proceedings, members are invited to stay and enjoy a fireside chat: Theme – Deaf Leadership.
We look forward to seeing you very soon!
Your Rights and Advocacy Workshop - Bendigo Deaf Hub
22 May 2021
Ever wondered what advocacy means, what your rights are and how you can empower yourself to advocate for your needs? Our Team Leader – Advocacy and Outreach, Catherine and Information and Communitcations Officer, Sara will guide you through the foundations of advocacy and provide tips on how to advocate for yourself, child or client who is Deaf or Hard of Hearing. Auslan interpreters will be provided for this workshop, to cater for those who are not fluent in Auslan.
Contact info@deafhub.aag.org.au to register your interest.
Advocacy Forums - May
20 May 2021
National Disability Research Project - National Livestream
20 May 2021
You can register to join the Zoom webinar using this link: https://bit.ly/2Qbc3yK
Deaf Victoria has a really exciting opportunity to share with you all.
Do you remember seeing deaf and hard of hearing youths involved with the YMCA Victorian Youth Parliament Team? Now there is an opportunity for six new deaf or hard of hearing people to be involved in the Deafhood 2021 team!
If you are, or know of someone else who:
– is a leader or interested in leadership opportunities
– passionate about advocacy or wants to make a change
– enjoy meeting new people
It is worth applying to express your interest (EOI) to be
involved in the Deafhood 2021 team in the YMCA Youth Parliament Program! Our Individual Advocacy Officer, Catherine and our Information and Communications Officer, Sara work at Deaf Victoria and funnily enough, both were involved in the first Deafhood team and can vouch for this incredibly exciting opportunity.
If you are interested, you need to be:
– Aged 16 – 25
– Living in Victoria
– Is deaf or hard of hearing
– Available during camp dates on the weekend of 27-29th
August 2021 and a week during the term three school holidays from 19-24th
September 2021.
Apply by completing online expression of interest survey or
email to info@deafvictoria.org.au before 5pm Thursday 15 April 2021.
If you would like to know more about YMCA Youth Parliament, come to our Information Session on Tuesday 13 April at 5pm or check out YMCA Victoria’s information here at: https://ymca.org.au/what-we-do/empowering-young-people/youth-parliament/
We look forward to chatting more about this opportunity on Tuesday 13 April and receiving your EOI application!
YMCA Victorian Youth Parliament
15 April 2021
Advocacy Forums - April
22 April 2021
Advocacy Forums - March
11 March 2021
Advocacy Forums - February
18 February 2021
Deaf Victoria recently launched a monthly Advocacy Forum to empower deaf and hard of hearing people to self-advocate for their needs and increase community understanding of disability advocacy sector and service providers, including Deaf Victoria’s service and resources.
The Advocacy Forum will occur on the second Thursday of every month. Each forum will consist of up to one hour for explanation, case studies and community discussion.
Our February Advocacy Forum discussed Education Accessibility across various contexts; Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary, with a recap on our submission for TAFE Parliamentary Inquiry for learners with disability. Our Guest Presenters, Daniel Hately from Victorian Deaf Education Institute (VDEI), and Sam Martin from deafConnectEd presented their organisations and available resources that you can use!
Our February Advocacy Forum is also available to view on Facebook.
Deaf Victoria 38th Annual General Meeting
23 November 2020
Interested to find out more about our Guest Presenter, Brent Phillips’ thoughts and experiences about Deaf Leadership and his leadership journey?
Our 38th Annual General Meeting were held on Zoom in light of the current circumstances. If you missed the presentation from Brent Phillips or would like to re-watch for your enjoyment, you can view his presentation here.
Our livestream of AGM is also available on our Facebook.
NDIS Capacity Building Project - Self-Advocacy Toolkit Launch
Want to self-advocate for your needs? Where can you find necessary information and knowledge to assist in self-advocating for your rights?
As part of Deaf Victoria Capacity Building Project, funded by the NDIA Information, Linkages and Capacity Building (ILC) Grant, the Self-Advocacy Toolkit was developed to empower the deaf and hard of hearing community to self-advocate for their needs. This launch event was led by Paula Thornton and our project coordinator, Sherrie Beaver.
The launch event of the Self-Advocacy Toolkit can be also found on our Facebook.
Workshop 2: Deaf People and Advocacy
Ever wondered what does advocacy mean? How do we self-advocate well? How can you empower yourself through advocacy?
This workshop was facilitated by Melissa Hale from Disability Advocacy Resource Unit (DARU), along with our Individual Advocacy Officer, Catherine Dunn. Melissa talked about the foundations of advocacy and provided great tips on self-advocacy and what it means to you, and how you can empower yourself through advocacy.
This workshop is also available to view on our Facebook.
Workshop 1: Your Rights as a Deaf Person
Your Rights as a Deaf Person & Self Advocacy – what your rights are and how you can empower yourself to advocate for your needs.
This workshop was facilitated by Philip Waters from the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission (VEOHRC), along with our Individual Advocacy Officer, Catherine Dunn. Philip discussed how deaf and hard of hearing people can have their rights recognised and the laws used in Victoria where their rights are recognised.
This workshop is also available to view on our Facebook.
Disability Royal Commission (DRC) Project
Want to know more about the Disability Royal Commission (DRC) and how to make a submission? This workshop was funded from the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to provide information to the community about the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation of People with Disability.
This information workshop is available to view on our YouTube or Facebook.
If you would like to make a submission to the DRC, please feel free to contact our Individual Advocacy Officer, Catherine Dunn at advocacy@deafvictoria.org.au or through SMS on 0431 476 971 to support you through the process of making a submission.