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“This Sign Up for ISL project in Tipperary is quite remarkable, to see so many people from the town coming to classes here every other week learning to sign and being able to communicate with Deaf people at the front desk is invaluable.”- Learner
This project aimed to improve ISL literacy skills in Tipperary Town. It made local businesses more ISL-friendly. It also helped learners from various backgrounds work together to raise ISL literacy awareness.
Five ISL classes took place in Tipperary Town and Cashel between September and December 2024. 62 learners graduated in December 2024 with Introduction to Basic ISL certificates.
Participants included county council staff, retail staff, restaurant staff, and receptionists from local shops, pharmacies, opticians, and healthcare clinics. Many other participants joined the ISL course out of personal interest.
Staff in various customer services in Tipperary and Cashel are now trained to communicate with deaf members of the community.
This project also promoted family literacy and inclusion. Eight family members attended the course, so that a young relative born deaf can fully take part in social life.
Tipperary Town now has a Sign Café, where deaf people and graduates from the ISL project meet and sign together.
A Social Sign group meet on a weekly basis in Tipperary Library, to encourage ISL students to continue practicing together.
Tipperary ETB’s Adult and Community Education programme continued to run ISL classes from Jan to June 2025.
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This project was a collaboration between the Health Service Executive (HSE) and Tipperary Town Library.
For more information about the project, please contact Ester Mackey, Regional Literacy Coordinator in Tipperary ETB, at emackey@tipperaryetb.ie
The Adult Literacy for Life Collaboration and Innovation Fund
The Collaboration and Innovation Fund supports projects for adults with unmet literacy, numeracy and digital literacy needs and projects that support organisations to be literacy friendly. The closing date for 2024 applications has now passed but keep an eye out for information on our 2025 fund which will be launched in December.
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