The Making of: Sign Language Recognition in the EU

Hello, who am I? My name is Frankie. I work for the European Union of the Deaf (EUD) as a Projects Manager and am involved in the Deaf Museums Project.

Am I working alone on this project? Not at all. EUD has a dedicated team focused on this project, including David Hay (Communication & Media Manager) and Mark Wheatley (Executive Director).

At EUD, we created an exhibition called "Sign Language Recognition through EU". Why did we select this topic? Well, we examined EUD's work from its foundation in 1985 to 2023, and it became clear that EUD has a red line, a consistent focus on the Sign Language lobby.

As you may already know, our members, national associations of the deaf, are working hard to promote sign languages. But it's not just any sign language; it's their national sign language. All EUD member countries except Switzerland have recognised their national sign languages. We hope Switzerland follows suit soon.

It's impressive to see the evolution of the sign language lobby over the years, and it has influenced the actual work we have implemented in EUD's exhibition. That's why we chose this topic. Our hidden objective is to increase people's interest in this topic, not just for deaf people but also for hearing people. Linguists interested in sign language, students of sign language interpretation, professional sign languages, and researchers could all benefit from this exhibition. We hope to reach a diverse audience.

EUD's exhibition has a unique feature: a Virtual 3D display. What is it exactly? For example, our Deaf museum partners worked on a physical exhibition in a physical room. We at EUD decided to try an alternative way: a virtual exhibition accessed through a laptop.

Why did we select this alternative way? As EUD work on the EU level, we had to try to bridge the gap with local communities and reach as many people as possible. Anyone can access the exhibition through a website anytime without the need to travel far. But that's not the only reason.

We are also trying to imagine what the future may bring and what might happen. Will the physical exhibition still be the primary way? The world is evolving so fast, and the metaverse was in the news 1-2 years ago, and some predict it will impact how we approach the world, such as shopping or accessing anything through VR (Virtual Reality). This new form may also impact education since physical presence may not be necessary. That's why we want to be innovative and close the gap with existing technologies and possibilities. This is a "bet" and an exciting challenge for us.

But is that all? No. The Virtual 3D experience might help us conceptualise the possible preparation for, for example, EUD's 40th anniversary and celebrate with a temporary physical exhibition. Of course, we must first look for partners and funding to make these ideas happen.

What is the story and message that EUD wants to convey? We want to emphasise that sign languages connect everyone and make deaf communities visible. With sign languages, they avoid becoming invisible and forgotten in society.

It is essential to keep in mind that sign languages have a significant impact on rights. For example, without sign language rights, there can be no proper education rights, and it can negatively impact the human rights of deaf individuals. This is a serious issue that we want to share with everyone. The EUD's exhibition highlights that deaf leaders share the same lobby on sign languages, and we should be proud of it.

One example in the EUD's exhibition is that, strangely enough, hearing researchers knew more about sign language in specific periods than deaf individuals who knew less about sign language and sign language rights. However, things are evolving today, and more and more deaf individuals are involved in sign language research, lobbying, politics, and national associations of the deaf. This progress needs to be recognised.

Perhaps after visiting the EUD's exhibition, visitors will have some ideas and reflections sparking in their minds about how to imagine the sign language lobby in the future. It is interesting to have an exchange of views on this topic.

As you might notice, the video clips used in EUD's exhibition were selected from the organisation's archives with the keywords "sign language" in mind. However, the selection process took work due to the vast number of videos in the archives.

After the selection, the videos had to be edited to make them shorter and more engaging. This was done to ensure that visitors did not get bored with longer videos and could have a comfortable experience with a better impact on their attention.

It's important to note that the videos were selected with the preservation of the videos in mind. EUD worked on arranging the videos by topic and keeping them well-preserved with good storage organisation to ensure the best possible quality. This will be useful in ensuring the sustainability of the videos for the next 10, 20, or even 30 years. EUD hopes that these efforts will help keep the videos available for future generations.

Yes, a feedback form link can be found within EUD's exhibition. Although the feedback form is not closed yet, we can say from the forms received that many people viewed it as positive with comments such as "I want the same in my country" or "I want to see more of that."

We also received a comment about explaining more about each frame (background), which we understand. It may be a negative aspect of using a virtual platform as there are no individuals to do a guided tour and explain what the exhibition is about.

If there were a physical exhibition, there would be a chance to have a deaf guide lead and present the exhibition's content and respond to questions. We are keeping that in mind. Overall, the feedback is positive.

What will happen when EUD's exhibition is finished? As we have learned a lot from creating the exhibition, we will use our experience to explore more ways technology can enhance the visitor experience, for example, by incorporating virtual reality.

The lessons we've learned from EUD's exhibition give our team confidence to try a physical exhibition setting one day, for instance, to celebrate EUD's anniversary.

Whether it will happen in 2025 or 2030 depends on our discussions with cultural and museum partners. There are still many question marks, but we look forward to seeing what the future holds.

What did we learn from this experience? A lot. We learned about selecting files and choosing suitable video clips that align with the audience's expectations. We also learned about the best possible platform used for hosting video content.

EUD gained valuable insights from partner feedback, advice, and shared experiences on creating a clear structure for exhibitions and dedicating subtopics that align with the main topic to ease the selection process. If I could offer only one piece of advice, try. Trying is the first step to everything.

We must also value what we have: papers, pictures, and videos preserve them as much as possible and adequately store them. Everything we have now might look normal (nothing special), but we will have a different perspective in five years. This is also the first step: preserve and archive. One day, these things will become applicable. This is our advice.

Our second piece of advice is to expand your network as much as possible. While you may work well alone, working together with others may be a slow process, but it can yield more in-depth results and give museums/exhibitions much more potential to expand. That is our advice.

What do I want to add? I would say, "First, assess what you truly love," like your passions. What do you enjoy the most? Why? Because if you're working on something close to your heart, you'll work with more determination, conduct more detailed research, and approach it with enthusiasm and motivation.

If you're working on topics that were decided by someone else, you're likely to have less incentive to do the research. So, my advice is simple: start with what you love the most.

You can share your passion and inspire others with your interests. Everyone has different interests, so why not open up and share them? That's what I wanted to add.

Thank you.