Shingo Kobayashi
Chief of Program
Japan Deafblind Association

1. Overview

With the support of The Nippon Foundation, we are putting together a “Network for the Deafblind in Asia" which is a planned project being conducted over a five-year span from 2018 - 2022.

About 60 countries are members of The World Federation of the Deafblind (WFDB), which supervises the world's deafblind organizations. There are only, however, 4 member countries in the Asian region. In countries outside of Asia such as in Africa, Europe, Central and South America, organizations for the deafblind have been established in each country and regional alliances have also been organized as networks for member countries in each region. However, in many Asian countries, there are not even any deafblind organizational or support groups. In these countries, visually impaired as well as hearing impaired organizations have been established, but it must be said that awareness of the combination of both deafness and blindness is low.

On the other hand, in Japan, there are support organizations called Deafblind Friends Association all over the country, and local people who are deafblind and their supporters such as interpreters and caregivers belong to these organizations. They also support the daily living of these people.  In addition, in 2013, the Deafblind Interpreter/Caregiving Dispatch Project and the Deafblind Interpreter/Caregiving Training Program became essential projects for prefectures, designated cities, and core cities nationwide. In 2020, a deafblind support addition was added to “outdoor support for the visually impaired” which is one of the disability welfare services creating an environment that is easy for people who are deafblind to use. In this way, compared to other Asian countries, it can be said that Japan is developing a system to support the deafblind.

Against this background, we support the establishment of deafblind groups in Asian countries from Japan, and while exchanging information between deafblind groups in Asian countries, we also communicate with the United Nations and the World Federation of the Deafblind. In order to strengthen its power and influence within the governments of each country, it was decided to go ahead with the Building of a Network for the Deafblind in Asia Project. Below, we will introduce the specific contents of this project, including the contents of the implementation so far.

2. Opening of Asia Deafblind Network Conference

Meetings are being held to exchange information and opinions on the efforts of Asian countries and the construction of an Asian network. The first event was held in Chiba Prefecture for four days from the end of August to the beginning of September 2018. Thirty-three people from 7 Asian countries participated, including 11 people with deafblindness (1 from India, 5 from South Korea, 1 from Malaysia, 1 from Nepal, 2 from Singapore, 1 from Uzbekistan, and only supporters from Thailand). Participants were asked to write "My Story", which introduced their background in advance, and distributed it along with materials related to deafblindness in Japan. The meeting proceeded according to the theme set for each of the four days. The topics were wide-ranging, including whether or not there was a definition of deafblind disability in each country, how to train supporters who interpret and assist the deafblind, as well as how to learn communication techniques for the deafblind themselves. The agenda also included how to raise funds for the operation of the organization.

For future development, we plan to create an e-mail newsletter and homepage in order to promote network building.

3. Implementation of a Deafblind Support Project

Targeting several countries in Asia, we will work with the visually impaired, the hearing impaired, and other groups of people with disabilities to raise awareness about deafblindness and convey knowledge on providing support for these individuals. This is done with the purpose of supporting the establishment of deafblind organizations. This was conducted in South Korea in 2018 and in Thailand in 2019. In Thailand, based on the only blind school in the country that is involved in the support of deafblind children with the full cooperation of the Ministry of Education, Special Education Center, prefecture officials, and special education staff, a group was started with the aim of bringing awareness of deafblindness. Also established were opportunities for dialogue between deafblind children's families and teachers. We also visited both schools for the blind and the deaf as well as places of employment after these children graduate to observe the efforts of the country.

Two deafblind organizations have been established in South Korea, but unfortunately they have not yet been established in Thailand.

4. Implementation of Human Resources Development Business

For the purpose of developing human resources for the deafblind in Japan who can be involved in international cooperation, two pillars have been implemented.

The first pillar is to dispatch people who are deafblind to international conferences to collect information and to interact with other people. Individuals who are deafblind in Japan were sent to the World Deafblindness Federation General Assembly, to the Helen Keller World Congress held in Spain in 2018 and to the Deaf/Blind International World Congress held in Australia in 2019.  At the conference held in Australia, these individuals participated in the plenary session as panelists, introduced their backgrounds and talked about Japan's support for the deafblind. Learning about the efforts of deafblind researchers and support groups in each country and having direct discussions with people involved with deafblind support in the Asian region was also possible.

The second pillar was the opening of the International Cooperation Human Resources Development Workshop for the Deafblind. Although various seminars on disability and development have been held so far, there are few seminars and materials with reasonable accommodations for the deafblind, and only a small number of these individuals can participate. Given the current situation, it was necessary to create a place for the deafblind to provide information for their involvement in international cooperation.

While reporting on the current situation of individuals who are deafblind in the world and support for other countries, it is not always possible to train deafblind supporters in the same way as in Japan because of differing situations in each country. In addition to the common difficulties of communication, information acquisition and movement of these people, there are also, depending on the country, cultural difficulties which should be understood. We are trying to create a structure that emphasizes the importance of developing human resources and training methods to support the deafblind in each country's situation.

The first event was held in Tokyo in 2019, and seven individuals with deafblindness participated. We are considering holding it online in the future.

It is expected that this project will be an opportunity to convey the existence and voice of individuals who are deafblind and who are excluded from Asian societies, and to be a major step toward creating an inclusive international community. The spread of the new coronavirus makes it even more difficult for individuals who are deafblind that use communication methods that involve approach and contact, such as voice interpretation, tentacle sign language, and finger braille, to secure supporters. An able-bodied person can easily contact others by e-mail, but there are many people who have not mastered Braille or who do not have the informational equipment or communication environment to use e-mail. Despite these difficult circumstances, I would like to make an effort to move forward step by step.

A 5-year planned project for the Building of a Network for Individuals
who are Deafblind in Asia(*)

Figure 1: Schedule for Building a Network of Individuals who are Deafblind in Asia

* The contents are as scheduled in the business plan, thus there are some differences from the actual implementation status.

Photo 1 Participants from seven Asian countries gathered to deepen exchanges in FY2018.