Round 2 Recipients

Twenty-four projects for the second funding round (1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016) were approved and received a total of $751,114.

Successful projects include the development of a youth mentorship programme, a series of NZSL Immersion Courses in Otago where there is very limited access to NZSL for families with deaf children and a national conference for families with Deaf children. Below is the complete list of recipients:

  • NZSL for Families. Support 15 families to attend a 24-week family-based NZSL learning course based at the Sign Language Hub in Auckland. Auckland Deaf Society, $8,750
  • NZSL Experiences for Playgroup Families. Monthly NZSL playgroup sessions and a NZSL family camp for those in the Wellington region. NZSL Bubs and Tots Playgroup – Wellington Region (Fundholder: Wellington Association for Deaf Children), $32,100
  • Big Brothers Big Sisters in NZSL. Establish a sustainable youth mentoring programme for Deaf children who will benefit from the support of a carefully screened Deaf mentor. Deaf and NZSL-related aspects will be added to the current programme. Big Brothers Big Sisters of New Zealand, $80,900 Find out more about the mentoring project.
  • 4th National Deaf Youth Camp – a national Deaf youth camp that brings Deaf youth between the ages of 18 to 30 years old together and encourages leadership through workshops and activities. Auckland Deaf Society, $12,811.28
  • Whānau Hub. A pilot drop-in centre in South Auckland open to families wanting to access NZSL accessible parenting courses, coffee groups and other relevant services. The year-long pilot will also establish a buddy system with Māori and Pacific Deaf parents. Geneva Elevator, $30,000. Find out more about the Whānau Hub.
  • NZSL Immersion Courses. Ten weekend NZSL immersion courses will be provided to families with deaf children in Dunedin who have very limited access to learning NZSL. Otago Association for Deaf Children, $27,000
  • NZSL Holiday Programme. One-week long NZSL holiday programme for deaf and hearing school-aged children between the ages of five to thirteen years old who have a Deaf family member. Wellington Association for Deaf Children $26,541.15
  • 2016 New Zealand Federation for Deaf Children Family Conference. A weekend conference in June for parents and families of Deaf and hard of hearing children with a series of speakers, workshops and activities on various topics around raising a Deaf child. New Zealand Federation for Deaf Children, $50,000
  • After school art classes for Deaf children. Weekly visual art classes taught in NZSL by a Deaf tutor over two terms in 2016, where Deaf, hard-of-hearing children and hearing children of Deaf adults in Auckland will be provided with the opportunity to explore the visual arts in NZSL. Māpura Studios, $6,285
  • NZSL Proficiency Instrument (NZSL SLPI) Adult Assessment Tool. Development and implementation of a nationally recognised NZSL assessment tool and assessment system which enables NZSL proficiency of adults, hearing or Deaf, to be assessed. Ministry of Education, $223,391.96 (2015-2017: $151,419.43). Victoria University of Wellington, $73,386.00 (2018-2019).
  • Standardised NZSL Student Assessment Tools: Phase One. Develop a standardised NZSL assessment toolkit that will measure the progress of children aged 3 to 11 years old acquiring NZSL. Combined Board of Trustees of Kelston Deaf Education Centre and van Asch Deaf Education Centre, $80,000. Find out more about the NZSL Student Assessment Toolkit.
  • NZSL Tutors Professional Development Pathway. A programme of mentoring, coaching and a buddy system for current and future NZSL Tutors. Auckland Deaf Society, $15,000
  • Governance and Leadership Training. Develop a governance, leadership and practical project management programme preparing Deaf participants for leadership roles in the Deaf community. Auckland Deaf Society, $21,000. Find out more about the Governance and Leadership Training.
  • Signs: A Deaf Script Writing Workshop. Deaf-led scriptwriting workshops giving Deaf people an opportunity to tell their own stories in their own way in a theatrical medium. Over 9 sessions, participants will research and explore new methods of scriptwriting and documenting Deaf theatre. Last Tapes Theatre Company, $20,750
  • NZSL Championships! Encourage create an increased awareness of the technical and artistic value of NZSL by making NZSL performance a fun competitive event. Run a regional NZSL Championship in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, and a final in a major city. Deafradio, $16,749.57
  • At the End of my Hands. A bilingual theatre performance in Christchurch with three shows and a series of workshops. University of Waikato, $29,620. Find out more about Find out more about the At the End of my Hands.
  • Mo Money. Increase financial literacy within the Deaf community by providing free access to online financial literacy courses in NZSL. New Zealand Federation of Family Budgeting Services, $11,500
  • Te Ao Māori workshop for interpreters. Three workshops for NZSL interpreters learning strategies on how to work successfully with Māori in interpreted settings. Sign Language Interpreters Association of New Zealand, $5,450
  • Te Reo Singalong books in NZSL. NZSL translation of four award-winning stories in te reo, available free online. The Writing Bug, $15,000
  • Making History! Preserve the visual history of the oldest Deaf Club in New Zealand with digitisation of all material with exhibitions and the production of a film. Deaf Society of Canterbury, $26,991.30
  • New Zealand Deaf Games 2016. Employment of an administrator for the New Zealand Deaf Games in Hamilton during Labour Weekend 2016 who will also focus on future changes to the Games. Deaf Sports New Zealand, $25,000
  • Deaf Rainbow. Establishment of a new support group for the Deaf GLBT community in New Zealand with a number of raising awareness initiatives. Auckland Deaf Society, $4,040
  • Brackenridge NZSL. Provide weekly NZSL courses for its team of facilitators who work with Deaf people over 42 weeks. Brackenridge Estate, $8,000
  • Negotiating healthcare through NZSL: Experiences of Deaf New Zealanders. Create a corpus of authentic stories from Deaf people discussing their experiences of understanding health information. Auckland University of Technology, $51,517

What process was used to decide which projects were given grants for Round 2?

The NZSL Board met on 21 March 2016 to discuss and prioritise the 46 eligible applications received for the NZSL Fund. Applications were evaluated by the NZSL Board based on the information provided in the application any further information provided by the Office for Disability Issues, and through the assessment process. Applications were reviewed and ranked against the Policies and Criteria for the NZSL Fund. Decisions on the success of an application were reached by consensus of the NZSL Board.

The NZSL Board recommended funding 24 projects in full or part, with a projected total expenditure of $751,114 from an available pool of $751,114.

The NZSL Board’s recommendations on projects to be funded were then provided to the Office for Disability Issues. These recommendations were reviewed and accepted.

The NZSL Board and the Office for Disability Issues believe the 24 projects to be funded are well aligned with the priorities for the second round and are a good start to increasing the vitality of the language.

Why was there only $751,114 available from the NZSL Fund for Round 2?

From the $1.25 million allocation for NZSL Fund in 2015/16, $751,511 was available for funding community projects.

The remainder of the allocation was used to fund three initiatives:

  • Two-year funding was granted to Victoria University of Wellington’s ‘LearnNZSL: E-learning Resources for NZSL Learners’ project, with $158,886 committed for the 2015-2016 funding year.
  • In March 2016, Deaf Aotearoa received $295,000 from the NZSL Fund to support NZSL Week 2016. The NZSL Board recognised that NZSL Week provides valuable promotion of NZSL and is in line with the NZSL Board’s Terms of Reference vision of NZSL being a strong, vibrant language, recognised and embraced by New Zealand society. This proposal was considered outside the second round of the NZSL Fund as Deaf Aotearoa needs a degree of certainty when planning events and activities for NZSL Week 2016.
  • $45,000 was also allocated to the Office for Disability Issues for external commissioning of work on the three-year NZSL Board Action Plan.

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