annual report 2013-14

ASLIA Victoria Annual Report 2013-14

Photo credits Shirley Liu, Edan Chapman and ASLIA Vic Committee, members and volunteers.

ASLIA Victoria Annual Report 2013-14 | Page �2


President's

ASLIA Vic & Deaf Victoria Awards

Treasurer’s Report

President’s Report

VDEI/ASLIA Vic Projects

Professional Development

Strategic Priorities

Contents

4

5

6

16!

17

18Membership

15

Delivered by Maxine Buxton What an amazing year it has been! !As is becoming customary, I will attempt to somehow condense a year’s worth of ASLIA Vic happenings into a few short paragraphs for you, the ASLIA member. Know that what you see on these pages is only the tip of the iceberg. Words really cannot adequately convey what a passionate, committed and hard working team you have elected as committee members and the feats they have achieved.There have been many highlights for me personally in these past 12 months including having the privilege to attend the World Federation of the Deaf Conference in Sydney last year. If you have not had the opportunity to attend an event of this magnitude, I would highly recommend it. I saw first ‘hand’ what amazing things Deaf communities and interpreters are doing all over the world. How fitting then, that after the WFD Conference, Victoria’s own Carla Anderson would present her story, her journey at the ASLIA National Conference as the J.W. Flynn Orator. What a moment for Carla! The audience were definitely humbled to hear the contributions she has made to the lives of Deaf people and Interpreters- particularly in Victoria. Well done Carla, it was our pleasure to nominate you and you did us proud! Other achievements this year include, working with Deaf Victoria to host the inaugural combined awards night; liaising with Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission on two separate inquires; the provision of more live streamed events in partnership with Vicdeaf; and of course seeing ‘lightbulb’ moments and connections made at our PD events. Just to name a few…Following the completion of the VDEI/ASLIA Vic “Mentoring ES Staff working as Interpreters Program” and the “Train the Mentor and Auslan Tutor Program” in 2013, I hope the learnings from these programs are put to good use. Similarly, I urge members to involve themselves in the discussions with Professionals Australia so that the ground work done by ASLIA will not be lost and opportunities missed. The committee will certainly be working on both of these projects in the near future.In closing, I would like to offer my most sincere thanks to a few key individuals. Firstly, Teresa Paulet who is stepping down from the committee after eight years- many of these as Secretary. She will be sorely missed by all members of the committee none more so than me. Teresa is a conscientious worker who’s quiet determination can always be relied upon and her steadfast dedication to the committee and the support and encouragement she provides will be difficult to replace. Many, many thanks Teresa! I would also like to thank all current committee members but in particular Jinaya, Christine and Meredith for their hard work and belief in ASLIA Vic- come what may. There are always champions of ASLIA Vic external to the committee, many of whom have contributed to the Annual Report, so to these people I also extend my most sincere thanks. Two such individuals who have supported me and the work of ASLIA Vic without reservation are Paul Heuston and Melissa Lowrie- many thanks to you both.

And lastly to committee member’s friends, family and in particular my partner, Glen. You understand the passion we have for this role and forgive us when, at times it takes over our lives. Thank you for your patience.One last thing I thought I’d share- the collective noun for sign language interpreters? A handful? It couldn’t be because there’s definitely more of us than what one pair of hands can carry!


President’s Report

Above: L to R: Sandra Leane, Cara Due, Carla Anderson, Teresa Paulet, Georgia Knight and Maxine Buxton after Carla’s J.W. Flynn Oration.

Delivered by Christine McDougallAs members may know, I took over the position of treasurer in February this year. I would like to thank Rob Bartlett for his guidance and support during my transition into the role.ASLIA Vic, last financial year, continued to support members and the Deaf Community through the provision of financial assistance, professional development and VDEI projects.Despite an operating loss this financial year, ASLIA Vic continues to hold a strong financial position with cash reserves of $31,562.26 as at 30/06/2014.VDEI projects, and their associated expenditure, are now successfully completed. ASLIA Vic have revised accountability, record keeping and reporting practices to ensure stringent and transparent processes in line with common business practices.ASLIA Vic continues to be in a sound position to maintain support to its members and the wider associated community.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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TCurrent Assets

Cash at bank

PayPal AccountTotal:Term Deposit no 371721

BALAI}I,CE SHEET

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Bank Account no 371713Bank Account no 31 1 500

Cash on Hand - Petty Cash

8,705.15 21,717.031,884.37 501150.44

0.00 291.551,221.03 1,208.84

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Total Current Assets:

Accumulated Fund

12,428.65 73,940.961 9,133.61 1 8,309.6731,562.26 92,250.63

-60,688.37 -33,637.13

92,250.63 125,887.7631,562.26 92,250.63

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Total Current Assets:

Accumulated Fund

12,428.65 73,940.961 9,133.61 1 8,309.6731,562.26 92,250.63

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92,250.63 125,887.7631,562.26 92,250.63

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INCOME:ASLIA Vic Awards SponsorshipsASLIA Vic Awards Ticket salesDonationslnterest receivedMembership Fees

Statemqnt, gf income and expgnditure

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3,000.001,960.22

300.001,157.019,209.58

33,201.87215.9835.00

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EXPENDITURE:Awards ExpensesCommittee ExpensesWorkshops ExpensesProject ExpensesGeneral ExpensesFi nancial Assistance Expenses

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5,022.2312,374.5079,401.78

7,432.811,279.004,806.46

127,068.64

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Bank Reconciliation as at 30th June 2014

Opening Balance as at 1st July 2013Add: lncome

92,250.6366,380.27

.. -127,069.64Less: Expenditure

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This is to certify that I have examined all books of the ASLIA (VlC) and found that the Statementof Receipt and Expenditure for the period ending 30th June 2014, reflects a true and correctrecord of the transactions undertaken for the period ending 30th June 2014.

Please note that Cash On Hand was being held by the former Treasurer which had been paidin the 201412015 Financial Year and I have instructed the Treasurer to place a more strictprocedure by monitoring regularly to avoid this reoccurring.

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Treasurer’s Report

As per the 2012- 2013 Annual Report, the achievements and pieces of work delivered by ASLIA Vic in this financial year are listed in the following pages corresponding to the relevant strategic priority. The ASLIA Victoria Strategic Plan for 2011- 2014 will be updated later in 2014 and as always we would love member input on this. We encourage all members to engage in future dialogue with ASLIA Vic and share their thoughts as to the future direction of the association.

Member Services Continuing the tradition of many great years of ASLIA Vic work, the committee was pleased to once again present a dynamic and comprehensive Professional Development program for members. We were fortunate to collaborate with many different organisations, presenters and the Deaf community to deliver such a varied program that we hope met the needs of our Victorian Auslan/English and Deaf Interpreters as well as interested professionals, organisations and community members. Further details are provided under ‘Professional Development’ later on in this report.Worth mentioning is ASLIA Vic’s pursuit of innovative ways to make professional development accessible to more members, both statewide and nationally. One way we have achieved this is in partnership with Vicdeaf to provide live streaming of selected workshops. Whilst for ASLIA Vic the use of such methods is relatively new, we are confident that advances in technology along with further training will lead to this service becoming more readily available and widely utilised by our members.As in previous years we have sponsored members to attend multiple events including the Deaf Professionals Network (DPN) Breakfast and Manager’s Seminar. Our ‘Golden Ticket’ initiative was back in 2014 with one lucky member, Monique Stern receiving a free pass to an unlimited number of ASLIA Vic PD events in the calendar year! We have also provided sponsorship opportunities for members to pursue other professional development. Here are two such examples:

GEORGIA KNIGHT, World Federation of the Deaf Conference “I was very fortunate to attend the WFD Conference in Sydney (October 17th-20th, 2013). I was financially supported by ASLIA Vic to help pay for my registration for this big conference. I learned a lot from the many presenters over the two full days of presentations; there was a variety of presenters and topics. What I enjoyed the most was the use of interpreters! On the main stage we had the speaker (for example using spoken English) to their right was an International Sign interpreter (sometimes using an Auslan interpreter sitting in the front row prompting the IS interpreter).

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Top Right: Georgia wearing her WFD pass with pride. Above: Sign language interpreters from all over the world including Victoria’s Lori Whynot (far right), former Victorian and founder of ASLIA Vic Peter Bonser (right on small rostrum) as well as Colin Allen, WFD President (centre left) & Todd Wright, Board Director, Deaf Society NSW (centre right) - both from Sydney.

To their left was an Auslan interpreter; on the Auslan interpreter’s left was an American Sign Language interpreter. To the right of the IS interpreter were three other interpreters, I never truly found out what language they were interpreting; I heard through the grapevine that it may have been Finish, Swedish and one other Sign Language. In the stands there was another gentleman interpreting for a group of two or three Deaf people- he was interpreting most of what he could but there was only one of him and over ten presenters through the day! Most sessions also had tactile interpreters for Deafblind delegates. Watching all of those interpreters hard at work was truly an amazing experience!” Georgia.

THERESE LEWIS, International Symposium on Signed Language Interpretation and Translation Research“ASLIA Vic bursary funds assisted me to attend the inaugural International Symposium on Signed Language Interpretation and Translation Research, held at Gallaudet University, March 28-30, 2014. Julie Judd, Lori Whynot and myself presented at the symposium on Promoting Consequence-Based Ethics in Australia through Reflective Practice Case Supervision Groups.

The symposium consisted of many international presenters and provided an opportunity for sign language interpreters, translators and students to share knowledge and learn from each other. Topics covered included linguistics, communication, sociology, psychology, anthropology, and education. The experience was amazing and just being on the grounds of Gallaudet was certainly something special.” Therese.

!The use of multiple mediums has allowed us to engage more widely with our membership base across the state and to provide updates and seek feedback. Our regular ‘Out & About’ e-updates, Newsflash emails together with a quarterly print newsletter, YouTube channel and Facebook posts have allowed us to connect with members and stakeholders near and far! As at June 30, 2014 the ASLIA Vic Facebook page had 761 likes- the majority of these from Australia- numbering over 530. The remaining 220 approximately likes are from 44 different countries around the world including; Venezuela, Bangladesh, Egypt, Yemen, Serbia, Brazil and of course the UK, USA and New Zealand just to name a few. It’s great to know that some of the fabulous work done by Victorian Auslan/English and Deaf Interpreters is seen and appreciated all over the world! We also now have a Twitter account- @ASLIAvic for those of you who just can’t get enough of social media. Although we are relative newcomers to the ‘Twitter-sphere’ and not regular ‘tweeters’ yet, we have connected to 70 plus businesses and individuals by ‘following’ or gaining ‘followers’!



Above left and centre: Therese and Eve Foley (ASLIA QLD) at Gallaudet University.Right: Therese with L: Anna Nabau symposium CEU and R: Brenda Nicodemus (Director, Interpretation and Translation Research Center (ITRC), Associate Professor at Gallaudet and Symposium Coordinator).!

Of course, all these technologies combined cannot compete with face to face networking and social events! The awards event this year was a special highlight as for the first time in Victoria we partnered with Deaf Victoria to present Interpreter and Deaf community awards (see full report later). In addition to the awards night, the combined agencies ‘End of Year Party’ is quickly becoming one night not to miss! For the hard work all interpreters do throughout the year, it is so important for us to come together to relax, celebrate and simply enjoy one another's company. ASLIA Vic would like to thank Auslan Services, Echo Interpreting and Sign Language Communications Vic for allowing us to be part of such a great event!!!!!!!!

!Along with these services for current members, we continue to provide information and incentives for potential and lapsed members to encourage engagement by all professionals in the industry. The ASLIA Vic committee are continually trying to improve and consolidate our member services and it has been a pleasure to provide these services for members in 2013-14. !!!!!!!



Above: Members get in to the ‘mad hatters theme at the Interagency End of Year Party!

Industry DevelopmentThe past 12 months have been extremely busy and productive for ASLIA Vic committee and member representatives engaged in industry development. Our involvement in various projects and groups all play a part in the development of the interpreting industry both in Victoria and nationally.

Probably the biggest single movement in terms of industry development in the last 12 months has been ASLIA’s continued engagement with Professionals Australia at a national level. ASLIA Vic has worked alongside ASLIA and AUSIT Vic/Tas to strengthen our relationship with Professionals Australia in Victoria and make sure Auslan Interpreters needs are on the agenda. Several committee members attended the Professionals Australia information night on May 8th and in addition to this, AUSIT Vic/Tas and ASLIA Vic worked together to host an information session for Translators and Interpreters (T&Is) on July 10. The committee encourages all members to take the time to become well informed on what a formal partnership between ASLIA and PA would mean to them and the industry. This is a watershed moment for T&Is across the country and it is hoped ASLIA members will take advantage of this. The committee would like to recognise the efforts of ASLIA on this piece of work and in particular to ASLIA President Paul Heuston.Recognising the struggles of some of our colleagues in Tasmania, ASLIA Vic worked with ASLIA Tasmania and AUSIT Vic/Tas to bring a weekend of workshops to spoken and Auslan/English Interpreters in Tasmania. It is hoped that working in this way will foster greater opportunities for interpreters across the state as well as nationally and bring our industry together to achieve common goals.

ALI DOWL, ASLIA Tasmania member (former President) “In November 2013, ASLIA Vic and ASLIA Tas worked together to provide a weekend road-show in Hobart.We had a range of presenters (Deaf and hearing) that attracted both spoken and signed language interpreters. From ASLIA Vic; Maxine Buxton, Teresa Paulet, Robyn Beasley, Meredith Bartlett and from AUSIT Vic/Tas; Denise Formica, May Chen and Beyi Fang. All travelled south for the event.Sessions included medical interpreting and

ethics – providing an opportunity for local practitioners to discuss common issues. The input provided from our Victorian colleagues was useful and seeing different signers was really valuable. Many people travelled from the north of the state and it was a welcome addition to our PD calendar. Big thanks to ASLIA Vic for sharing your time and resources across Bass Strait!” Ali.

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Above right: ASLIA Vic committee members and Victorian Interpreters at the Professionals Australia event on May 8th. L to R: Ryan Gook, Maxine Buxton, Sandra Leane, Jacinta Hossack, Tarcia DeWit, Teresa Paulet and Dr Meredith Bartlett.Above left: Tasmanian Interpreters with committee members from ASLIA Vic & AUSIT Vic/Tas.

In response to NAATI's decision to grant recognition to Deaf Interpreters, ASLIA Vic hosted an information night in January this year that was live streamed around Victoria and Australia. This video on Vicdeaf’s YouTube channel, has over 500 views. We will continue to support Deaf Interpreters as valued practitioners in the industry and strive to ensure numbers of registered NAATI recognised DIs increase.As members will be aware, AIIFV (Auslan Interpreting Industry Forum Victoria) officially moved from ASLIA Vic stewardship to Vicdeaf on July 1, 2013. Despite this move, ASLIA Vic are still heavily involved with this group and have been working collaboratively with Vicdeaf, the new steering committee and past members on the future direction for the project. There are some exciting pieces of work planned for AIIFV including the development of a ‘one stop shop’ website in partnership with Deaf Victoria which will contain simple and relevant information for interpreters, the Deaf community, organisations and the general public. There is also the ‘AIIFV Auslan Symposium’ planned for later in 2014. Thanks must go to Erica Barclay, Brent Phillips, Paul Heuston, Veronica Pardo and the ASLIA Vic rep, Georgia Knight for their continued contributions to AIIFV.ASLIA Vic has also contributed to Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission (VEOHRC) enquiries in relation to the use of interpreters in the police/criminal justice system and the healthcare system. ASLIA Vic and VEOHRC hosted a special focus group for Auslan/English Interpreters held in October of 2013. Much of what was discussed by interpreters at this session was used in the Commission’s subsequent report, “The experiences of people with disabilities reporting crime”. Committee members also contributed to Deaf Victoria’s “An inquiry into access to Auslan Interpreters in Victorian Hospitals“ and attended the report's launch in June of this year. Thanks to Maxine Buxton for her work with VEOHRC and Deaf Victoria.Other groups where members are represented are the Victorian Auslan Training Consortium (VATC) - Jinaya Myers and the ASLIA Representative Council (RC) - Georgia Knight. ASLIA Vic has enlisted the support of some committed members to attend and contribute on members’ behalf and I would like to offer my most sincere thanks to them for this valuable work. Two such representatives are:

KHANG CHIEM, NAATI Regional Advisory Committee (RAC) Representative “For those of you who didn't know, I was the representative of ASLIA Vic on the NAATI RAC until October 2013 when I voluntarily stepped down due to personal reasons. I really enjoyed my time in this role as it gave me valuable insights into the translating and interpreting (T&I) sector; particularly on matters relating to accreditation and revalidation, initiatives that were occurring in Victoria and across the country amongst our T&I colleagues, and standards of best practice. I am glad to report that ASLIA Vic, as compared to other T&I associations, continues to excel as an association that provides comprehensive professional development opportunities that align with NAATI's revalidation requirements to its members. Many of our T&I colleagues admire our work in this area and have also benefited by participating in some of our workshops.Other achievements included our request, in consultation with ASLIA to modify the Language Maintenance requirement of the revalidation process to provide alternate options to overseas travel as this is not relevant to Auslan/English Interpreters. These points can now be obtained through a wider range of options including; attendance at a Deaf community or ASLIA event or workshop where the primary language is Auslan or private/formal Auslan tuition by a qualified trainer. Another achievement was NAATI recognition for Deaf Interpreters, which was announced at the ASLIA National Conference in Sydney in October 2013.



As you can see, the role of the NAATI RAC representative is an integral role in advancing the sign language interpreting profession by providing advice to NAATI on a range of matters. For several hours every month, I was privileged to be involved in facilitating the exchange of information among the State and Territory networks of T&I practitioners, educators, industry, and government stakeholders. Since October 2013, the NAATI RAC representative role has been filled by the ASLIA Vic committee, however the committee would welcome expressions of interest from others keen to take on this role.” Khang.SERRYN BRYANT, deafConnectEd Steering Committee Representative “I am a current member of the deafConnectEd Steering Committee, acting as the ASLIA Victoria representative. My role is to attend quarterly meetings over the course of a calendar year, to provide input where possible regarding programs and procedures, and to report back to ASLIA Victoria points of discussion and relevance for informative purposes, and/or follow up.Areas of particular interest in relation to deafConnectEd’s annual work plan with the Higher Education and Skills Group (DEECD) include: 1- Workforce Capability Plan: Training for organisations with Deaf/HoH students, with a 12 workshop target for the year. Key areas are; Deaf awareness for institutions, working with individual students to identify their needs and explaining the role of support staff. Other issues such as interpreter access for students prior to enrolment and obstacles for Deaf/HoH students in accessing the broader VET sector are discussed. Several web pages have been created for DLOs, teachers, and RTOs with plans to expand this to initiate discussion about the educational/access needs for Deaf/HoH students. 2- Interpreter Mentor Program: This six month program in 2013 was extended to a year in 2014. Three mentees were recruited, assigned a mentor each and participated in a Skills Assessment. This program will be reviewed at the end of the year. 3- Notetaker Training Program: This online module was rolled out in March 2014 and is accessible to students in regional and metropolitan areas. DLOs and experienced notetakers will provide feedback about its viability. 4- Educational Signbank: The aim is to minimise situations where interpreters and Deaf students have to ‘create’ signs to represent particular subject terminology or jargon by listing and recording signs that can be used in educational contexts which might not be seen elsewhere. A website was created earlier this year with the first categories of focus due to student demand being automotive and hospitality signs. Signs were filmed last year and will be uploaded this year. Other items include a student mentoring program, the expansion of CABS and discussions of future involvement with the Australian Council for Private education and Training (ACPET).” Serryn.

The committee will continue to work with interpreters, organisations and the community to bring about positive change and innovation to our workforce. We look forward to future developments particularly in relation to ASLIA and AUSIT’s work with Professionals Australia.



Collaborative Relationships

ASLIA Vic value our relationship with industry, community and stakeholders in Victoria. The successes we have enjoyed in these last 12 months can, in many cases be largely attributed to working collaboratively and strategically with others. The committee would like to thank all who have contributed to our work in 2013-14.

A large area of work for ASLIA Vic is the suite of professional development opportunities we provide to members and others throughout the year. These opportunities are made possible with the financial and in kind sponsorship and support from various organisations. A debt of gratitude must go to Vicdeaf, Auslan Services, Echo Interpreting, Sign Language Communications Vic, Deaf Children Australia (Victorian office), Victorian Deaf Education Institute, deafConnectEd, Able Australia (Victorian office), Office of the Disability Services Commissioner, National Accreditation Authority for Interpreters and Translators (NAATI), Oncall Interpreters and Translators and St Vincent’s Hospital for their financial sponsorship in 2013-14. We would also like to gratefully acknowledge Deaf Victoria, John Pierce Centre, AUSIT Vic/Tas, Northern Melbourne Institute of Tafe (NMIT), Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission (VEOHRC) and Victoria Police for their support of our events in 2014.The ASLIA Vic office is generously provided in kind by Vicdeaf in addition to live streaming facilities and staff to assist with live streamed events. We once again pass our most sincere thanks to Vicdeaf management and staff for their support. In particular to Christine Mathieson, Brent Phillips, Sasha Hough, Niaz Burhanuddin and the friendly reception staff on level 4!ASLIA Vic has worked extensively with Deaf Victoria in 2013-14 on various projects including the “An inquiry into access to Auslan Interpreters in Victorian Hospitals”, the first combined ASLIA Vic and Deaf Victoria Awards (read full article later in report) and several other advocacy, education and information pieces of work. We are proud to work in partnership with Deaf Victoria and look forward to many challenges and opportunities in the future!As of 2013, the ASLIA Vic/VDEI joint project, “Mentoring ES Staff working as Interpreters Program” and the “Train the Mentor and Auslan Tutor Program” concluded and we thank VDEI for their support of these programs. The committee would also like to thank Julie Judd, Therese Lewis and Stephanie Linder for leading these programs and congratulate those who participated as trainers or mentees. See full article later in this report.Committee members have also engaged with RMIT Diploma of Interpreting students and in partnership

with RMIT, provided opportunities for their attendance at ASLIA Vic PD and other events. We have again partnered with AUSIT Vic/Tas to provide several combined events for both spoken and sign language interpreters. This is in addition to the work ASLIA Vic and AUSIT Vic/Tas have been doing with Professionals Australia. Tradeblock Cafe has again been our catering partner and we are proud to support Deaf young people and the Victorian College of the Deaf in this way. Colleen Hartland, MP for the Greens has also been a great supporter of ASLIA Vic’s work for which we would like to extend our thanks.

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Top right: ASLIA Vic’s first live streamed event at Vicdeaf in 2014 (Mark Quinn Interpreting). Above: L to R: Paul Heuston (ASLIA President), Maxine Buxton, MP Colleen Hartland, Melissa Lowrie (Deaf Victoria Manager) and Simon Glass (Deaf Victoria President) at the combined awards event.

Community developmentCommittee members have been out and about supporting Deaf community events this year as well as providing funds where appropriate to support the Deaf community near and far.

Events that the committee have attended in 2013-14 on behalf of members include; the Vicdeaf Christmas Rally, Deaf Victoria’s Deaf Market, Creating Opportunities Fund (COF) Trivia Night, John Lovett afternoon tea and the Deaf Victoria and Deafness Foundation AGMs to name a few.Through funds raised at the PD event ‘International Sign Intensive’ ASLIA Vic donated $625 to the World Federation of the Deaf Youth Section (WFDYS) at the Deaf Professionals Breakfast. Thanks must go to the IS Intensive presenters; Lori Whynot and Philip Waters and the interpreters on the night who donated their fee to the cause. Also to the event sponsors Echo Interpreting and SLC Vic for their contributions to this donation. Along with the other state branches, ASLIA Vic also contributed to ASLIA’s sponsorship to the World Association of Sign Language Interpreters’ (WASLI) 2015 Conference in Istanbul, Turkey.Closer to home, ASLIA Vic sponsored the COF Trivia Night and committee members went along to support the evening. We also provided funds for Deafblind Victorians to attend the 10th Helen Keller World Conference and the World Federation of the Deafblind (WFDB) General Assembly in the Phillippines in November 2013. Here is some excerpts from their report:

TRUDY RYALL, HEATHER LAWSON & MICHELLE STEVENS, Deafblind Victorians at the 10th Helen Keller World Conference & WFDB General Assembly

“Supporting three Deafblind participants took a lot of early planning. We all met in September to work out the logistics and assign responsibilities. The main reason for our trip to the Philippines was to give a paper on ‘Over Coming the Barriers to Deafblind Advocacy.’ We are proud to say that our paper was enthusiastically received by the Deafblind audience and that our talk was so well attended that people were turned away. Our presentation was 30 minutes including 10 minutes of question time. We spoke about our experiences with Deafblind Advocacy including a private

meeting with the then Prime Minister Julia Gillard and we spoke about how Deafblind advocacy gives us power. On Sunday and Monday we had an opportunity to see the proceedings of World Federation of the Deafblind WFDB General Assembly.

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Top right: WFDYS board members, Ana Navas & Jannicke Kvitvaer (in blue) and ASLIA Vic member Chris Dunn (second from right) with committee members L to R: Meredith, Maxine Georgia,and Jinaya.Above: Deafblind Victorians in the Philippines. Back row: Matthew Norman, Maxine Buxton, Carla Anderson, Fiona Goldab, Teresa Paulet. Front Row: Meredith Bartlett, Michelle Stevens, Trudy Ryall, Heather Lawson, Fiona Brindle.

We also participated in an open forum during the Pacific meeting explaining the situation of the Deafblind community from an Australian point of view. It was very interesting to see how sign language is translated in the different sign languages worldwide and to Trudy in particular verbally being able to be told what is said.We will always remember the remarkable power that Deafblind people can have if given the right opportunities.We want to again thank everyone for their generous support that made it possible for us to go to the Philippines and not forgetting our brilliant team of interpreters/guides who all gave up their spare time to make the conference fully accessible for Heather, Trudy and Michelle. Thank You!”

Sustainability

The long term future and viability of ASLIA Vic should be a consideration for all members. The committee are constantly striving for ways to strengthen your organisation and secure its future.

Within the committee we have been actively engaged in role shadowing and succession planning to ensure future holders of executive or other roles in the committee can transition more easily when current members step down at the end of their term. It is our aim to continue this process, actively seek new members for the committee and invite past members to re-join the committee to ensure the work we do can continue. Committee members also take part in an annual planning weekend and quarterly working bees in addition to monthly meetings to allow time for more targeted strategic work.Although ASLIA Vic is still in a strong financial position, the committee made the decision to discontinue employing an Administration Officer on a part time basis once Lisa Westwood’s term was completed. At this stage we are focusing on different efficiency measurers, consolidation of duties or outsourcing specific tasks in an effort to streamline some committee work. We would like to thank Lisa for her outstanding contributions to and belief in ASLIA Vic.Our efforts to connect with and provide opportunities for; experienced interpreters, new/graduate interpreters, Deaf Interpreters, interpreting students, presenters/trainers, industry and the community will hopefully lead to a greater understanding of ASLIA Vic’s role and the importance of membership. We would like to recognise in particular Auslan Services as well as SLC Vic and Echo Interpreting for their support in bringing this message to Auslan/English and Deaf Interpreters in Victoria.Recent discussions with ASLIA at a national level as well as state branches has brought to light both the opportunities and challenges of our volunteer led organisation. Whilst in the immediate future, we are confident of our standing within the industry and ability to “lead and promote best practice in sign language interpreting in Victoria”, the long term sustainability of an association run exclusively by volunteers from a very small pool of eligible professionals is somewhat in doubt. For these reasons, we will wait with interest to see the developments of any partnership or joint membership between ASLIA,

AUSIT and Professionals Australia. There exist ‘economies of scale’ benefits for all ASLIA committees should a partnership with PA proceed. This could mean much needed support with administrative and financial tasks freeing up the committee to focus on business that more closely aligns with our mission statement. The future of your association is in your hands.!



ASLIA Vic Workshops in 2013 Clients with Complex Needs - July 6Ethics at Work - July 16Medical Toolkit Series, Anatomy Hands on - August 5Medical Toolkit Series, Natural Medicine - August 13Medical Toolkit Series, General Medicine - August 21AGM and guest speaker, Viqui Gras - September 19International Sign Intensive - October 7Tasmanian Roadshow - November 23-24!ASLIA Vic Workshops in 2014Deaf Interpreters Information Session - January 28Welcome to 2014 - February 8Interpreter’s Skill Set - March 6Ethics of the Profession - April 2Mental Health Interpreting - June 15Frozen Texts - June 25 !ASLIA Vic partner/supported events Auslan/English Interpreters Forum on "Experiences of people with disabilities reporting crime" - October 10, 2013 (with Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission)PD day for Education Support Staff who interpret in classrooms - November 9, 2013 (with Victorian Deaf Education Institute)Interagency End of Year Party - December 6, 2013(with Auslan Services, SLC Vic and Echo Interpreting)Combined ASLIA Vic and Deaf Victoria Awards - May 31, 2014Many thanks to our presenters/trainers, volunteers, interpreters and other support staff for their efforts in making these events happen!

Supporters 2013-14 (in alphabetical order)AUSIT Vic/Tas, Deaf Victoria, John Pierce Centre, Northern Melbourne Institute of Tafe (NMIT), Victorian Equal Opportunity Human Rights Commission (VEOHRC), Victoria Police.

Sponsors 2013-14 (in alphabetical order)

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!ASLIA Victoria Annual Report 2013-14 | Page �15

Professional Development

Report prepared by Julie Judd & Therese LewisThe 2013 VDEI/ASLIA Vic “Mentoring ES Staff working as Interpreters Program” and the “Train the Mentor and Auslan Tutor Program” involved a number of diverse activities for participants. The Mentoring Program for ES staff who interpret in classrooms included the following activities:•Observation of interpreting practice in classrooms, •Modelling by mentors in classrooms or for school events, •Diagnostic performance analysis, •Reflective practice sessions that applied the Demand Control Schema framework •A Professional Development day that incorporated several elements that were tailored to practitioners working in the K-12 educational setting.Julie Judd and Therese Lewis participated in diagnostic analysis training at the University of Northern Colorado online during 2013. This enabled a significant addition to the 2012 Mentoring program by providing diagnostic analysis of interpreting practice to 23 mentees during term 3 and 4 of the 2013 school year. This activity required mentees to videotape themselves interpreting an English source text selected by mentors. Analysis and feedback from interpreter mentors was coupled with a model translation of the text provided by Stephanie Linder. This activity demonstrated that the process of diagnostic analysis and modelling produced improvements to major linguistic features inherent in an interpretation sample.The Train the Mentor and Auslan Tutor Program was conducted for 3 Deaf Auslan tutors - Alan Stewart, Kathy Fitzmaurice and Paula Thornton and 2 experienced educational Interpreters Kirri Dangerfield and Daniel Hately. The Deaf Auslan Tutor training involved trainees observing Stephanie Linder, the language tutor conducting the 2013 Auslan Tutor Training program. Trainees attended briefing and discussion sessions and participated in the Auslan teaching component offered during the Professional Development day for mentees. Interpreter mentor trainees attended group sessions, observation/feedback sessions with mentees on-site, briefing sessions and participated in the PD day for all mentees in November 2013. These trainees now have additional skills that enable them to contribute to the development of ES staff working as interpreters in the K-12 sector.Therese Lewis and Julie Judd have developed a comprehensive training package incorporating lesson plans and resources developed during the 2012 and 2013 Mentoring program. The training package been submitted to ASLIA Vic and VDEI. In addition, Therese Lewis, Julie Judd and Karen Bontempo have published a chapter on mentoring in educational interpreting in the recent “Mentorship in Sign Language Interpreting” RID publication, edited by Betsy Winston & Robert Lee.Recommendations provided to VDEI by mentors and trainees:•Employment processes for mentees contain assessment procedures that ensure Auslan competencies are adequate •ES staff members working in the role of interpreter have completed tertiary interpreter training •Auslan language models/tutors are part of regular ongoing language development for ES staff members who interpret in classrooms •Diagnostic assessment of ES staff members who interpret in classrooms take place once per year to ensure appropriate individual development processes can be implemented •Time is allocated and prioritised for professional development activities to implement individual development plan activities


VDEI/ASLIA Vic Mentoring & Train the Mentor/Auslan Tutor Program 2013/14

Report prepared by Gabriel Kirley & Maxine Buxton!

May 31, 2014 marks an important historical event for the Auslan Interpreting sector and the Deaf community in Victoria. For the first time ever, ASLIA Victoria and Deaf Victoria combined their annual awards nights into one event to celebrate and recognise some of our unspoken leaders and achievers.Those in attendance included interpreters, Deaf community members, associated professionals, family, friends, sponsors, supporters and a number of special guests. Greens MP Coleen Hartland was a much welcomed attendee and further showed her support for the Deaf community and Auslan Interpreters as will be remembered by many in 2012’s ‘Save Auslan Courses’ campaign. ASLIA President Paul Heuston was also present along with many committee and board members from ASLIA Vic and Deaf Victoria.Following the presentation of awards, guests were served a variety of canapés and drinks throughout the evening and treated to the talents of a roaming magician when not having their photo taken in the ‘Crazy Photo Booth’. The opportunity for guests to mingle and catch up was seized by many with a few even showcasing their dancing prowess- a further source of entertainment!ASLIA Victoria and Deaf Victoria would like to jointly express our most sincere thanks to our many sponsors, supporters, volunteers, MCs, guests, those who nominated, judges, interpreters and the fabulous organising committee! An opportunity to recognise and celebrate the achievements of our colleagues would not be possible without your generous support. Above all, congratulation to the award nominees and recipients for your outstanding contributions!

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2013 ASLIA Victoria Awards 2013 Deaf Victoria AwardsDeaf Interpreter Carla Anderson Deaf Youth Mija GwynProfessional Level Mark Quinn Deaf Senior Peter McCormikPara-Professional level Jinaya Myers Deaf Organisation John Pierce CentreInterpreter Advocate Gina Auciello E.R. Noble (2012) Jan BransonOrganisation Auslan Stage Left E.R. Noble Medina SumovicInterpreter of the Year Mark Quinn

Above left: All ASLIA Vic and Deaf Victoria award recipients (or their representatives) show off their trophies or certificates. Back row L to R: Brent Philips (representing Mark Quinn), Mija Gwyn, Gina Auciello, Medina Sumovic (Auslan Stage Left and ER Noble), Jinaya Myers, Susan Emerson (Auslan Stage Left), Peter McCormik. Front row L to R: Fiona Goldab (representing Carla Anderson), Simon Glass (representing Jan Branson), John Pierce Centre Representatives: Katrina Mynard, Rachel Miers, Gail Finn. Above left: Mark Quinn with his Interpreter of the Year trophy and perpetual plate.

Inaugural ASLIA Vic & Deaf Victoria Awards Celebration

Committee Members: Maxine Buxton PresidentJinaya Myers Vice PresidentChristine McDougall TreasurerTeresa Paulet SecretaryDr Meredith Bartlett Georgia KnightKelly NorthGabriel Kirley Financial Members 2013-14 Cara Due & Kate Leibick (resigned during 2013-14 term)!Life MembersDr Meredith Bartlett Teresa Cumpston BirdSandra Leane

Full Members

Adam TinklerAdrian DoyleAmie O'SheaAnna VostBen McAtamneyBenjamin Souter Brooke Bawden Cara DueCarla Anderson Carolyn Montague Cheryl Sandilands Christopher Hansford Christine McDougallChristopher Dunn Cindi Boychuk

Daniel Hately Danielle Don Dennis WitcombeElishia Jackson Emely McCord Gabriel Kirley Gabrielle Noonan Georgia Knight Gina Auciello Glenda Garde Gwenda ThomasHeather McInnes Jacinta Hossack Janette Murphy Jinaya Myers Joanne Semple Joseph SabolcecJulie Judd Julie Rees Karen Boocock Karen ClareKathryn HockingKeiron Wood

Kelly NorthKhang Chiem Kim SaxtonKirk BarnettKirri Dangerfield Kristy Good Laura Alcoba Lindy McLaughlinLu Howley StockMarc Ethan Marianne Bridge Marie Fram Mark Quinn Martine WestonMatthew WattsMaxine Buxton Mee Loke Melanie PrattMelinda Mindum Michael Egan Michelle Ashley Michelle CollinsMichelle Kent

Monique Stern Natalie Millichamp Neil RayNellie MairNicole MaherNicole Foster Paul HeustonPaula DowsePauline HumePauline LillieRenee Purser Russell Watts Sarah Howell Sarah Strong Shelley SalterStephanie LinderStephen Nicholson Sue NeillSusan EmersonTamara Olley Tara ClarkTeale NichollsTeresa PauletTherese LewisTiffany Reed Valerie Wormald Viona Woodroffe Wendy BoaseWendy WallisZoe Pow

Organisational MembersAuslan Services

Centre of Excellence (deafConnectED)

Charles Latrobe Deaf Facility

Deaf Victoria

Sign Language Communications Vic

Victorian College of the Deaf

Associate MembersAlicia FoxApril MyziukBrenda McKintyBrett BaileyHeather Forbes Jenaire KingJihong WangJingwen ChenKathryn ButterfieldLeanne John Lori Whynot Lorraine BrownLorraine Carter Marie CastelMichelle Stevens Shorsh Ahmad Stacie Van Hulst


Membership

ASLIA Victoria Annual Report 2013- 2014 |

ASLIA Victoria Annual Report 2013-14

Photo credits Shirley Liu, Edan Chapman and ASLIA Vic Committee, members and volunteers.

annual report 2013-14

Documents

aslia vic committee

aslia vic external

aslia member

aslia victoria annual

aslia national conference

current committee members

deaf conference

interpreters program