A vision, mission and values for the deaf sector have been defined as part of UK Council on Deafness work to find a common purpose for the sector.

They are the first parts of a statement that will be the basis for collective work by organisations concerned with deafness.

The next step is to decide what the priorities for collective action will be. They will be the main point of discussion at the next stakeholder meeting in February 2015.

When the statement is complete, organisations will be asked to sign up to it. By doing so they will commit to the vision, mission, values, priorities and principles of partnership working.

Any organisation concerned with deafness may become a signatory. The statement will use ‘deaf’ to refer to people who are deaf, Deaf, deafblind, deafened and hard of hearing, whatever their chosen mode of communication or response to their deafness.

If you are interested in being involved in this work, please contact Dan Sumners via dan.sumners@signature.org.uk.

Vision

A world that benefits from deaf people being able to fulfil their potential.

Mission

To realise our vision we will work with deaf people to make sure they have equal access to all aspects of society by

• making sure access is available in the most appropriate languages and modes and means of communication for the individual;
• raising public awareness of deafness, the challenges faced by deaf people, the needs they have and the contribution they make;
• making sure government and others fulfil their obligations under legislation such as the Equality Act 2010 and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities;
• making sure deaf people can access all public services, giving special attention to education, health and social care, policing and justice;
• making sure the education of deaf people is delivered in environments which maximise academic and social development and attainment;
• making sure deaf people can access employment and training in environments which maximise professional and social development and attainment;
• improving the quality of services for deaf people, including assisting the development of technologies that improve access for and to deaf people;
• improving the quality and availability of information, advice and guidance for deaf people, and parents and carers of deaf children;
• making sure deaf people are central to discussions about issues affecting their lives, in particular the development of services;
• improving the education and training available to professionals providing services to deaf people; and
• preventing avoidable deafness by educating the public about the value of hearing and how to protect it.

Values

In carrying out our mission we will

• collaborate: work together;
• be creative: explore new ideas and approaches.;
• use evidence: base our work on the best research and the experiences of deaf people;
• be inclusive: seek to involve all interested organisations and individuals in our work;
• have integrity: be open and honest about our work; and
• have respect: have due regard for the different views of individuals and organisations involved in our work.