Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister, Carmelo Abela, together with Minister for Inclusion and Social Wellbeing, Julia Farrugia Portelli, participated in a discussion ‘Towards a More Inclusive Broadcasting’ which was held on World Hearing Day of the United Nations.
During the discussion various stakeholders including the Government, the national station as well as organisations working towards the inclusion of people with some type of disability, discussed how broadcasting in the future can be more inclusive for people with disabilities.
In his speech, Minister Carmelo Abela said that the quality of better broadcasting is not limited to the technical quality but also the principle that programmes that are broadcast reach everyone, including those that lack physical ability. He stated his wish for increased representation and participation in the media by people with disabilities, including those with a hearing impairment.
The Minister recalled the campaign with the Public Broadcasting Services launched in recent months to bring sign language closer to the public. Another important step was to encourage more people to pursue a career in interpreting sign languages, where four students were assisted by the government to successfully read a sign language interpretation course. Another initiative was to increase the accessibility of programmes for sign language communicators, especially those programmes related to current affairs.
Minister Abela also referred to the fact that in terms of legislation, another step forward was taken in March 2016, when the Maltese Parliament approved the Draft Law that declared the Maltese Sign Language as an official language of Malta and that it should be used and developed. However, he said that there is always more to be done in this area.
The Minister concluded by saying that the wider use of subtitles in the media and in broadcasting is a concept that should also be broadened so that more people can be reached including people with a hearing impairment, with the ideal that this becomes the rule and not the exception.
Minister for Inclusion and Social Wellbeing Julia Farrugia Portelli mentioned how in life any form of disability, if left untreated, leads to some form of exclusion. “An exclusion which in itself would be detrimental to the quality of life of the individual. Today, we dealt with the theme ‘Towards a more inclusive broadcasting,’” said Minister Farrugia Portelli.
She said how our country is estimated to have 1,648 people with a hearing problem or who are completely deaf pointing out that despite the increased use of sign language there is still a great challenge that we have to face in the field of broadcasting.
“Broadcasting, over the years, like any other field in life, has continued to develop. It has evolved into new and different mediums. Today’s discussion is a step forward where stakeholders’ proposals and suggestions can lead to making deaf people feel more included,” said Minister Farrugia Portelli.
She mentioned how the stakeholders present, some of them being deaf themselves, explained the way forward to make broadcasting really inclusive, not necessarily with the presence of subtitles only, but in various other ways that can be applied in the local broadcasting.
Broadcasting Authority CEO Dr Joanna Spiteri as well as the Commissioner for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Samantha Pace Gasan also addressed the conference.
