Recipient Institution:
Sustainable Development Network Programme (SDNP) Pakistan

Project Leader: Sahabat Saeed Khan - Information Manager, email sahabat.khan@iucnp.org

URL: www.pad.sdnpk.org

Amount and Duration: USD $ 28,500 / 12 months

Project Proposal

Background
Sign Languages are the languages of deaf people. Signing as a tool makes deaf lives easier and facilitates their relationship with other hearing individuals. Sign Language allows deaf people to develop mentally and intellectually and helps them to develop an identity both individually and as a group. Furthermore it makes them break through their isolation for their greater integration into society.

Sign Languages are not usually uniform, but have dialects that differ from country to country and region to region. As modern technology adapts to the needs of people with disabilities, ICTs are becoming a more flexible medium for deaf people to communicate amongst themselves and with hearing individuals as well as enhance their level of learning / education. Experience has shown that education is a vital component of development. It immediately has an encouraging and enabling effect on the people concerned: they will be stimulated to participate, take initiative and use their skills and abilities more fully thereby ensuring an ongoing improvement in their quality of lives.

In Pakistan, Sustainable Development Networking Programme, Pakistan (SDNP -www.sdnpk.org), working under its agenda of using information & communication technologies (ICTs) for development, feels it can, through use of technology applications, play a part in readily making available Pakistani Sign Language (PSL) (Urdu) as a learning tool to the native deaf community. SDNP is a global initiative of United Nations Development Programme, and operates under the auspices of IUCN-The World Conservation Union. Development of PSL will be a challenging theoretical and practical research for SDNP. If successful in its objectives, the product would greatly benefit the deaf community in Pakistan; whom SDNP believes should also be given the opportunity to participate fully in the activities of the local community.

SDNP has formed strong linkages within the special sector during its multiple interventions comprising training programmes and web development initiatives. Development of the proposed ICT based sign language application / learning tool would be done in collaboration with one of SDNPs partner organizations, Pakistan Association of The Deaf (PAD: www.pad.sdnpk.org). PAD is a leading NGO in Pakistan working to enhance the quality of life of deaf on local, national and international levels. Collective efforts to help deaf and all their concerned affiliates study the local sign language will not only aid further learning but is expected to go on to support the development of local sign languages in poor, rural areas of the country. The application is being aimed for distribution as a freeware through web downloads and will be applied to real-world settings in coordination with Pakistan Association of the Deaf.

Rationale
Everyone requires help in gaining and effectively using information and not just those individuals who have disabilities. In itself, information is neither accessible nor inaccessible; the form in which it is presented makes it so. People with hearing impairment are often handicapped because information is presented in a form inaccessible to them. So solutions that provide general access can provide benefit at a wider scale. Making Pakistani Sign Language assisted learning obtainable through Internet will alleviate barriers to communication on a larger scale and help remove the handicap. The proposed project will work on the following guiding principles:

- There is very little literature (printed or otherwise) available on Pakistani sign language (PSL). As a result the deaf face difficulty in communication not just with the hearing world but also in peer-to-peer interaction. Utilizing technology to provide Sign language as a learning tool, SDNP seeks to expand opportunities for communication and provide information access to Pakistani deaf (as illustrated below). This effort will feed directly into the process of empowerment to allow people with hearing disabilities to achieve their potential in educational, vocational and personal pursuits as well as aims that all people are fully included in the life of their communities.

Bridging the divide between Deaf & Hearing Worlds

- Predominantly Information and Communication Technologies are the fastest and most cost-effective mode for communication. For the deaf also, computer technologies will allow provision of text, diagrams, and animated images through a readily available medium.

- Irrespective of whether or not they are associated with any institution, Internet medium will allow easy accessibility for learning to all deaf people. This will promote active participation of communities in their own development.

- Though foreign Sign Languages could be used to enrich the national/local language, they should never replace the national/local Sign Language and dialects. Thus making Pakistani Sign language easily available will serve this purpose.

Objectives
This learning tool seeks to provide Pakistani deaf population, random access to their own language (Urdu) signed at their fingertips. Lacking a natural ability to hear how words sound and how they are spoken, most severely to profoundly deaf individuals understandably find learning / acquiring education a difficult task. In order to build their confidence and raise the literacy level there is a need to overcome the barriers to communication.

Through this application, SDNP will be actively researching emerging communication technologies as a knowledge tool with and the effects they have on deaf peoples learning as well as improvement in communication between deaf and the hearing. The innovative ICT applications of sign language will focus on practical and replicable learning solutions / techniques for the deaf community and would be modeled using on-line (web) and off-line (CD-ROM) technologies.

Research outcomes and social impacts of the proposed ICT interventions and application of Internet technologies will go a long way to benefit and bring together the deaf not only in Pakistan but also the 60 million speakers of Urdu language in more than 20 countries.

Project Beneficiaries
Pakistani deaf and hard of hearing individuals will be the prime beneficiaries. The use is also for the academic staff in deaf education institutions. Besides this, community at large, which comes in contact with hearing-impaired people, can learn sign language in order to bridge the gulf between the deaf and hearing worlds.

Project Sustainability
Pakistan Association of the Deaf (PAD: www.pad.sdnpk.org) is a dedicated national Deaf Association in Pakistan working towards enhancing the quality of life of deaf on local, national and international levels. P.A.D. promotes the deaf & hearing partnerships to break down the barriers and change attitudes in the society. It is a matter of great pride for the NGO to represent Pakistan on the international scene as the only member of the World Federation of the Deaf.

In Pakistan PAD is the only association offering 1 year Diploma course in Pakistani sign language. A sign language interpreters' association has also been formulated and operates under its umbrella. Presently PAD, through a dedicated executive committee comprising both deaf and hearing members, is involved in researching and scripting Pakistani Sign Language (PSL). The research and development undertaken for the proposed R&D project will be used towards these long-term objectives of PAD. The association has also been working on a sign language dictionary of selected data in Urdu and English languages with full pictorial representation of signs and symbols. Various books on signed Urdu alphabets; English alphabets and symbolized traffic signs have also been compiled. The need is to now disseminate this information through a medium where it achieves far-reaching results. Also for the first time in Pakistan, work is being done for inclusion of grammar (syntax) in Pakistani sign language. PAD is primarily responsible for developing signs with full sentence structures. The research carried out would be sustained through the continuing research and development at PAD and would accelerate the use of the Internet for development in the region.

Project Methodology
Deaf people rely on sign language interpreters for access to spoken Urdu, which is the national language of Pakistan. However, they cannot depend on interpreters every day in life mainly due to the high costs and the difficulty in finding and scheduling qualified interpreters. A better solution would be to use a data resource, which provides words in form of graphic animation depicting Pakistani Sign Language (PSL). It would be a more economical as well as adaptable solution.

The material prepared will provide modules for both self-learning and instructional material. Animated signs and explanations created for the CD-ROM project, will be designed to help people learn how to make individual signs and to aid them further in enhancing their learning ability. Similarly, the web-based sign-language website will allow users to view symbols/ words/ as many times as needed to study hand, arm, and finger movements for each sign by using three-dimensional graphics. Animation will also show the timing of signs visually.

Much of the basic research of this project can be put under the heading of transferring information from one form to another. This includes transcription, as from selected Urdu text to PSL, and translation, as from Urdu PSL to English language or signed English. This synthesis technology thus carries potential for a rich and flexible environment for PSL education and research.

Graphically Illustrating PSL As A Learning Tool

The project is divided into three main phases. First phase is based on a survey of available Pakistani sign language resources carried out in coordination with Pakistan Association of the Deaf and collection of available Pakistani symbols used in signing. SDNP has conducted workshops in the past for deaf students and their teachers/ trainers. Lectures in combination with hands-on training were used as the mode and throughout the sessions sign language interpreters were present for facilitation. First part of the analysis will determine and gather a set of standard sign language symbols. After the signs as used in Pakistani sign language are determined, graphical designers will be employed to make blueprints of the data sets. Calligraphy of signed words will be followed by scanning and animation of the symbols.

In the second phase, using the animated signs / symbols and pictures, CD-ROMs comprising a database of Pakistani sign language and selected lesson plans and assessment tests will be prepared. Proposed CD-ROM components include an Urdu Dictionary in Pakistani Sign Language; Sign Language lesson plan in Urdu; English Dictionary in Pakistani Sign Language; Dictionary of Environment Terminologies in Pakistani Sign Language. All packages will be accompanied by Sign Language Assessment Tests for students. A micro level research to study the effectiveness of this ICT tool on learning of deaf would be done on a focus group using PAD platform. Research proposal including methodology will be drafted and findings will be accordingly documented.

In the third phase impact of using electronically available sign language for enhancing learning / teaching will be studied at a macro level. This would include deaf individuals, parents of deaf, and deaf teachers / interpreters belonging to various deaf organizations/ institutions of Pakistan. Selected data sets will be published in form of a web site using Internet technologies. Response will be gathered from a larger focus group using interviews and other quantitative and qualitative research techniques. Effectiveness of the variants of the application would be studied. For lesson plans, emphasis will be to use materials that are available in Pakistani environment as much as possible. The hands-on activities included will be relevant to the age group and the culture of the community. All conclusions will be accordingly documented and analysis drawn. A discussion on the analysis of the social research on the impact and evaluation of learning techniques would then be produced which will help in future planning.

Upon successful completion of the project, it will become easy to enhance communication / learning of deaf by easily disseminating information in Pakistani sign language through the use of Information & Communication technologies.

Project Timelines (Activity Based)

Project Outputs
1. Compilation and production of basic elements of Pakistani Sign Language.

2. Production of Sign-language animated data-sets lesson plans and assessment tests on CD ROMs comprising:

• Urdu Dictionary in Pakistani Sign Language
• Sign Language lesson plan in Urdu
• English Dictionary in Pakistani Sign Language
• Sign Language Test - Assessment of students
• Dictionary of Environment Terminologies in Pakistani Sign Language

3. Sample web-site creation and online publication of representative data.

4. The above will be made available for free download at the website developed.

5. Research findings will also be documented and made available at relevant research and development forums.

Project Monitoring
In order to monitor the project, the following mechanisms will be put in place. First, a detailed project plan (in line with the plan shown above) will be made and updated with each date of deliverables to track the progress of the project.

Second, reports listed below will be published at various milestones shown in the timelines.

• Document detailing shapes of each letter of Urdu & English alphabets;
• Document containing data sets for production on CD-ROM;
• Micro research test plan, execution, findings & analysis;
• Document containing data sets for reproduction on Internet;
• Macro research test plan, execution, findings & analysis;
• Discussion based on the analysis.

Finally, progress report at the end of each task will be published. These reports will highlight progress along the research and development activities and the financial expenditures incurred against the allocated budget.

All the above will be available for internal and external audits.

Conclusion
Signing helps the deaf feel more comfortable with others who are visibly different from them. It's a great motivator for all hearing impaired people as it helps people to connect. SDNP feels a strong social responsibility towards this disadvantaged community and seeks to ensure that resources are made available to the deaf of Pakistan through use of readily accessible modern technologies.