The Ethnic Communities’ Council of NSW is thrilled to launch a brand-new Auslan video series, designed to share stories, insights, and conversations from within the Deaf community.
This exciting initiative is part of the Speak My Language (Disability) Program and has been created in partnership with Deaf Australia.
Across five episodes, Deaf individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds open up about their experiences, covering topics such as inclusive recreation, education, employment, and more.
One storyteller, Sokong Kim, explains how joining Deaf Basketball not only improved fitness, but improved his social connections.
When he first arrived in Australia, he noticed that sports and activities were a big part of the culture, so he and his siblings quickly got involved.
“I was the only Deaf one, but we all just loved basketball, we grew up playing basketball.”
When Sokong discovered there was a Deaf basketball team in Sydney, everything changed.
“I reached out and said I want to join. From there, I was completely immersed in the club. We had sign language. Communication was not an issue. When I was playing in the mainstream basketball teams, communication was quite difficult. But getting into Deaf sports and the Deaf basketball team, I found my identity. I found my community.”
Sokong went on to represent Australia for the Deaf men’s basketball team in the 2007 World Deaf Basketball Championship in China.
Through Deaf sports, he also took up leadership opportunities, and held seats on the Board of Deaf Australia (NSW branch), Deaf Cricket NSW, Deaf Basketball NSW and Deaf Basketball Australia.
“Joining the Deaf basketball team gave me opportunities to travel. It was through those competitions that I was able to meet so many new people. It was amazing and my identity just grew from there as a Deaf person.”
Sokong’s story is one of many featured in the new Auslan video series
Each episode explores a unique theme, from Deaf sports, arts, and recreation to studying and finding inclusive workplaces. Episodes are hosted by Deaf Australia’s CEO, Shirley Liu.
To ensure accessibility, all episodes are subtitled in Hindi and English.
The Speak My Language (Disability) Program is funded by the Commonwealth Department of Health, Disability and Ageing. It is led by the Ethnic Communities Council of NSW and proudly delivered through a historic partnership with all State and Territory Ethnic and Multicultural Communities’ Councils across Australia.
Watch the series on our YouTube channel and gain a deeper understanding of Deaf voices and the perspectives of people living well with a disability.
*This is a sponsored post
Read more: Speak My Language: Video podcast series for Deaf migrants and refugees
