Round 1 recipients
Fourteen projects were approved and received a total of $900,000 funding for the first round.
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Funded projects
The projects receiving funding range from further development of the NZSL Online Dictionary, to a theatre performance that has been developed in both NZSL and spoken English, designed to be accessible for both Deaf and hearing audiences, to extending a NZSL for Families course.
One project was awarded funding for two years, and will receive a further $158,000 in the 2015-2016 financial year. The projects receiving funding range from further development of the NZSL Online Dictionary, to a theatre performance that has been developed in both NZSL and spoken English, designed to be accessible for both Deaf and hearing audiences, to extending a NZSL for Families course.
- Getting Out There. 20 half-hour NZSL-related episodes shown on Channel North, a regional television broadcast in Northland and online. Tiaho Trust $55,000
- Promoting access to justice for NZSL users in the Community Law Movement. Provision and creation of legal tools to assist NZSL users. Auckland Disability Law and Community Law Centres $70,400.
- Engagement of Wellington Deaf and NZSL Users Community. Employment of a Community Coordinator, focusing on community engagement in Wellington. Wellington Deaf Society $10,000
- Sign Language Hub, NZSL Programme. Extend the NZSL for Families programme, catering for children 5-12 years old, to a full year. Auckland Deaf Society $40,000
- Original NZSL Literature for Children. Creation of original NZSL stories for children by Deaf people and artists via nationwide workshops. Deafradio $43,500
- New Zealand Deaf Short Film Festival. Cost associated with hosting the September 2015 Deaf Short Film Festival. Deaf Short Film Festival $25,000 Find out more about the Deaf Short Film Festival project
- NZSL Tutor Training. Enhance the teaching of NZSL by providing training to members on how to use the TeachSign website and the new curriculum in their teaching. New Zealand Sign Language Teachers Association $76,180.13
- Deaf Interpreting: Pathways to Qualification (Workshop). Address lack of Deaf interpreters in New Zealand via a one-day workshop. Connect Interpreting $1,300 Find out more about the Deaf Interpreting project
- Community-Led Review of NZSL Week. Gather feedback and ideas from the Deaf community to determine if NZSL Week is achieving its goals. Deaf Aotearoa New Zealand $25,000.
- Our place: Geographical signs in the Online Dictionary of NZSL. Add geographical location signs to the NZSL Online Dictionary. Deaf Studies Research Unit, Victoria University of Wellington $167,781.
- LearnNZSL: E-learning Resources for NZSL Learners. Develop a free online suite of NZSL interactive exercises for second language NZSL learners nationwide. Deaf Studies Research Unit, Victoria University of Wellington $230,943 (2014-2015: $72,057; 2015-2016: $158,886) Find out more about the Learn NZSL project external
- SignDNA Phase Two. Expand the online archive with more videos, lesson planning and additional material. Deaf National Archive Trust $116,275
- At the End of my Hands: Tour and Workshop Series. Take current performance on tour around New Zealand, and deliver theatre workshops for the Deaf community. University of Waikato $40,000. Find out more about At the End of my Hands.
- The Toolbox. Produce a series of ten brief videos in NZSL about some of the fundamentals of life and society in New Zealand. Attitude Pictures and Deaf Aotearoa New Zealand $157,250. Find out more about the NZSL Toolbox.
With the exception of the 'LearnNZSL: E-learning Resource for NZSL Learners' project, which is to be funded for two years, all the projects are being funded on a single year, one-off basis. While the providers may seek to continue some projects beyond the term of their grant, there is no guarantee of, or expectation of, further funding in relation to these projects. All amounts exclude GST.
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Questions and answers
What process was used to decide which projects were given grants from the NZSL Fund for Round 1?
Applications were reviewed and ranked by the NZSL Board against the Polices and Criteria for the NZSL Fund. The NZSL Board’s recommendations on projects to be funded were then provided to the Office for Disability Issues. These recommendations were reviewed and accepted.
The NZSL Board and the Office for Disability Issues believe the fourteen projects to be funded were well aligned with the five priorities for NZSL, and are a good start to increasing the vitality of the language.
Why was there only $900,000 available for Round 1?
In March 2015, Deaf Aotearoa received $350,000 from the NZSL Fund to support NZSL Week 2015. This decision was made before the establishment of the NZSL Board as Deaf Aotearoa needed a degree of certainty when planning events and activities for NZSL Week 2015. This support left $900,000 available for disbursement in the financial year ending 30 June 2015.