| Lithuania Lithuanian Deaf Association Established: 24 March 1938 Full member of the EUD since: 2006 Address: Šv. Kazimiero g. 3, 01127 Vilnius, Lithuania Contact details: Email: centras@lkd.lt Tel: (+370) 5 262 8115 Fax: (+370) 5 212 0493 Website link: www.lkd.lt
Mission statement of the organisation: To unite the Lithuanian deaf population by age, territory, gender, interests, religion etc; to represent and assist the Deaf population regarding their economic, educational, training, social, cultural and professional rights and interests and provide relevant help; to assist in employment, occupational and vocational rehabilitation of the Deaf; to support social inclusion of the Deaf; to improve Deaf culture and its diversity.
Details of the board President: Roma Kleckovskaja (HoH) Board members: 14 board members: 2 (H), 4 (HoH), 8 (D)
Details of the staff Executive director: Roma Kleckovskaja (HoH) Other staff: 7 staff
Statistics General population: 3,600,000 Deaf people: 8,800 Users of sign language: 6,300 Members of the NAD: 5m374 Newsletter: a monthly newspaper "Akiratis" Youth section: No NADY, youth sections only in two towns of Lithuania: Vilnius, Kaunas.
Status of sign language In 1996 the Lithuanian Sign Language was recognised as the mother tongue of the Deaf people by a resolution of the Seimas (Lithuanian Parliament). It is not recognised in the constitution, but enshrined in another law.
Status of Sign Language Interpreters Number of qualified sign language interpreters: 77 professional interpreters all over the country. Details of training centers: Interpreters trained at university level in Vilnius College (3 years), Vilnius Pedagogical University (1 year specialisation). Interpreter's qualifications courses provided by NAD unit, responsible for sign language research.
Technology Does your country provide Video Interpreting Service? Lithuania does not yet provide video interpreting but it is planned to be implemented in 2011.
Deaf centre/ clubs How many deaf centres/clubs? There are 5 big centers/clubs in Lithuania: in Vilnius, Kaunas, Panevezis, Klaipeda and Siauliai. These centers provide different services: employment, consulting, culture and activities. Details of the deaf centre/clubs: Every centre has small clubs in the regions. In total there are around 45 clubs of different sizes in regional towns.
Universities/ Sign Language Units Are there any universities that deal with Sign Language? (Deaf Studies, Linguistics, Interpreting) Only interpreting, see above
Deaf schools Number of Deaf Schools: 5 primary schools for the Deaf and hard of hearing, 1 secondary school for the Deaf, 1 vocational training school for Deaf, 3 preschools for Deaf children, 9 integrated Deaf classes Education method (Sign Language, Oral or other methods): bilingual (3), total communication (7), oral (9)
History of the NAD In 1938 there were big concerns about Deaf education in Lithuania. This event brought one of the members of the blind association, blind war invalid Pranas Daunys, his Deaf friend P. Makutenas and a group of doctors, teachers and other active society members to found an organisation called the „Lithuanian deaf mute worship society". The organisation was then officially registered and started its activity. It was changed into the Lithuanian Deaf Association which celebrated its 70th anniversary in 2008.
Last updated: 03 February 2010 |
