1 00:00:00,060 --> 00:00:04,018 (RaiNews) 2 00:00:04,018 --> 00:00:08,951 (Rights other voices / us and them) 3 00:00:08,951 --> 00:00:14,149 [Man] Let's see the instructions. I was hoping... about sign language. I heard you can use it to order 4 00:00:14,149 --> 00:00:18,989 [Off voice] True, at the Nameless Bar - that's the name of this bar in the center of Bologna, opened 5 00:00:18,989 --> 00:00:23,249 by two deaf young persons - you can also order in sign language. 6 00:00:23,273 --> 00:00:26,970 For those who are afraid to try, there are slips of paper with dishes and drinks. 7 00:00:26,970 --> 00:00:29,427 Alternatively, a mirror and a helper. 8 00:00:29,427 --> 00:00:33,749 [Woman] I'd like to open a Corona beer. How to you sign it in deaf language? 9 00:00:33,749 --> 00:00:35,259 [Interpreter] Beer - crown [corona] 10 00:00:35,259 --> 00:00:40,182 [Woman] OK, thanks. Beer - crown. Thanks. 11 00:00:40,198 --> 00:00:43,895 [Reporter] Is it difficult to order? [Woman] No, no. See: "crown". 12 00:00:43,895 --> 00:00:47,699 [Barmaid] If you tell me "a beer" in LIS [Italian Sign Language], you get a discount. 13 00:00:48,745 --> 00:00:54,320 [Off voice] Sara Longhi, one of the two managers of the bar, recognizes that the discount is just a pretext, 14 00:00:54,320 --> 00:00:58,943 mainly a way to publicize and promote sign language among hearers too. 15 00:00:58,943 --> 00:01:05,600 [Patron] I'll try to have conversations using signs, using signs - I don't know. 16 00:01:06,030 --> 00:01:10,875 [Other patron] I think hearing people like the spontaneous gestures, 17 00:01:11,560 --> 00:01:15,270 the different communication manner, 18 00:01:15,270 --> 00:01:21,044 another way of communicating, paying attention to what you're doing, even having a coffee with people. 19 00:01:21,044 --> 00:01:26,070 I.e., you look at people's eyes, you really look at them. 20 00:01:26,070 --> 00:01:30,520 [Luce Tommasi] "You really look at them". Deaf people and support initiatives, or rather, integration initiatives. 21 00:01:30,520 --> 00:01:32,740 as we saw 22 00:01:32,740 --> 00:01:37,509 in this opening feature edited by Nelson Bova, there is a bar in Bologna 23 00:01:37,509 --> 00:01:41,509 which is becoming very popular, where people speak in sign language 24 00:01:41,513 --> 00:01:46,760 and if someone wants to try, they'll get 25 00:01:46,760 --> 00:01:48,321 a discount on what they buy. 26 00:01:48,321 --> 00:01:54,463 Today, we'll talk about initiatives like this one with our guests in this studio, 27 00:01:54,510 --> 00:01:58,892 who are Giuseppe Petrucci, President of the Ente Nazionale Sordi [National Institute of the Deaf] 28 00:01:58,892 --> 00:02:00,866 Good morning, President, welcome. 29 00:02:00,866 --> 00:02:05,670 Rosanna Zanchetti, whom you see in the small video, is helping us: she interprets LIS 30 00:02:05,670 --> 00:02:07,430 which is the sign language. 31 00:02:07,430 --> 00:02:10,874 And in the studio, there is also Rome's vice-commissioner [vice-questore], Roberto Maugeri. 32 00:02:10,874 --> 00:02:12,014 Good morning. [Roberto Maugeri] Good morning. 33 00:02:12,014 --> 00:02:17,037 And he'll tell us about a new service, "An SMS for life", 34 00:02:17,037 --> 00:02:24,307 which enables deaf people to communicate with the police and with the emergency number 113 by SMS. 35 00:02:24,338 --> 00:02:31,138 So, President Petrucci, what can be said about initiatives like that bar in Bologna? 36 00:02:31,138 --> 00:02:36,294 Innovative ones, surely, as compared to habits that create barriers 37 00:02:36,294 --> 00:02:39,105 between those who hear and those who don't, aren't they? 38 00:02:41,090 --> 00:02:51,196 [Giuseppe Petrucci] Of course, this Bologna bar is a pilot experiment, 39 00:02:51,196 --> 00:02:54,174 the first experiment that really shows 40 00:02:54,174 --> 00:02:59,669 an integration between deaf and hearing people, where hearers 41 00:02:59,669 --> 00:03:04,215 strive to use sign language towards integration, 42 00:03:04,215 --> 00:03:08,480 and thanks to this effort, they can can get a discount. 43 00:03:08,480 --> 00:03:13,040 As the broadcast shows, interaction happens very naturally 44 00:03:13,040 --> 00:03:17,520 and I think that this experiment must be extended to other parts of Italy 45 00:03:17,520 --> 00:03:23,390 and this is really important, because it is a message of integration and solidarity; 46 00:03:23,390 --> 00:03:27,963 and it is very important for the recognition of sign language 47 00:03:27,963 --> 00:03:31,530 and it gives us a feedback 48 00:03:31,530 --> 00:03:36,762 for continuing to advocate the recognition of sign language. 49 00:03:36,813 --> 00:03:39,360 Seeing how deaf people 50 00:03:39,360 --> 00:03:42,940 communicate very naturally in a bar 51 00:03:42,940 --> 00:03:46,356 can become a way to communicate, and hence demonstrate 52 00:03:46,356 --> 00:03:48,719 that LIS is a true language. 53 00:03:48,719 --> 00:03:50,428 [Tommasi] In other words: a way to learn to converse. 54 00:03:50,428 --> 00:03:56,071 The initiative of the Rome Questura (police forces) is on the same line too. 55 00:03:56,071 --> 00:04:01,884 Roberto Maugeri, how does this "SMS for life" work? 56 00:04:01,899 --> 00:04:05,150 [Mugeri] Look, the "SMS for life" project 57 00:04:05,150 --> 00:04:11,777 arises from the awareness of the need to ensure that deaf people too can access a fundamental service, 58 00:04:11,777 --> 00:04:13,769 which is the 113 emergency phone number. 59 00:04:13,769 --> 00:04:18,150 Thus, in collaboration with the National Institute of the Dead (ENS), and in particular 60 00:04:18,150 --> 00:04:21,940 with its Rome province section, we developed this project, which consists in 61 00:04:21,940 --> 00:04:28,110 a system that can receive SMS sent by deaf people 62 00:04:28,110 --> 00:04:31,671 and hence, through the reception of the message, 63 00:04:31,671 --> 00:04:35,544 enable an immediate response by police forces or by the institution 64 00:04:35,544 --> 00:04:39,159 requested by the deaf person. 65 00:04:39,159 --> 00:04:41,800 Because... [Tommasi] [inaudible] Thus everybody can send an SMS. 66 00:04:41,800 --> 00:04:45,364 [Maugeri] No: we have a protection system that 67 00:04:45,379 --> 00:04:51,430 only allows deaf people to access this service: they must sign up via a written request 68 00:04:51,430 --> 00:04:56,490 for the service, and when they request it, the Operation room 69 00:04:56,490 --> 00:05:01,599 of the Rome Questura will automatically send them an SMS telling them 70 00:05:01,599 --> 00:05:08,109 that the service has been activated and giving them a restricted phone number - which must remain restricted - 71 00:05:08,129 --> 00:05:10,720 to be used in order to contact us. 72 00:05:10,720 --> 00:05:12,965 [Tommasi] I meant that it's a kind of technology that also enables 73 00:05:12,965 --> 00:05:16,558 people who can't hear to interact normally, 74 00:05:16,574 --> 00:05:20,813 [Maugeri] Yes, but the barrier is precisely that this restricted number must remain restricted. 75 00:05:20,844 --> 00:05:24,876 [Tommasi] ... yes: obviously restricted: obviously, we who can hear normally cannot 76 00:05:24,876 --> 00:05:27,333 also invade this. [Maugeri] We use ... already many fields 77 00:05:27,333 --> 00:05:30,706 [Tommasi] We already expand in many fields. [Maugeri] Exactly. 78 00:05:30,706 --> 00:05:37,875 President Petrucci, ENS also set up a taxi service for the deaf. 79 00:05:38,293 --> 00:05:38,293 ENS also set up a taxi service for the deaf. 80 00:05:38,293 --> 00:05:40,625 Let's look at this poster and comment it together, shall we? 81 00:05:41,640 --> 00:05:47,254 (ENS Taxi for the Deaf - Available on Android Market - Available on App Store) 82 00:05:47,254 --> 00:05:54,130 as you have seen, the logo refers to the taxi service 83 00:05:54,130 --> 00:05:58,540 limited to deaf people. By accessing this Android or Apple Store 84 00:05:58,540 --> 00:06:05,190 - hence on iTunes, one can easily 85 00:06:05,190 --> 00:06:07,710 call this taxi service, 86 00:06:07,710 --> 00:06:10,909 indicating also the address etc. 87 00:06:10,909 --> 00:06:14,572 Thus, thanks to technological innovation and development 88 00:06:14,572 --> 00:06:17,590 deaf people don't need 89 00:06:17,590 --> 00:06:20,836 to ask other people for help. 90 00:06:20,836 --> 00:06:24,960 In this way, from their cell phone, thanks to this application 91 00:06:24,960 --> 00:06:28,930 they can ask for this taxi service 92 00:06:28,930 --> 00:06:33,165 and when they send this message, the operation center replies 93 00:06:33,165 --> 00:06:36,260 that yes, the service will be available within two minutes 94 00:06:36,260 --> 00:06:38,547 at the requested address. 95 00:06:38,547 --> 00:06:42,209 Thus, this service is a further development 96 00:06:42,209 --> 00:06:44,439 of deaf people's autonomy 97 00:06:44,439 --> 00:06:48,522 And as the Vicequestore said about "an SMS for life" 98 00:06:48,522 --> 00:06:52,480 - and that's very important - he said 99 00:06:52,480 --> 00:06:57,233 in case of burglary or of family troubles, 100 00:06:57,233 --> 00:07:00,110 various violences, it's now possible to call directly 101 00:07:00,110 --> 00:07:02,050 by sending this SMS 102 00:07:02,050 --> 00:07:07,889 to the operational central, and the place of origin of the call 103 00:07:07,889 --> 00:07:10,530 gets identified, thus enabling an intervention. 104 00:07:10,530 --> 00:07:14,500 Obviously, there is also a collaboration with the Ministry of Internal affairs 105 00:07:14,500 --> 00:07:18,244 to make this service 106 00:07:18,244 --> 00:07:21,250 really direct and operational, 107 00:07:21,250 --> 00:07:23,790 and we expect the same for the taxi service. 108 00:07:23,790 --> 00:07:28,260 And we are working at spreading this service 109 00:07:28,260 --> 00:07:30,873 in other parts of Italy, obviously. 110 00:07:30,873 --> 00:07:35,504 [Tommasi] Thank you, President. Now, let's see Giuseppina Alessio's report 111 00:07:35,508 --> 00:07:41,686 on the new frontiers in medicine too, and on the new auxiliary technologies for deaf people. 112 00:07:42,860 --> 00:07:48,139 [Off voice] Voices, sounds and music are nothing obvious for ca 8 millions Italians: 113 00:07:48,139 --> 00:07:51,600 that's how many have hearing problems, according to data from AIRS 114 00:07:51,600 --> 00:07:57,866 Italian Association for Research on Deafness. I.e., 12% of Italian people. 115 00:07:57,866 --> 00:08:02,080 There have been impressive progresses in surgical therapies and in technologies to overcome deafness 116 00:08:02,080 --> 00:08:07,340 in the last years, and it is now possible to restore hearing 117 00:08:07,340 --> 00:08:11,409 to almost all people who lost it. However, it important to intervene 118 00:08:11,409 --> 00:08:15,419 very early on children, just after birth and at least within two years, 119 00:08:15,419 --> 00:08:19,909 experts say, and to use the most advanced tools for grown ups. 120 00:08:19,909 --> 00:08:23,509 Deafness and hearing loss, on the other hand, hit 121 00:08:23,509 --> 00:08:29,374 a total 5% of the people, i.e. 2 and half millions people in Italy. 122 00:08:29,374 --> 00:08:33,459 This proportion rises to 30% among people over 50, 123 00:08:33,459 --> 00:08:37,387 and to 50% for those over 85. 124 00:08:37,387 --> 00:08:42,083 However, today, there are many tools to fight hearing troubles. 125 00:08:42,083 --> 00:08:47,399 External hearing aids of yore are bygones. Today, hearing prostheses, 126 00:08:47,399 --> 00:08:52,093 even the cheapest ones, are rather sophisticated computers 127 00:08:52,093 --> 00:08:56,224 that gather sounds and reshape them to make them compatible 128 00:08:56,224 --> 00:08:58,766 with each single patient's brain. 129 00:08:59,751 --> 00:09:04,310 [Tommasi] President Petrucci, what do you think of these new technologies? 130 00:09:04,334 --> 00:09:08,843 Can they be important solutions for the deaf? 131 00:09:10,108 --> 00:09:21,046 [Petrucci] About cochlear implants and, as you said, 132 00:09:21,046 --> 00:09:25,880 there are also other types of digital and also analogical prostheses: 133 00:09:25,880 --> 00:09:26,830 that's true. 134 00:09:26,830 --> 00:09:33,009 And as to these analogical prostheses, there has been 135 00:09:33,009 --> 00:09:39,247 an impressive evolution in these types of auxiliary means. 136 00:09:39,510 --> 00:09:44,421 Clearly, they aren't external anymore: as you said and as the report showed, now there are 137 00:09:44,500 --> 00:09:49,689 digital auxiliary means but anyhow, 138 00:09:49,689 --> 00:09:55,019 these means are not given by the welfare service, because presently 139 00:09:55,019 --> 00:09:59,119 you must still by them, whereas if you ask for an old-fashioned prosthesis, 140 00:09:59,119 --> 00:10:02,579 it is offered for free. 141 00:10:02,579 --> 00:10:06,809 As to cochlear implants, 142 00:10:06,809 --> 00:10:11,410 there have indeed been remarkable progresses. However, what worries me 143 00:10:11,410 --> 00:10:17,092 is what kind of guarantee we have for the results of this intervention. 144 00:10:17,092 --> 00:10:22,138 There are rehab centers in connection to this kind of intervention all over Italy. 145 00:10:22,425 --> 00:10:26,740 So I think it should be each person's free choice. 146 00:10:26,740 --> 00:10:32,806 Hence the need to know where those rehab centers, connected to the operation, are: 147 00:10:32,806 --> 00:10:36,336 in order to avoid this inequality in the whole Italian territory.