By Tasha Cox
In April, I travelled to Poland to explore and learn about Polish history, try new cuisine, and attend a 2-day International Conference on Language, Identity and Being Hard of Hearing. Following the conference, I attended the International Federation of Hard of Hearing Young People (IFHOHYP) AGM as Canadian delegate. What makes international events so interesting is the 130 participants who travelled from 18 different countries including Sweden, Spain, Estonia, Norway, Finland, Switzerland, Slovenia, Denmark, Sweden, Israel, Ireland, England, France, Austria, Scotland, Armenia, Georgia, Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, Nigeria and Canada. The conference was hosted by the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan, the People with Disabilities Department at the University and SUITA (the Polish Hard of Hearing Organization). The cool accessibility aspect of this conference was the English and Polish Captioners, induction loops, as well as Polish sign language interpreters to ensure participants could understand the proceedings. I enjoyed seeing how accessible the conference was and meeting new and old friends from around the world. The European Federation of the Hard of Hearing (EFHOH) also had their AGM here which is why there were participants from many countries at the conference. At the wrap-up Gala, both IFHOHYP and EFHOH celebrated their decades of existence. My experience motivates me to continue to participate to help ensure that these organizations continue to thrive as the work they do is so worthwhile.
The conference had a variety of interesting topics with the theme of Language, Identity and being Hard of Hearing. One of the topics discussed at the conference was perspectives on language learning for hard of hearing in hybrid education. Other topics were being a hard of hearing student in a foreign country in glottodidactic research of hybrid education. I learned that glottodidactics means a field of language education and the teaching of languages. A speaker named Jitka Sedlackova from a University in Brno, Czech Republic, talked about foreign language instruction for the hard of hearing in inclusive settings from the perspective of the teachers. It was interesting that the Czech Republic has inclusive education law created in 2016 where students should have the same educational opportunities as their peers and specific to their needs and services needed should be provided to the teachers and students. Other topics were how to teach Deaf and Hard of Hearing students a foreign language, language learning and identity, and teaching the level of reading and writing among Deaf and Hard of Hearing students. A young adult named Paulina Lewandowska talked about hard of hearing communication barriers and possible solutions when using a foreign language abroad. My favourite workshop was from the current EFHOH President Lidia Best talking about how we can advocate for the right to equitable education for Hard of Hearing People. Even though we come from diverse backgrounds and countries, meeting and sharing information like this helps to lift all of us.
Poland is an interesting travel destination. I travelled to 4 different cities for 13 in Poland -Warsaw, Poznan for the conference/AGM, Oswiecim to see Auschwitz and Krakow. The Lonely Planet guidebook was useful to read about the history of places that my friends and I wanted to visit. It is easy and economical to travel around Poland. There are trams, buses and trains to move around from city to city. One interesting place was the Zalman and Rywka Nozyk Synagogue because it is sole survivor of the 400 synagogues in Warsaw after the German Occupation in World War II. Sadly, it was used it as a horse stable and a warehouse when the Nazis took it over. A visit to Auschwitz was difficult and made us reflect on the atrocities inflicted on Jewish people and how we must never allow this horror to happen again.
Another place that I found fascinating was Oskar Schindler’s Enamel Factory Museum which talked about his life and how he saved many Jewish people during World War II. He is famous due to the movie made in 1993 called the Schindler’s List. Another cool thing I learned is that Poland is the birthplace of the famous composer Fryderyk Chopin who was born in Warsaw and there is a museum about him there. We enjoyed a Chopin concert one evening. Other interesting places I saw sightseeing was the Polin Museum about 1000 years of Jewish people in Poland. We rented a tablet which showed a picture and then describe facts about that object as you walked around the museum. The Warsaw Uprising Museum which shared the history of what Warsaw and Poland were like before and after the German Occupation. It was interesting walking around and seeing areas that were to become Jewish Ghettos in October 1940.
A fun part of travel is experiencing local food. The Polish cuisine I enjoyed trying were homemade perogies, and herring under the pillow. But the highlight was dinner at a Michelin rated restaurant in Krakow. A great conference, wonderful people and interesting travel…this was a fabulous experience.