Unique opportunity to shape the Scottish BSL Bill – In BSL

Watch this first…

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=668884149899902

Graham Turner writes:

This is a brilliant initiative by the Scottish Parliament to bring itself to the BSL community and invite that community to express its views on the language rights of Deaf people in the community’s preferred language. https://www.facebook.com/groups/800527046656790

Apparently, this is the very first time that the Scottish Parliament has ever used Facebook to open itself up to any community. They saw BSL users routinely posting videos elsewhere on FB and said to themselves ‘If we truly want to know what BSL users think of the Bill we’re considering, then we should go directly to them and ask’.

I think this is breathtaking…….

It is an open invitation to BSL users to post their comments, in a place where they KNOW the Parliament is watching and will ‘harvest’ their views. I think we owe it to our Parliament to encourage an energetic and constructive response!!!

Remember:

• They DO NOT want just any old stuff. (If they get all sorts of garbage, they’ll probably never repeat the experiment.)

• They want responses to the questions they’ve asked (in the ‘pinned post’ which is in BSL and English) about the Bill – nothing more.

• They specifically ask (in the panel giving information ‘About’ the page) for “the views of people living in Scotland”. Others can comment (eg tell them how you wish the Westminster Parliament would do the same!), but they obviously are most interested in reaching the 12,500 people who told the 2011 Scottish Census that they ‘used BSL in the home everyday’.

• And, above all, keep it POSITIVE. This Bill is a really fantastic opportunity to change the whole future landscape of BSL in the UK – not just in Scotland, because Westminster is certainly watching – so let’s ENCOURAGE the Government here to DO THE RIGHT THING!

So, the world is watching… let’s fill the FB pages with signed comments.

The address for the formal call for evidence is: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/CurrentCommittees/83760.aspx