Conference The integration of social-haptic communication in deafblind interpreting and educational settings
The Department of Linguistics and Comparative Cultural Studies (DSLCC) of Ca’ Foscari University of Venice organizes an international conference on the integration of social-haptic communication in deafblind interpreting and educational settings.
The conference will take place at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice on September 4th (afternoon) and 5th (morning) 2023 in Aula Magna Silvio Trentin, Ca’ Dolfin, Venice, and on Zoom. We recommend participation in person.
The conference aims at gathering international and national expertise around the integration of social-haptic communication in the practice of deafblind interpreting and in deafblind learning environments.
Interpretation from English to Italian Sign Language (LIS) and vice versa will be provided.
Attendance
Attendance is free of charge. To attend, both in person and remotely, you will need to register online before September 1st, 2023.
If you choose to attend via Zoom, you will receive the link some days before the conference, provided that you have registered for the conference.
All participants will receive a certificate of attendance.
Venue
The conference will take place in Aula Magna Silvio Trentin, Ca’ Dolfin, Dorsoduro 3825/e, Venice. You can reach it both from the train station and from Piazzale Roma in about a 15-minute walk. Alternatively, you can reach it by waterbus (vaporetto). The nearest stops are San Tomà and Ca’ Rezzonico.
Sigrid Berge, Norwegian University of Science and Technology
- Riitta Lahtinen, University of Helsinki
- Johanna Mesch, Stockholm University
- Russ Palmer, University of Helsinki
- Eli Raanes, Norwegian University of Science and Technology
- Anna Cardinaletti (DSLCC, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice)
- Lara Mantovan (DSLCC, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice)
- Pietro Rigo (DSLCC, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice)
- Laura Volpato (DSLCC, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice)
Call for papers
Deafblind interpreting is a complex task, requiring guide-interpreters to have linguistic skills, guiding skills, and descriptive skills. Social-haptic communication (SHC) is a method that perfectly suits the need to briefly convey relevant contextual information to the deafblind without interrupting the ongoing action/translation. SHC is also a great resource in educational contexts, enabling the transfer of both social and environmental information to deafblind learners.
While SHC is extensively used in Scandinavian countries, Italy is just now witnessing the emergence of such a communication method.
The Department of Linguistics and Comparative Cultural Studies participated with the Foundation Lega del Filo d’Oro Onlus in the Erasmus+ project “Social Haptic Signs for Deaf and Blind in Education”, which was financed by the European Commission. The project contributed to the development of social-haptic communication in Italy.
Given the upcoming dramatic change in the training of sign language interpreters and guide-interpreters in Italy, it is crucial to gather international expertise around the integration of SHC in the practice of deafblind interpreting and education.
Abstract submission
Send your abstract(s) to hapticconference@unive.it by the 28th of April 2023.
The email should contain the following information:
- title of the paper
- name and surname of the author(s)
- affiliation
- email address
language chosen for the contribution
We invite on stage presentations (30-minute presentations, followed by 15-minute questions and answers) on any topic related to the integration of social-haptic communication in deafblind interpreting (theory and practice) and in deafblind educational contexts.
At maximum two abstracts (one of which must be co-authored) can be submitted.
Abstracts can be written in English or signed in Italian Sign Language.
If your abstract is in English, it should be anonymous and should not be longer than two pages in length (including tables, examples, and references), in 12-point type, single line spacing and 2.5 cm margins. Written abstracts should be sent in PDF format.
If your abstract is in Italian Sign Language, the maximum length of the video is 5 minutes and the content should be signed by someone different from the author.
In case you send a video-abstract, you need to fill in the disclaimer for images and audio/video recordings attached below.
The notifications of abstract acceptance will be sent out by the 28th of May 2023.
 | Call for papers | 134 K |
| Call for papers [ITA] | 134 K |
Deadlines
- Abstract submission deadline: 28 April 2023
- Acceptance notification: 28 May 2023
- Registration to the conference: from 28 June 2023
- Conference: 4-5 September 2023
- A selection of papers will be published in the conference proceedings after a peer-review process.
- Full paper submission: 31 December 2023
Programme
| Programme | 140 K |
- 13:00-13:15: Registration
- 13:15-13:45: Welcome address
- Tiziana Lippiello (Rector, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice)
- Francesca Santulli (Deputy Director of the Department of Linguistics and Comparative Cultural Studies, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice)
- Anna Cardinaletti (Ca’ Foscari University of Venice)
- Laura Volpato (Ca’ Foscari University of Venice)
- Patrizia Ceccarani (Fondazione Lega del Filo d’Oro Onlus)
- Sanja Tarczay (World Federation of the Deafblind - WFDB)
- 13:45-14:15: “Older People with DSI: Haptics and more”
- Annmaree Watharow (Centre for Disability Research and Policy, University of Sydney)
- Moira Dunsmore (School of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney)
- Susannah McNally (Centre for Disability Research and Policy, University of Sydney)
- 14:15-15:00: Invited speakers - “SOCIAL-HAPTIC COMMUNICATION - History, research and applications”
- Riitta Lahtinen (Andante research group, Tampere University)
- Russ Palmer (Andante research group, Tampere University)
- 15:00-15:30: “A historic perspective on Haptic communication in Norway, a collaborative view”
- Bibbi Hagerupsen (Hapti-Co, Norway)
- Hildebjørg Karlsen Bjørge (Hapti-Co, Norway)
- Kathrine Goborg Rehder (Hapti-Co, Norway)
15:30-16:00: Coffee break
- 16:00-16:45: Invited speaker - “Ways to support inclusion and participation in interpreter-mediated event for deafblind people”
- Eli Raanes (Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim)
- 16:45-17:15: “Development of Social Haptic Communication (SHC) in The Netherlands”
- Klaske de Greeuw (Kentalis, The Netherlands),
- Thea Hendriks (Kalorama, The Netherlands)
- Annette Schuster (Kalorama, The Netherlands)
- Gaby Wynia (Kentalis, The Netherlands)
- 17:15-17:45: “Haptic Social Communication in Brazil and its ways of construction: paths and possibilities”
- Elaine Gomes Vilela (Methodist University of São Paulo)
- Adriana Barroso de Azevedo (Methodist University of São Paulo)
- 17:45-18:15: “Building up Social Haptic Signs – The Portuguese team”
- Bruno Mendes (Universidade do Porto)
- Cristina Gil (Escola Superior de Educação, Instituto Politécnico de Setúbal)
- Paula Liques (CED António Aurélio da Costa Ferreira da Casa Pia de Lisboa, I.P.)
- Orquídea Coelho (Universidade do Porto)
- 9:00-9:30: Welcome participants
- 9:30-10:15: Invited speaker - “Methodological issues in analyzing tactile signed interaction and interpreting”
- Johanna Mesch (Stockholm University)
- 10:15-10:45: “Using social haptic communication with children who are congenitally deafblind”
- Heather Colson Osborne (Seashell Trust, UK)
- 10:45-11:15: “Use of haptic communication by interpreters in tactile Norwegian Sign Language”
- Giorgia Zorzi (Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Bergen)
- Gro Hege Saltnes Urdal (Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Bergen)
- Eli Raanes (Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim)
- Johanna Mesch (Stockholm University)
11:15-11:45: Coffee break
- 11:45-12:30: Invited speaker - “Who is doing the talking? The mutual construction of social haptic signals in interpreter mediated dialogues between deafblind interlocutors”
- Sigrid Slettebakk Berge (Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim)
- 12:30-13:00: “A walk through social-haptic communication in deafblind interpreting”
- Peter Vanhoutte (Anna Timmerman VZW, Belgium)
- Koen Amerlynck, interpreter
- 13:00-14:15: Lunch break
- 14:15-15:00: Invited speakers - “Astrohaptices - touching the Universe”
- Russ Palmer (Andante research group, Tampere University)
- Stina Ojala (University of Turku)
- 15:00-15:30: “Social haptic communication that facilitates the use of computers and smartphones”
- Linda Eriksson (The Swedish National Resource Center for Deafblindness - NKCDB)
- 15:30-16:00: “Haptic communication and guide-dogs”
- Nina Frisnes Øyan (Center of vision and/or hearing impairment/deafblindness, Trondheim Municipality)
- Cathrine Timm Sundin (Eikholt, National Center on combined vision and hearing impairment/ deafblindness, Drammen)
- 16:00-16:15: Closing remarks
Alternate speaker
“How to use hospital haptices in interpreting situations”
Sanna Nuutinen (The Finnish Deafblind Association)
Contacts
hapticconference@unive.it
Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Department of Linguistics and Comparative Cultural Studies (DSLCC)
Palazzo Cosulich, Dorsoduro 1405, 30123 Venice