/HMFD UK and Eire Conference 2008

Theme: HMFD? CODA? Mean what?: A weekend of cultural exploration

When?

5th-7th September 2008

Where?

YHA Thameside London

Who?

Adrian Bailey

Marie Dimond

Catherine White

Sarah Vann

Gerdinand Wagenaar

Debbie Lawrence

Sophie Lawrence

Lauren Fitzpatrick

Why?

As HMFD (Hearing, Mother Father Deaf) or CODA (Children of Deaf Adults) we each have

unique experiences of growing up and living with Deaf parentage. Some of us also have

Deaf siblings, aunts or uncles; some have multi-generational Deafness going back many

years.

What is important, what had drawn us here together, is that we feel a connection, a

cultural need, that the outside world cannot address, and that the Deaf world cannot

address. Other people expressing their views about HMFD/CODA can be (but aren’t

necessarily) negative, condescending, or de-motivating in other ways.

This was one main reason for this Conference. It was an excellent chance for people with

a similar uniqueness to get together, and feel the strength from a common unity. From

this unity, it was hoped that everyone would leave with a positive glow and fond

memories.

There was also a discursive focus that we wanted to bring forward: What is the place of

HMFD in the 21st Century? How do we fit in Deaf and Hearing society? What can we do to

support HMFDs, (children and adults) in finding their place in society?

We believe that these topics were a good starting point for discussion over this weekend,

and we encourage you to think about them, take them home, and share them with your

families and friends, if you have not done so already.

Friday

Even though the weather was as poor as those that summer had brought us everyone

arrived safely, settled in their rooms and enjoyed a relaxed evening making new

acquaintances and sharing stories over a few drinks.

Saturday

Although some were cradling hangovers or suffering from lack of sleep, a very

productive day was to be had. The conference was opened with discussions surrounding

what it’s like to be a HMFD in the UK. Experiences and stories were shared as well as

history of coda activities in the UK and Ireland. We watched ‘Passport Without A Country’

and Keith Wann’s ‘Watching Two Cultures Collide’ DVD and then discussed what can and

should be done to support CODAs/HMFDs.

History of the CODA world:

Discussed the development of coda groups across Europe, our CODA

International Europe Representative Manuella. The current use of the Yahoo

egroup “CODA Europe” of which Gerry is a moderator and the Mother Father Deaf

List.

EUD- conferences have had coda dinners in the past and codas have met up after

WFD conferences in the past as well as doing presentations on codas during the

conferences. CODA international conferences now coincide with WFD conferences.

CODA UK and Eire Egroup: possibility of more coda individuals becoming

moderators

CODA Retreats: After the success of the previous coda retreat it was agreed that

it should continue as one weekend a year and then potentially increase to more

weekends in the future depending on demand.

There have been coda meets in the past here in the UK and Ireland. The difficulty

with getting in touch with codas is that although many work in the deaf world the

majority do not and they will benefit from future coda events. We should

therefore liaise with Linda Lynette of Deaf Parents UK (through deaf parents we

find codas) and Sabina Label- London.

Future Developments:

CODA Website:

Would be useful to have a UK coda historical timeline that marks important coda

activities. It could also contain a CODA Blog, Contacts list, a listing of all coda

materials and resources such as DVDs (Bonnie Kraft/Abababa/Keith Wann/CODA

brothers).

Would need to advertise for a coda website designer on the coda egroups (Gerry

has a few contacts).

It would be best for it to be created and controlled by a coda due to the potential

for deaf organisations to become competitive and refuse to work with the coda

group due to their affiliation with a rival deaf organisation. There may also be

possible restrictions, on the content of the website, put in place by any

organisation if we were to apply for funding through them. It is possible that

some areas would require membership to the website and even potential for

Donations to made in the future. Art: S.D. Advertising: S.L. Writing L.F. Potential

for George Taylors articles published in his column “Between two cultures” for

“Signmatters”/ “BDN” to be stored ad viewable on the website? Obviously

permission would need to be obtained from both the BDN and George Taylor

himself.

CODA Conference:

Agreed the next coda conference 2009 will be in April (not on a bank holiday) potentially

could use action deafness centre offered by Catherine and Sarah so the only thing that

would need arranging is accommodation.

CODA Camp:

CODA camp end of august bank holiday weekend 2010. Contact Bert Pickell (potential

for various activities/BSL classes/deaf history)

CODA group/committee/council:

If CODA UK and Eire had its own separate group/committee/council, with advocates such

as Deaf Parents UK , DRC and Signcircle to name a few, it would be a strong driving

force behind any coda development and working as a team would prevent burn out as

everyone would be supportive of one another. Representatives of CODA UK and Eire

could attend certain conferences to spread the word of CODA need strong PR.

Agreed steps:

1. A summary of the coda conference proceedings should be sent out to the

attendees of the conference and a 2 week deadline for feedback should be made.

2. Once agreed this summary should then be send to the coda egroups and out to

other codas. If individuals want to get involved they need to respond to an email

address moderated by Marie then those of whom are interested together can

arrange a date to meet and set up a coda committee/council /group (title of the

group to be decided at the meeting).

Summary

It was agreed that a centralised group would help greatly to attract funding that would

be needed to stage cultural events, and for other things that would be of benefit to

HMFDs. 2008 marks the 25th anniversary of the beginning of CODA International in the

United States; as yet, very little has progressed for codas in the UK. Attempts have been

made in the past to formalise an organisation but efforts seem to ‘reinvent the wheel’.

Therefore we must ensure that anything that is produced from these current efforts is

sustainable. We need as many people as are happy to be involved to help us build

something for the mutual benefit of codas and Deaf families.

Sunday

On Sunday we all said our goodbyes and sadly departed from London.

If you are interested in being a part of the group/council/committee please email: