English

Welcome to the Czech Chamber of Sign Language Interpreters

The Chamber is a non-profit voluntary professional organisation associating primarily interpreters for the Deaf, the hard of hearing and those who have lost hearing. The Chamber does not provide interpreting service. We welcome all professional sign language interpreters regardles of their hearing status. People who are not professional interpreters themselves but are interested in the Deaf issues, culture and language, agree with Chamber’s viewpoints and support its activities can also become members. The Chamber was founded in 2000. 

 

Chamber’s Viewpoints

The Chamber recognises the Deaf as a cultural and language minority and respects their right to own identity, language and culture and recognises the Czech Sign Language as their primary and adequate means of communication.

Chamber’s Aims

The Chamber aims to continuously enhance the skills and expertise of its members in order to enforce the right of the Deaf to standard communication in their first language, the sign language, and to achieve the level of interpreting common in other EU Member States. Furthermore, being a professional organisation, the Chamber attempts to defend the interests of all interpreters for the Deaf and to provide them with high quality of education in the form of courses, seminars and training. Through its activities, the Chamber disseminates information on interpreting for the Deaf and on other related topics, especially on the communication and culture of the Deaf.

Chamber’s Partners

The Chamber cooperates with a number of organisations and associations with similar focus (the most prominent ones being ASNEP – the Association of Organisations of the Deaf, the Hard of Hearing and Their Friends; the Union of Interpreters and Translators; the Chamber of Court Appointed Interpreters and Translators of the Czech Republic; Pevnost – the Czech Sign Language Centre; the Institute of Czech Language and Theory of Communication at the Faculty of Arts, Charles University. The Chamber is the sole Czech organisation of interpreters for the Deaf that is a full member of the European Forum of Sign Language Interpreters (efsli). The Chamber is also a member of JTP (The Union of Interpreters and Translators).