Transcript: Go ON Gold video, Maria Zedda.

Maria Zedda, disability equality trainer and access consultant, talks to Go ON Gold at the London office of digital inclusion charity Go On UK.

“Modern technologies in the digital age have really changed things around for many, many deaf people like me. They have definitely changed my life as a deaf entrepreneur.  I would not be able to do the job that I do without access to email, e-learning and internet. I would definitely also have difficulty and have less flexibility in terms of working as deaf person, and also as a mother as well. Being able to work from home, for example, less commuting – it’s definitely changed my life.

“Another thing that digital technologies have done for me has been the fact that I can now rely more on email and text communication, so I don’t have the stress of having to cope with telephone calls. So that’s been a really, really great change. 

“Accessing digital technologies can sometimes be difficult for deaf people, because they are… Just purely enrolling in the first place, sometimes it involves a visit from an engineer or maybe a phone call. Sometimes that can be an initial barrier, if an engineer is not deaf aware, for example, or over the phone, if people don’t speak clearly and slowly. So, it doesn’t feel great, because it’s very frustrating – I’m a customer and I would like to spend my money and receive good service, so there’s definitely a need for deaf-awareness in the provision of the service in the first place. 

“I think perhaps there should be more plain English instructions, because for some deaf people, English is not their first language, and also, there could be perhaps more text-based or visually-based instructions or videos that have subtitles, guiding people through the stages. All for enrolling in cable and internet services, all of that.

“I think it’s very important that some awareness is raised for service providers when thinking about their customers. They should not forget that there are nine million deaf and partially deaf people in the UK, and that’s a huge market, so if they make their services more accessible to them by being more deaf-aware, then I think they will really branch out and expand their market area, and this will be good for business for them and good for inclusion overall.”


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Go ON Gold is a campaign to help disabled people get online and access digital technologies that are essential to modern life. Whether you are an individual or an organisation, we can help you and we need your help.

To find out more about how to get online; help others get online; or ensure your own digital services are accessible, please visit our website:
www.go-on-gold.co.uk

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CREDITS:
Film by Catch21 Productions.
The campaign is supported by Nominet Trust - making change happen.