Hello! I’m Jen Blyth. I am the new Chief Executive here at Deaf Australia. I have only started last Monday, I am in awe with Deaf Austalia’s amazing work to date, amazing team with great staff members. It has been really exciting start, I am thrilled to be part of the team and work with them.

I would also like to acknowledge the last Chief Executive, Kyle Miers who have worked with Deaf Australia for many years. In the last few months, we had an interim Chief Executive, Rodney Adams. Many thanks to both of them for the work they have done to date.

Moving forward, I really would love to hear from the community, including Deaf, hard of hearing or hearing people, interpreters, CODAs etc. I am keen for you to share with us what you would like to see Deaf Australia do. You can contact me anytime. My email address is [email protected] My mobile number is 0477 551 844. You can use that number to video call via my mobile or Skype. Otherwise you can search deafaustraliajenblyth on Skype and call me through that. I am also available on WhatsApp, direct text message or through Deaf Australia’s platforms, for example, Facebook or email [email protected] I am really looking forward to hear from you, and to work closely with you all to make sure Deaf Australia continues to be in good position for many years to come. Thank you.

Why are people calling tomorrow “Auslan Day”? 

13th April 1989 was the date of publication of the first Auslan dictionary.  In 2019 DSNSW made a video to celebrate 30 years since the first publication, and last year several of our members suggested through their social media posts that this date should become an annual celebration, and gave it the name Auslan Day.  This seemed to be a very popular suggestion in the community, and at 

Deaf Australia we think it’s a really interesting idea and a great way to remember the starting point of Auslan being recognised as a distinct language in its own right by our community and the public.  It could also be a great platform for Auslan users to proudly promote Auslan as the natural communication mode for Deaf people, as well the culture & history of the Deaf community. 

This year Deaf Australia is celebrating the anniversary of the first Auslan dictionary in a few ways. First by releasing a video of an interview with Professor Trevor Johnston, who created the dictionary, about the use of term ‘Auslan’. Then later in the evening, DA will host a webinar about the history of Auslan by Darlene Thornton. For this week, DA is encouraging members of Deaf community to use the custom designed frame celebrating Auslan Day to use on your Facebook’s Profile – you can find the frames on DA’s Facebook Page.  

 
DA is keen to get your feedback about making this celebration a permanent official fixture on the Deaf Community’s calendar, and calling it “Auslan Day”.   We will discuss and vote on this at the next DA AGM, which will be later this year.  Many members of DA believe this will help promote awareness of Auslan and its community of users to the broader Australian community, and help us in pushing for Auslan to be formally recognised as an official minority language in Australia. Auslan was recognised as a community language in Australia in 1991. 

Will be available soon