Signing the way forward for deaf entrepreneurs - 6 May 2008
The award-winning SignVideo interpreting service will enable more aspiring entrepreneurs to turn their vision into a successful business at the British Library's Business & IP Centre. The access point allows all deaf innovators to get hold of business information and advice about issues ranging from intellectual property to market research and finance resources using a British Sign Language interpreter via the SignVideo service. The service is the brainchild of Blackheath-based Significan't aka "Sign if I can't" who celebrated their 5th anniversary on 30 April 2008. SignVideo enables deaf people to speak with public servants, health service providers, employers and colleagues without needing to book an interpreter several weeks in advance. They can now turn up at one of the 40 SignVideo Access Points across London, for instance at their local council, and get a service just like everyone else, without having to worry about communication. The SignVideo Contact Centre provides on-demand access to sign language interpreters, using the latest video conferencing technology, which has been developed in partnership with world leading companies CISCO and Tandberg. Exciting developments with 3G mobiles, laptops and palmtops with webcams will increase the capacity to use video interpreting on the go: the "pocket interpreter". What video interpreting brings to Sign Language interpreting is an extension of accessibility to areas of life where deaf people used to have none: the quick telephone calls, the last-minute meetings, the unexpected, unplanned conversations that take place every day and that most people take for granted. Brigitte Francois, who founded the company with Jeff McWhinney, said: "We have reduced the average waiting time to get a sign language interpreter from two weeks to less than ten minutes. I am thrilled to see that Significan't has made such an impact on deaf people's quality of life. We are enabling services to satisfy the requirements for equal access for those who use British Sign Language." The new SignVideo access point at the British Library's Business & IP Centre means that any deaf entrepreneur will be able to have a sign language interpreter within minutes of requesting one. Gaby Rose, the Business Engagement Manager at the British Library, said: "We are excited to launch this new facility at the Business & IP Centre. We want to help all aspiring entrepreneurs out there and open up our services as widely as possible to the whole community. The access point provided by Significan't will allow us to do exactly that." Notes to editorsSignifican't aka "Sign if I can't" is an award winning social enterprise established on 7 April 2003 run by Sign Language users with a vision to improve the quality of deaf people's lives. Significan't set up the first "Video Call Centre" in the UK and Europe, the SignVideo Contact Centre, providing high quality Sign Language interpreting in minutes through the videophone. For more information, visit our website www.signvideo.co.uk The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. It provides world-class information services to the academic, business, research and scientific communities and offers unparalleled access to the world's largest and most comprehensive research collection. Further information is available on the Library's website at www.bl.uk, which currently receives almost 2 million 'hits' or visits per month. The British Library Business & IP Centre is supported by the London Development Agency to provide a single access point to support entrepreneurs and SMEs in London to gain access to and exploit existing and new business and IP information, and other relevant content and data, guided by impartial Library information experts and associated partners. The Business & IP Centre has been used by over 30,000 people since it opened in March 2006. An independent survey of 230 users in 2007 showed that it helped create 47 new companies, took a further 48 to start-up and helped create 115 new jobs. Access to the Centre is free, but users need a Reader Pass. |
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