.png)
.png)
ABOUT US
A special team - which communicates in 8 languages
Sign Language Playground is a strategic partnership between four organizations in the Erasmus+ program KA205 (Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices - Strategic Partnerships for youth).
.png)
"You In Europe" is a NGO based in Greece. In the first place.... Because "You In Europe" is a space for everyone who loves living through learning... and vice versa.
In fact "You in Europe" is the formalization of the idea that each of us has the opportunity to involve in the society in a prosperous way and foster social cohesion through personal development and here what we do in the project.
And how we do that? By developing programs and actions that motivate young people and adults to involve in learning activities, support people with special needs in gaining access to education and integrate better in the society, and help volunteers to gain knowledge, help the community and obtain new skills.
Our staff will be responsible for orienteering, adventuring, traditional and funny games in some afternoon sessions and will run the "stock market" workshop in a morning session supporting the Polish team.
Jel Alapítvány is an NGO in Budapest, Hungary. What do we do? Bring new forms and methods of teaching to work with Sign Language and Deaf people. Whether you are Deaf or hearing, a child or a parent, an avid language learner or a dedicated educator: communication is not an obstacle but a challenge and an opportunity. Everyone has the right to have access to Sign Language, use the language of their choice and receive information. That is why we work with innovative, modern, non-formal education methods and offer alternatives to the challenging Hungarian Deaf education system.
​
The SLP project is based on our 100-game Sign Language Game Library, a widely-adapted and up-to-date professional gaming collection. In Hungary, there has not been such a complex collection of Sign Language and Deaf Culture. As a project host organization, we are coordinating the methodology developing.
​
Sign Language - for everyone.
Hands Up is a Startup company and it is the first Sign Language interpreting agency in Greece. It offers accessible services to Deaf and hard of hearing people such as interpreting in sign language, lip-reading, news, information and entertainment through the new website: hands-up.org. Moreover, It advertises companies, organizations etc. through sign language, it also provides subtitling services, and it converts websites so that they will be accessible and friendly to deaf and hard of hearing users.
The team of HandsUp participated actively in the Sign Language Playground Program since they learned and tried all the different activities and they suggested ways to transform the activities so that deaf young people can participate as well. This program consists a unique experience for all the members of our team because it gave us the chance to explore new ways to break down the language barriers and make the communication easier for both deaf and hearing people.
Polski Związek Głuchych Oddział Opolski is the oldest deaf organisation in Poland. The main aims of the organisation are to take care of the children, young people and adults that are hearing impared including their hearing or deaf family members. We do it in various ways: by providing rehabilitation of speech and hearing, helping the deaf to raise their qualifications and providing sign and spoken language education. But the most important task seems to be interpreting for the deaf members in need as well as providing legal help.
​
We are one of the sixteen branches in Poland of PZG. There are 20 people working in our branch on a daily basis and 11 volunteers.
​
In this project we are mainly responsible for conducting the longest and the hardest Non Formal Education activities, as we are the most experienced partner of all. We also do our best to support Jel Alapitivany - the host organisation. We are very happy to cooperate with all the three partners. It's so much fun!
OUR STORY
A few years ago, a few of the participants in our current project had already met during another job - that’s where this special collaboration began. Non-formal education is a relatively new field in the education and care of the deaf. Two of the partner organizations, PZG and JEL, have already incorporated various informal techniques into their work with deaf youth. We are kneading these experiences in this project with the participation of two other organizations for whom non-formal education is a new but important area. They have expertise in an area that is also essential to running such a large-scale project. HUA has vast experience in interpreting techniques and YIE has been organizing Erasmus projects for many years.
​
The professional team consists of a variety of skilled staff. Sign Language Interpreters, Sign Language Instructors, Deaf Educators, Trainers, Psychologists, Linguists, Teachers, Media Specialists ... We have all included this wide range of knowledge in the project. The common spoken language of the teams of three nationalities - Greek, Polish and Hungarian - was English, and of course we communicated continuously in Sign Languages, ie we also put together a mixed, deaf-hearing team. Polish Sign Language, Greek Sign Language, Hungarian Sign Language, and International Sign Language. It was a real cavalcade of languages every minute spent together, but communication was always barrier-free thanks to dedicated interpreter colleagues.
Meet The Team
Sign Language Instructor
Anita Seres-Kormány
Responsible for the Sign Language adaptation of the activities and communication with the Deaf participants
Trainer, Sign Language Interpreter
Brigitta Arany
Responsible for collecting activities, applied improv methods and taking all the trainings
Sign Language Interpreter
Erika Rimóczi
Responsible for Sign Language interpretation and Sign Language adaptations at all events
Project lead, Sign Language Interpreter
Katya Tempfli
Responsible for the entire project, organization, professional and operational management
Ania Hummel
Sign Language Interpreter
Responsible for Sign Language interpretation and Sign Language adaptations of methodology
Marta Kalinowska
Sign Language Interpreter
Responsible for Sign Language interpretation at all events
Katarzyna Glozak
Trainer, Sign Language Interpreter
Responsible for Sign Language adaptations of methodology and activities; leader of the Polish team
Agnieszka Saganowska
Sign Language Instructor
Responsible for the Sign Language adaptation of the activities and communication with the Deaf participants
_edited.jpg)
Special Educator
Chara Stathis
Responsible for the Sign Language adaptation of the activities and communication with the Deaf participants
Sign Language Interpreter
George Stathis
Responsible for Sign Language interpretation and Sign Language adaptations at all events. Leads the HandsUp team.
_edited.jpg)
Operation Manager
Thanos Kapranos
He is responsible for the implementation of the project and the creation of media content
Communication assistant for the Deaf
Mimika Kwnstantaki
Responsible for the Sign Language adaptation of the activities and communication with the Deaf participants
Content producer and media manager
Petran Pissaridis
He is responsible for the implementation of the project and the creation of media content
Operation Manager
Ioanna Thomopoulou
She is responsible for the implementation of the project and the creation of media content
.png){kind=small}
Social media and communication
Stavroula Pagona
She is responsible for media content and communication with the participants
​
​
Team leader
Vasilis Stoulos
He is responsible for the implementation of the project and leads the YIE team.
Project organizer
Igor Niemyjski
The leader in charge of YIE participants in the camp; responsible for documentation and implementation