Istanbul Gelisim University Public Relations and Social Responsibility Club students started a photography exhibition in which they gave messages in sign language within the scope of the project they started with the slogan "My Hand is My Voice". In this event, which was held with the participation of Şişli Hearing and Speech Impaired Association Board Chairman Güler Dağdır and Turkish Sign Language Instructor Tuğçe Elender, Sign Language Training was given to the participants.
During the research phase of the project, the results of the survey they conducted on a group of 100 students were shared with Şişli Hearing and Speech Impaired Association Chairman Güler Dağdır and Turkish Sign Language Instructor Tuğçe Elender.
All studies were conducted by Istanbul Gelişim University Public Relations and Social Responsibility Club Consultant Assist. Prof. Emel Tozlu, Istanbul Gelişim University Vocational School Head of Marketing and Advertising Department Lect. Fulya Beteş and her students Buse Dursun, Burak Demir, Aziz Kemal Eser, Beyza Özyiğit, Tülay Akagündüz, Mustafa Yiğit. It was created by Furkan Çakmak, Meryem Kesikkol and Hüseyin Can Kaya. As a result of the research, 40% of the participants were undecided about whether they have sufficient knowledge about hearing impairment, 41% did not have knowledge about sign language and did not receive any training on this subject before, 38% wanted to receive sign language training, 28% of the hearing-impaired are excluded by the society, 39% of them are undecided about whether the awareness activities for the hearing-impaired are sufficient, and 49% of them stated that the hearing-impaired individuals face various difficulties while being employed in the society.
As the second leg of the project, an event was held at the Dialogue in Silence Exhibition with a group including group members and academicians. In the event, the participants tried to express themselves only with facial expressions and body language without speaking for 1 hour, accompanied by a hearing-impaired guide, with special soundproof headphones they put on their ears. With the games in the special playgrounds established, they experienced both expressing themselves without speaking and communicating with other participants without speaking. After the event, the participants stated that they were able to empathize with the hearing impaired individuals within a time period of 1 hour.
Güler DAĞIDIR, Chairman of the Board of the Şişli Hearing and Speech Impaired Association, with whom Istanbul Gelişim University, Public Relations and Social Responsibility Club students work together within the scope of the project, said, “We have held events in many universities over the years. However, for the first time, we encountered the results of students shaping their projects from these surveys they made before they developed the project. We are very happy to be hosted in such a professional organization. Thank you for the values you have added to your conscious and sensitive students that you have trained.”
Istanbul Gelisim University Public Relations and Social Responsibility Club Consultant Assist. Prof. Emel Tozlu, on the other hand, with the support of our Chairman of the Board of Trustees Abdülkadir Gayretli, helps students develop social responsibility projects, each of which brings us more moral value than the previous one, have more practical experience and a much more Civil Society. He stated that he was very happy to cooperate with his organization and raise awareness.
