PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Dear FriendsWe are facing a new era that has changed us all and will leave its mark not only on us butalso on the different environments in which we move.
Our group of deaf people, cochlear implant users and family members, are not left out of theconsequences that the COVID-19 pandemic has established.Some actions are here to stay, such as telepractice in rehabilitation, telework in manymodalities and even “on-line” conferences.
Others, hopefully are temporary, such as theincrease in waiting lists, delays in surgeries or schedules.There is some good news, as this new way of looking at the world has made communicationtechnology advance by leaps and bounds and improves the accessibility of information;other news are incidents to be noted, such as the mandatory masks for practically the entireworld population, isolating our group in an abysmal way, both hearing (loss of discrimination)and visual (not being able to rely on lip reading).
Another characteristic is that the medical pandemic has affected education, the elderly andhas hit the economy hard, which results in a reduction in resources that is already being feltin neighboring countries.In this issue of the newsletter we deal with all of this and the adjustments we have had tomake, such as postponing the celebration of the EURO-CIU 25th anniversary or proposingthat our AGA be virtual, on October 3rd.Looking at the positive side of the matter, perhaps it is this eventuality that allows most ofyou, our member entities, to participate, since you will not have to travel and be able toaccompany us from your points of residence.
The complexity of the AGA organization has the entire board involved so that we can allparticipate. Not only contemplating the program and the times, but also managing accessibility to communication and simultaneous translation. Check our website where wewill be informing you about any updates and do not hesitate to join us the 3rd of October