Signcast: Sign language adds important dimension to podcasts

The Signcast of a discussion with Professor Claudine Storbeck features her translation of the conversation into sign language.

When new adopters such as Spotify pump revenues that are yet to be secured into podcasts, this ‘sit back and take in’ content platform warrants a listen. In a recent campaign from Wits University in partnership with 702 and integrated agency Ebony+Ivory, a podcast took on a new dimension as sign language took the lead.

The Signcast edition of a Radio 702 discussion with Professor Claudine Storbeck of Wits University features her translation of the conversation into sign language.

Professor Storbeck is a world specialist in Deaf Education and a passionate social entrepreneur. She is the Founder and Director of the Centre for Deaf Studies at Wits University and of HI HOPES, its Community Service Programme that works to ensure that all children with hearing loss have equal access to education and equal opportunities to develop to their full potential.

Read more: Breaking the silence: How Claudine Storbeck is amplifying the voice of the deaf

According to the World Health Organisation, there are 466 million people in the world with disabling hearing loss. This is over 5% of the world’s population and 34 million of these people are children. It projects that unless action is taken, by 2030 there will be nearly 630 million people with disabling hearing loss and by 2050, the number could rise to over 900 million.

Adding context to the scale of the growth of the deaf community in South Africa, Professor Storbeck explains that every day, 17 babies are born with hearing loss in the country and this excludes the number of children who develop hearing-loss as a result of meningitis, ear infections or ototoxic medication.

“This reality carries through into our responsibility as a brands and marketing communication workforce. Speaking the right language really is everything,” added Paul Middleton, Managing Director at Ebony+Ivory. “The deaf community needs to be considered in our campaigns and while podcasts are a powerful wavelength of communication, they become more inclusive when we add the dimension of sign language.

Watch the Wits Impact For Good Signcast here!

More from The Wits Impacts For Good podcast series with Eusebius McKaiser