Liz McGrath, Gemma Houghton and Tessa Doumanis facilitate a session at Brighton Primary School’s Centre of Deaf Education with the aid of an Auslan interpreter. Image: Brooke Bowering.

THE legacy of the late great Russell Ebert continues to grow with the community program he started 23 years ago now available in Auslan.

It is the first time an AFL club has made a program of this kind accessible for those who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Ebert started the Community Youth Program for primary school children in 1999, and it has evolved to focus on healthy lifestyles, respect and STEM.

In the last couple of years, a virtual classroom online learning platform has been developed to complement the in-person school visits by Port Adelaide players and staff from the club’s not-for-profit community arm, Power Community Limited, and this week, for the first time, the program was translated into Auslan ahead of its visit to Brighton Primary School’s Centre of Deaf Education.

Youth Programs Coordinator Will Northeast facilitated the session for 17 students who are deaf or hard of hearing with the aid of an Auslan interpreter and AFLW players Gemma Houghton, Tess Doumanis and Liz McGrath.

He said he was surprised to see the level of engagement by the students – some as young as five.

“When Russell started the program in 1999, he had a vision to make it accessible and inclusive for everyone,” Northeast explained. “We’re always looking at ways to develop the program and expand it so that everyone in a school setting can learn and get access to our program.

“We’ve worked closely with Deaf Connect to translate our whole Community Youth Program e-book, which is the online learning platform that we use and with their help we’ve been able to translate all of the content, even what our players are saying in the embedded videos.

“It gives more students the opportunity to access our program, and we’re really proud about that.”

The program will continue to be available at other schools in Auslan through its online platform and with Auslan interpreters in person as required. Image: Brooke Bowering.

Northeast and the players wore a special device around his neck which captured and transmitted what he was saying directly to students through speakers that work in tandem with their hearing aids, and they had an Auslan interpreter on hand to assist.

Students had a lot of fun using the online workbook, which also had interpreting on the various activities.

Assistant principal Catharine Carlin had seen the Community Youth Program run at the school previously and was full of praise for the innovation behind the incorporation of Auslan.

She explained that by making students feel more included, they would get better learning outcomes.

“I have seen the program prior but it’s a whole new dimension having the Auslan interpreting and the inclusion for our deaf kids,” Ms Carlin said.

“The kids were so excited. To see the interpreter present and the interpreter up on the screen is really important as they’re learning to navigate through their world.

“Programs like this build a strong community. We have a beautiful school community here for our deaf and hard of hearing and we like to open it up to the wider community so I should say to the Port Adelaide Football Club, keep up with those programs, keep up with what you’re doing because it’s really really important for our students to have that inclusivity in their education and wider community.

“There is so much awareness that people need to fully engage these kids in their education.”

The program will continue to be available at other schools in Auslan through its online platform and with Auslan interpreters in person as required.

Youth Programs Coordinator Will Northeast says the club is proud to give more students the opportunity to access CYP. Image: Brooke Bowering.

The CEO of Deaf Connect, Brett Casey, said that the organisation was excited to be working with the club and looked forward to seeing similar programs including Auslan in the future.

“The Community Youth Program includes really valuable information on healthy lifestyles and some fun challenges. It’s great to see this be made accessible to deaf and hard of hearing children,” Mr Casey said.

“As the largest provider of Auslan interpreting nationally, Deaf Connect has been facilitating access to emergency information throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Today we’re excited to see Port Adelaide recognise the importance of access to fun, community minded information – reminding everyone that equal access is not just in times of disaster.

“The opportunity that the club is providing for deaf children paves the way for many other sporting clubs across the nation – encouraging them to engage with grassroots elements of the community who otherwise may miss out on opportunities to engage with the club that they love.”

Power Community Limited thanks CYP partners the Department for Education, Variety South Australia, Saab Australia, Seeley International and GFG for their ongoing support and for making the expansion into Auslan possible.