Muscat – The Directorate-General of Special Education and Continuous Learning, represented by the Al-Amal School for the Deaf, concluded on Wednesday, the activities of the 47th Arab Deaf Week programme, which came under the slogan ‘Inclusion of Sign language in the curricula of education at all levels’, under the patronage of H E Qassim al Ameri, member of the Shura Council, representative of Seeb, in the presence of Al Jabri, assistant director general of the Directorate-General of Special Education and Continuous Learning for Continuous Learning, employees of the Special Education Department, management and members of the administrative and teaching staff, participants from government and private institutions, students and invited guests. The conclusion ceremony took place at Al-Araimi Complex (Boulevard).

At the ceremony, H E Ameri, the sponsor of the occasion inaugurated the ‘Angels of Hope’ exhibition, in which governmental, private, and civil institutions participated. The exhibition included a number of corners, including: A corner for career guidance (student companies), a corner for life skills (Tamkeen project), and a corner for the environmental team (environmental style project), a corner for plastic arts, a corner for photography (my lens), a corner for musical skills (hymns), a corner for the computer department – the culture of the deaf – ‘Robot’, a corner for the speech and language department, interactive corners for ‘My Fingers Create’, and a flower arrangement corner , a pots formation corner, a photography studio corner, a preparation corner (hands are creative), and a trust imprint corner.

The Arab Deaf Week included a number of activities. On its first day, the accompanying exhibition was opened. The exhibition included a corner for security and safety for the Oman Police (General Traffic Department) represented by the Traffic Safety Institute, a corner for the Civil Defense and Ambulance Authority, a corner for dairies teaching students how to milk in the traditional and modern way, and a corner for beekeeping introducing students to the life of a bee, starting from harvesting nectar to making honey and a pound, a corner for the Association of Disabled Children (Al-Seeb Rehabilitation Center), a corner for students’ scientific projects that contained scientific innovations for students of Al-Amal School for the Deaf, as well as a corner for the environmental team ‘My school produces fertiliser’, and a corner of a trust fingerprint to identify the earbuds, their molds and the headphone batteries. The first day also included a workshop in Sign language.

The purpose of the forty-seventh Arab Deaf Week was to spread sign language among members of society, provide teachers of general education with sign language vocabulary and terminology to activate it in educational curricula, integrate students of Al-Amal Schools for the Deaf with students from other schools in purposeful and diverse programs, highlight the talents of students of Al-Amal School for the Deaf, and enrich their cultural and sports side. It is worth noting that the Arab Deaf Week falls on the last week of April during the period (20-24) every year, and targets the administrative and teaching staff, parents and students of Al-Amal School for the Deaf, public education schools and the community.