Scan Magazine | Special Theme | Education in Denmark
Left: Castberggaard’s characteristic, red headquarters, which used to house Urlev vicarage. Right: Castberggaard’s frontrunners come from all over the world to learn how they can create organisations to help deaf and hard of hearing people in their home countries.
Helping deaf and hard of hearing people to a better life Since 1973, Castberggaard have made it their ambition to improve the life of deaf and hard of hearing people. The folk high school is focusing on their personal and professional development without any communication barriers, while the job centre helps them maintain or find work. By Nicolai Lisberg | Photos: Søren Kjeldgaard
Being deaf or hard of hearing can cause many problems. Whether it is communication with your surroundings or being able to work, there are plenty of barriers in today’s society – barriers that Castberggaard intend to break down. Located in Urlev between Vejle and Horsens, Castberggaard has become a hub of knowledge with tremendous knowhow in how to make life easier for deaf and hard of hearing people. 28 | Issue 97 | February 2017
everything the guest speaker says. We also have telecoils in all our rooms, because if we want deaf and hard of hearing people to have a good time, they first of all have to be able to relax – and they can’t do that if they struggle to understand everything.”
A place to relax and develop “All our courses and lectures take place in sign language to avoid any communication issues. We have several interpreters to make sure that everything can be understood very clearly,” says Solveig Højgaard, who is in charge of the folk high school. “For our cultural arrangements, we have sign language interpreters on stage and writing interpreters who simultaneously write down
Other than a wide range of courses and cultural arrangements, Castberggaard also arranges several trips with outdoor activities such a skiing, mountain biking, hiking and kayaking. Many hearingimpaired people struggle when they want to travel as they might not be able to hear the boarding announcements in the airport or understand what the guides are telling them. “We arrange trips with two