Gallaudet University and Apple have partnered on a new project that aims to make the Apple Maps feature more accessible to the deaf and hard-of-hearing community, according to an article on the Forbes website.
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As part of the “Map Guides Project” mentioned in the article, Apple Maps users can open up guides that direct them to deaf-friendly businesses and sites in the Washington DC area, which includes locations that are either owned by deaf individuals or those that use sign language.
According to the article, Gallaudet considered the following criteria before adding locations to its Signing Ecosystem guide:
Is the location’s customer/audience base geared towards the deaf community with ethical consciousness of our language, culture, and community resources?
Is the site owned and operated by deaf and hard-of-hearing people, or does the site employ deaf and hard-of-hearing people?
Has the location embraced and found the significance, worth, and value of American Sign Language (and other signed/tactile languages), deaf people, and deaf culture?
Does the site show consideration and inclusion of deaf and hard-of-hearing people in their workplace, audience, and community?
Though the guides are currently only available in Washington DC, there is the potential for deaf activists across the nation to label more Signing Ecosystem sites.
To read the entire article, please click here.
Source: Forbes
