Republic of Albania Institute of Statistics Deaf People in Albania in 2015 A survey study Edited by Inkeri Lahtinen & Päivi Rainò FOREWORD This survey study, dedicated to the deaf people of Albania, is a pioneer study, and a very necessary one in terms of implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which was ratified by the Gov- ernment of Albania in February 2013. On ratifying the CRPD, the Government of Albania em- barked upon immediate measures to make the necessary legal amendments that affect the lives of persons with disabilities in Albania. The approval of Law No. 93/2014 On Inclusion and Accessibility of Persons with Disabil- ities by the Albanian Parliament in July 2014 set forth a new legal approach, which paved the way for drafting several by-laws that would serve to improve the status of persons with disabilities. In March 2014, the Ministry of Social Welfare and Youth (MSWY) launched the Inter-Ministerial Working Group to focus on the recognition and formalisation of Alba- nian Sign Language. The work of this group concluded with the adoption of DCM No. 837, dated 3 December Publication of the Finnish Association of the Deaf 2016 2014, ‘On the recognition of sign language in the Republic © Finnish Association of the Deaf and the authors of Albania’. This process highlighted the need to have a ISBN 978-952-5396-75-1 (paperback English) clear overview not only of the number of deaf people in ISBN 978-952-5396-76-8 (PDF English) Albania, but also of their socio-economic situation, edu- cational attainment, employment and access to public Graphic design and layout by Suvi Pylvänen services. The joint initiative of MSWY, the Albanian Na- tional Association of the Deaf (ANAD) and the Finnish As- Printed and published by Gent Grafik, Albania 2016 sociation of the Deaf (FAD) to conduct a dedicated survey is now a reality, having been conducted in collaboration The survey is intended to be freely used but its contents cannot be altered or modified with the Albanian Institute of Statistics (INSTAT). without the authors’ consent. In addition, when copying, translating, interpreting or re- ferring to the survey in part or as a whole, the source is to be mentioned. Since there have been no studies or reliable qualitative information available regarding the situation of the deaf This survey is published with the support of Development Cooperation Program of Disa- population of Albania, the purpose of this survey is to bility Partnership Finland funded by Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the United collect information on deaf adults, as well as their oppor- Nations Albania in the framework of UN Social Inclusion Programme funded by Swiss tunities to interact in everyday life, their access to infor- Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). mation, education and employment, in accordance with the main articles and principles of the CRPD concerning deaf people and sign language. FOREWORD This survey study, dedicated to the deaf people of Albania, is a pioneer study, and a very necessary one in terms of implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which was ratified by the Gov- ernment of Albania in February 2013. On ratifying the CRPD, the Government of Albania em- At the same time, this study also supports the monitor- barked upon immediate measures to make the necessary ing of the National Action Plan for Persons with Disa- legal amendments that affect the lives of persons with bilities (2016-2020), by establishing baseline information disabilities in Albania. The approval of Law No. 93/2014 from which to measure the progress of indicators in the On Inclusion and Accessibility of Persons with Disabil- Action Plan, as well as the impact of the various meas- ities by the Albanian Parliament in July 2014 set forth a ures and interventions. Moreover, the outcomes of this new legal approach, which paved the way for drafting study will help in drafting and implementing policies in several by-laws that would serve to improve the status of several sectors, which will have a positive impact on the persons with disabilities. lives of deaf Albanians. In March 2014, the Ministry of Social Welfare and Youth Our special gratitude goes to all of the collaborators in- (MSWY) launched the Inter-Ministerial Working Group volved in this process who enabled the successful comple- to focus on the recognition and formalisation of Alba- tion of this survey study Deaf People in Albania in 2015. nian Sign Language. The work of this group concluded with the adoption of DCM No. 837, dated 3 December Ministry of Social Welfare and Youth (MSWY) 2014, ‘On the recognition of sign language in the Republic Albanian Institute of Statistics (INSTAT) of Albania’. This process highlighted the need to have a Albanian National Association of the Deaf (ANAD) clear overview not only of the number of deaf people in Finnish Association of the Deaf (FAD) Albania, but also of their socio-economic situation, edu- Finnish University of Applied Sciences (HUMAK) cational attainment, employment and access to public United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) services. The joint initiative of MSWY, the Albanian Na- tional Association of the Deaf (ANAD) and the Finnish As- sociation of the Deaf (FAD) to conduct a dedicated survey is now a reality, having been conducted in collaboration with the Albanian Institute of Statistics (INSTAT). Since there have been no studies or reliable qualitative information available regarding the situation of the deaf population of Albania, the purpose of this survey is to collect information on deaf adults, as well as their oppor- tunities to interact in everyday life, their access to infor- mation, education and employment, in accordance with the main articles and principles of the CRPD concerning deaf people and sign language. TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword Acknowledgements to the Albanian deaf community 1 Executive Summary 3 Contributors 5 1 Introduction 7 Päivi Rainò & Inkeri Lahtinen 1.1 A recent history of Albanian deaf people, the Association of the Deaf, and Albanian Sign Language 7 Personal testimony: Glimpses of the history of deaf people in Albania from 1960s until today 9 Eduard Ajas 1.2 Statistics and terminology on hearing loss and deafness 11 Päivi Rainò 2 Background of the Survey 13 Inkeri Lahtinen & Päivi Rainò Fieldwork conducted by the deaf sign language users 16 Florjan Rojba 3 Statistical Foundations of the Survey 20 Mirela Muça, Emira Galanxhi & Alma Kondi 3.1 Sampling frame and sampling units 20 3.2 Stratification 22 3.3 Sample size 22 3.4 Sample selection procedures 23 3.5 Estimation process 24 3.6 Demographic background 25 3.6.1 Measuring disability 25 3.6.2 Structure of the total population and of deaf people 26 Excerpts from signed field reports 29 4 4 Survey Results 33 Päivi Rainò & Liisa Martikainen 4.1 Demographic background of the respondents 33 4.2 Education 36 4.2.1 Education and literacy 37 4.2.2 Education and employment 39 4.3 Employment 40 4.4 Linguistic environment and knowledge of Albanian Sign Language 43 Two days – in the lives of any of us 48 Florjan Rojba 4.5 Access to information 49 WhatsApp Group Messaging 52 5 Conclusions and Recommendations 54 Florjan Rojba & Inkeri Lahtinen 5.1 General remarks 54 5.2 Recommendations 55 5.2.1 Early detection and intervention 56 5.2.2 Basic education 57 5.2.3 Higher secondary, high school and tertiary education 59 5.2.4 Employment 60 5.2.5 Access to information and interpreter services 61 5.2.6 On social protection 63 References Appendix 1 Survey questionnaire Appendix 2 Additional statistics on the hearing impaired population based on the Census 2011 in Albania Appendix 3 A. Notation B. Probabilities of selection C. Basic weighting factors D. Adjustments to the basic weighing factors E. Non-response adjustments List of Tables List of Figures ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS TO THE ALBANIAN DEAF COMMUNITY Research team members would like to express their gratitude to all deaf people and interpreters who have contributed to this survey. This includes: the fieldwork team members who travelled around Albania; deaf district leaders and contact peo- ple who assisted in finding deaf interviewees, guiding the team sometimes to the most remote locations; all respondents who participated in the interviews along with their family members and relatives who gave support with communication. It is your input that has made this multimodal and multilingual survey possible. Thank you! We are also deeply grateful to the following people: Fieldwork group trainer and coordinator Florjan Rojba Fieldwork group interviewers, data recorders and video reporters Eduard Ajas Valmira Avdullaj Lidia Capa Jetmir Dekovi Erkid Hatia Klisman Ibrahimi Ilirjana Jupa Irena Oruçaj Denis Plloça 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS TO THE ALBANIAN Interpreters and translators who DEAF COMMUNITY translated signed texts into written Albanian and vice versa Research team members would like to express their gratitude to all deaf people and interpreters who have contributed to this survey. This includes: the fieldwork team members who travelled around Albania; deaf district leaders and contact peo- ple who assisted in finding deaf interviewees, guiding the team sometimes to the most remote locations; all respondents who participated in the interviews along with their family members and Sopot Bogdani Rovena Rojba Adela Rrjolli Aljona Spahi Nikoleta Spahi relatives who gave support with communication. It is your input that has made this multimodal and multilingual