Every year, we bring the community together through DC Make Some Noise! - a series of vibrant public events designed to celebrate Deaf culture and promote Deaf awareness. From May to September, we host a range of activities highlighting Deaf Awareness Month and showcasing the strength, creativity, and diversity of our community.
During May we celebrate Deaf Awareness Week and in 2024 our event was supported by comedian, John Bishop. His son is Deaf so John was happy to hear about our work and invited us to his gig and a’ behind the scene’ VIP experience with renowned Deaf comedian, Gavin Lilley. Both John & Gavin have expressed interest in supporting the Deaf Centre further, and we are hoping to welcome them back soon on our stage! John later tweeted about meeting us and sent his thanks for a gift from the Newcastle Deaf Centre!
Every June we host TechNExt - the fringe Tech Festival for the North East. In 2024 the day was an opportunity for guests to share views and ideas about the impact of technology in their daily lives. The Deaf community led a conversation about the possibilities of using AI and VR technology to bridge the gaps in communication between Deaf and Hearing. We were visited by scientists from the University of Liverpool and created meaningful links for future collaboration.
September is another busy month as we celebrate two public events, The International Day of Sign Languages and Heritage Open Day. On the first of these we were visited by both Deaf and Hearing pupils from local schools and colleges. They joined us for a tour of the building and played Deaf- focused games. After we all shared a delicious lunch, we helped the schools to interpret their ethos songs in BSL and shared a beautifully crafted handmade gift – to honour the hands seen as the tools for communication.
The Heritage Open Day event was an opportunity for many people from the local community and further afield to visit our beautiful Grade 2 listed building located in the stunning Newcastle area of Summerhill Square and to visit the hidden gem of our building, the Chapel with its stained-glass windows.
They also had an opportunity to attend workshops and presentations to learn more about the history of the Deaf Community in North East. The day was a great success and plans are already well in place for our next Make Some Noise Event -the Heritage Open Day 2025.
