HandsUp: Sign Language Interpreting Agency

HandsUp is a company and it is the first sign language interpreting agency in Greece. It offers accessible services to deaf and hard of hearing people such as interpreting in sign language, lip-reading, news, information and entertainment through the new website: hands-up.org. Moreover, It advertises companies, organizations etc. through sign language, it also provides subtitling services, and it converts websites so that they will be accessible and friendly to deaf and hard of hearing users. The foundation of HandsUp concurred with the recognition of the greek sign language as official language of Greece equal to the greek language. This is not just a pleasant coincidence, it reinforced even more the importance of this venture and it also demonstrates the need of the creation of a site such as the www.hand-up.org website. Sign Language is the mother tongue of the most deaf and hard of hearing people. They communicate and express themselves in their everyday life through sign language. However, sign language is a different way of communication it has neither spoken nor written form, that is the reason why deaf people rarely express themselves using the written form, except urgent situations. Lastly, the news and information accessible to deaf and hard of hearing people is limited, since there is only a seven-minute news broadcast in sign language every day. This weakness will be eradicated by HandsUp company with the current affairs website in which visual image is combined with speech in a unique way. News, information, announcements and articles are all visualized since they are translated into sign language by professional interpreters so that the needs of deaf and hard of hearing people will be covered. All articles are in video form making it easier for deaf people to communicate , to be well informed and have access to entertainment and news. The innovative website of the HandsUp company has come to pave the way for an accessible world.