MJMV will conclude its 2017 Library exhibition tour at Shankill Library, launching on Thursday 14 December 2017 - further details to follow!
It was with a mixture of sadness and celebration as guests attended the last RCSLT/ Libraries NI tour of My Journey My Voice at the Shankill Road Library on 14 December 2017. Baroness May Blood was joined by the Lord Mayor of Belfast, other elected representatives and special guests to launch the Shankill based event.
It was heartening to see how successful this collaborative tour has been in raising awareness of the many obstacles facing people living with communication difficulties have to overcome. The project set out to educate and inform because these issues affect one in five people and there is a need to get this message out to the general public, government policy representatives and politicians to ensure that the right support at the right level gets to those who need it most.
At the event Alison McCullough MBE, RCSLT Head of Northern Ireland Office spoke about the challenges for those with a communication difficulty. She said: "Although the Libraries NI tour is coming to a close, this is not the end of the road for the My Journey My Voice project. The RCSLT has secured funding from the Health and Social Care Board to develop this concept into a schools project which is really exciting. The legacy of My Journey My Voice will be to continue to raise awareness amongst our young people, and hopefully promote better inclusion for children who have speech difficulties.”
MJMV will be launching its month long exhibition at Tullycarnet Library on 2 October. If you are an SLT or anyone interested about learning more about the incredible real life journeys of people have experienced or are still living with the challenges of overcoming communication difficulties please do call in at any time during normal library opening hours.
Launch of MJMV at Carrickfergus Library
The Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT) in partnership with Disability Action and the NI Health and Social Care Board once again witnessed a very successfullaunch of My Journey, My Voice’ a portraits and stories exhibition on 4 September 2017 in Carrickfergus Library.
The exhibition itself will display nine professional portraits of individuals who have a communication disability and will provide an opportunity for visitors to hear them speak in their own voice, to tell listeners about a memorable journey that they have taken. All of the individuals will have their voices recorded and the voices will reflect the many varied types of communication difficulty. This may include those who have to use an electronic voice device to communicate, stroke survivors, people who stammer and children who can speak but may have difficulty being understood by others due to speech language and communication difficulties.
This free exhibition is open to everyone and is fully accessible during normal library opening hours.until 29 September.
Plans are well underway for the next series of MJMV Exhibitions to take place over the Autumn/Winter months. On 7 September a launch of the exhibition will take place in the Library Carrickfergus, with the exhibition then moving around other Library venues, Tullycarnet and Shankill in Belfast and Antrim town, rotated on a four weekly cycle basis.
RCSLT is always keen to see the support and interest of SLT members in Northern Ireland - so just give us a call at the RCSLT office if you would like to attend or offer support to this well established and recognised initiative!
A successful launch of the My journey My voice exhibition was launched at Bangor Library on Thursday 4 May by the local MP for the area Lady Sylvia Hermon.
We hope that many members of the public will visit the exhibition during its month long presence at the Library, taking time out to learn something about the lives of ordinary people who just happen to have a communication disability.
On 10 April, RCSLT gave a presentation to the Arts and Disability Forum (ADF) Northern Ireland on Communications Disability. ADF, which is based in Belfast's Cathedral Quarter, represents the interests of disabled artists in Northern Ireland providing access to arts and culture and encouraging those with disabilities to avail of all the benefits art can offer. The presentation provided both organisations with a valuable opportunity to exchange ideas and discuss how those with communication disabilities can use art and culture to express themselves.
The exhibition will be available for visitors to experience at the Millennium Forum from 5 October until 27 October 2016.
We will be hosting a reception on 5 October 2016 at 11am - 1pm to celebrate a fantastic year for My journey My Voice since its launch at Stormont in November 2015.
Junior Ministers Emma Pengelly (left) and Jennifer McCann (right) pictured with Olivia Curran (centre) at Parliament Buildings, Stormont in November 2015.
Already the exhibition has been hosted at 10 venues across Northern Ireland from Enniskillen, to Belfast, Newtownabbey, Lisburn and culminating in Londonderry for our first anniversary exhibition. The tour will continue into 2017 and will be hosted in libraries in Omagh, Lisnaskea and Downpatrick.
Our participants have continued to be at the fore of our campaign to increase awareness about communication disability throughout the tour of My Journey My Voice and have met with and addressed Ministers, Councillors, Lord Mayors, MLAs, commissioners and health and social care professions. Through our continued partnership with Disability Action and the Health and Social Care Board, and our latest collaboration with Libraries NI the exhibition has been experienced in person by hundreds of members of the public and thousands more people have viewed the exhibition online.
We look forward to celebrating the first year of My Journey My Voice and are excited about what we can achieve in the coming year.
Anne Gamble, RCSLT NI Country Representative and Deputy Mayor Stephen Martin listen to the stories of our participants at Lisburn City Library
Visitors will have the chance to view the portraits and hear the voice recordings. For details of the library's opening times and location click here.
We will be kicking off our partnership with Libraries NI on 4 August 2016 by unveiling the complete My Journey My Voice exhibition at Lisburn City Library. The exhibition will be on display to the public in Lisburn City library from 4 August until 31 August.
We will be hosting a formal launch of the My Journey My Voice libraries tour at 11am on 4 August where local MLAs, councillors, commissioners, health and social care staff and guests at the launch will have the chance to view the portraits and hear the voice recordings, as well as hear from some of the participants themselves.
For details of the library's opening times and location click here.
Catch My Journey My Voice at The Big Event and Disability Exhibition on 3rd and 4th June 2016. This event is a fantastic opportunity for people with disabilities, their families, carers and health professionals to find out about the latest products and services for disabled people.
Visitors to our stand will get the chance to view the entire My Journey My Voice exhibition and learn more about how communication disability affects individuals and how speech and language therapy helps to support and transform people's lives.
E-mail: events@eikoncomplex.co.uk
The event is free of charge to attend.
My Journey My Voice will be exhibited at Fermanagh House in Enniskillen between Friday 15th January and Thursday 28th January. The exhibition is being hosted by the Fermanagh Trust and will be open to the public for viewing.
Broadmeadow Place
Enniskillen
Co Fermanagh
BT74 7HR
Tel: 028 663 20210
Opening Hours:
Monday - Friday 8:30am - 10:00pm
Saturday 9:00am - 6:00pm
Find directions and a location map here.