Rights of Maori at forefront for newly elected Deaf Aotearoa president

Deaf Aotearoa executive board president Joanne Klaver. Photo / Mark Tantrum

Waikato-based Deaf Aotearoa executive board president Joanne Klaver (Ngāti Maniapoto) has already made history for many Māori who identify as deaf or hard of hearing.

The recently elected Deaf Aotearoa president naturally has a strong connection to ensuring the aspirations and rights of Māori Deaf are recognised in all workings of the organisation in which she now sits atop the executive board.

But what's more important to Klaver is supporting the many who slip through the cracks.

As the first Māori deaf woman to reach such heights in a decade, the task Klaver has ahead of her will be an important one as Deaf Aotearoa pivots into the 15th year since the NZSL Act was passed into law.

"I'm feeling proud that a Māori deaf woman has been elected to this role," Klaver said ahead of 2021 NZSL Week. "I'm very motivated and positive about the work that we need to do for the deaf community and I'm hoping to become far more involved with the various Government departments that we work with and which have an influence on what they do for our community."

Speaking openly about the challenges ahead, ensuring that the issues many of New Zealand's 4500-strong deaf community still feel are unresolved reach the board is of high priority for Klaver, who herself is deaf and has experience of the day-to-day barriers faced by deaf people.

"We have a lot of different perspectives within our community and there are a lot of things that deaf people are really unsatisfied by. There are a lot of issues for our executive board to hear about what's actually being raised but it's really about trying to help improve our organisation to be more accessible and to help the community support each other better because at the end of the day deaf people need full access to the world."

Ensuring that Deaf Aotearoa staff are more accessible to deaf people and putting a greater focus on the issues and solutions raised by the deaf community will be core to adjusting services to ensure delivery meets expectations over the course of the next decade.

Like many advocates across New Zealand, Klaver identifies a current gap in strategic planning for Māori to both access information but also to learn more about tikanga, iwi and kaumatua.

"There needs to be a particular focus on Māori and we need skilled and experienced people to support deaf whānāu to be successful," says Klaver.

"There needs to be much better strategic planning because there a lot of people who haven't yet had a chance to engage with the community and certainly that includes a lot of Māori Deaf who want to be comfortable with NZSL and also te reo.

"That's not an option for a lot of Māori. Some have access but many don't, so there are a number of issues about how we bring the community together and certainly as a Māori who is deaf myself, I hope that improves and we find a place where we can have hui and educate each other about what's important and to bring that knowledge forward."

Also important for Klaver is a greater presence for Māori deaf during the annual Waitangi Day celebrations.

For an inspirational woman with strong leadership and governance resume already under her belt, the passion shows no signs of slowing down when it comes to ensuring NZSL fully incorporates tikanga, and hopefully, encourages more Māori deaf to engage with their iwi.