KOTA KINABALU, 16th June 2023 – Semester Five Bachelor of Science (with Honours) in Tourism Management students from the Faculty of Hotel and Tourism Management at UiTM Sabah Branch, Kota Kinabalu Campus hosted a seminar with the theme ‘You are Heard: Unleashed the Power of Your Voice’ and ‘Breaking Down Barriers in Tourism with Sign Language’ as the title. The seminar was led by Madam Adrianna Aziz, a senior lecturer and project advisor, and was held for the Professional Development course (HTT644), one of the student’s courses.
This seminar aims to enhance the understanding and awareness of sign language, particularly in the tourism industry. Tourists with disabilities have not had the same level of equality as regular tourists in recent years, even though they enjoy travelling despite the numerous difficulties. Hence, the students were divided into committees that worked hand in hand throughout the process of handling the seminar to make it a successful and impactful event.
Furthermore, it was attended by audience members which involved students from the faculty, guest lecturers, and special guests from the Malaysian Federation of the Deaf (MFD). Mr Mohamad Sazali Sha’ari, the President of MFD, and Ms Wan Zuraidah Abu, the Head of MFD’s Bahasa Isyarat Malaysia (BIM) Interpreting Services, were two of the seminar’s honourable speakers. In addition, BIM interpreters Ms Nur Saadah Zulkepli, Ms Goh Soo Leng, and Ms Regina Wong were also invited.
The seminar involved sessions such as a basic sign language class led by Ms Nur Saadah Zelkepli. She taught the students how to sign basic conversations such as “Hello”, “How Do You Do?”, “Welcome to Sabah”, “My Name is..”, and a few more words. The students were then tested for their memory by playing Kahoot games as well as some quizzes. The students showed great interest in all the activities provided by the organisers.
The seminar had a significant impact on the students as it was an eye-opener for them to see a deaf speaker giving talks. They are able to understand the challenges of having a barrier to communicate with each other. The students, as well as the lecturers, are hopeful that the people in the industry will somehow find a way to break the barriers between people with disabilities to have effective communication with everyone.