This article by Colin Bennett appeared in an edited form in the Winter 2005/06 edition of DbI Review.
Suddenly a group of people moved across the pavement and cut me off
from my quarry. I was momentarily disorientated. Where was I? And what
was my quarry? Well, I
was walking on
the streets of Tampere, the second city of Finland (Ok: I know the good
citizens of Turku claim that they are the second city of Finland but we
will let that
pass. It is
certainly true that Turku, Abo in Swedish is the former capital of
Finland and that should be enough for them). My quarry was one of those
suitcase trolleys being
pulled by a
Swedish participant in the conference that we were about to attend. As
long as I could keep sight of the trolley I could follow the Swedes in
their quest to find
their hotel.
Everything was alright if I could stay a few metres behind them. I
rushed forward and managed to capture the elusive trolley again - until
the next time...
Eventually we reached their hotel and I was able to get my bearings and so find mine.
It was early June 2005 and I had just flown into Tampere Airport to
attend The 8th Helen Keller World Conference, held every four years in
different cities across the globe.
Interestingly,
Helen Keller had visited Finland and there exists a grainy film clip of
her visit not long before her death. I was representing Sense, The
National Deafblind and
Rubella
Association: the UK's largest charity in this field. Also taking place
at the conference centre was the 2nd General Assembly of the World
Federation of the
Deafblind (WFDB).
I had last been in Tampere in 1967 and thought I would recognise it but
I could not. At the Airport I had met a group of Swedish participants
and we were waiting for a bus
into town. Taxis
are rather expensive. Eventually we boarded a bus which we thought was
the right one but it terminated well before the city centre and we were
all decanted
albeit in a
friendly way. Another bus came along and we alighted in the city centre
but we were lost and I cannot read maps nowadays. I decided to follow
the Swedes as
they seemed to know where they were going - I was wrong, actually.
After leaving
the Swedes' hotel, I roamed around for half an hour (I recognised many
of the street names but not where they led to) I found my hotel which
turned out to be
a very modern
one. I collected my key from the receptionist and I asked her if
someone could show me to my room. "No" she said. But I was not
surprised or offended.
This was Finland
after all and people are expected to be self-sufficient and they are
plain-speaking. Hotels are of a high standard but not over-staffed. I
hung around the lift
and eventually
someone helped me find my room and I settled in. It was very
comfortable but I was presented with that terrible Finnish phenomenon:
tiny pillows. There is
always a spare
pillow but trying to sleep on one tiny pillow perched on another or
side by side is just as bad as dealing with one. However, Life has
brought bigger problems
to me than that.
The conference was based at Tampere Hall and lasted from 3 to 7 June
2005 and was attended by some 417 people from 45 different countries.
The slogan of the
conference was
"Our Right to be Deafblind with Full Participation in Society" and the
participation in and the organisation of the conference lived up to
that ideal.
The arrangement
was the normal one nowadays of workshops and plenary sessions. Also
normal was the dilemma over which workshop to attend as they clashed. A
further
complication was
the fact that the 2nd General Assembly of the WFDB was being held
largely in parallel. A welcome feature of the conference was the
information desk
where very
competent Finns were able to answer any questions. There was an
unobtrusive contingent of Finnish student sign language interpreters
who popped up
whenever you
needed them, complete with their fetching neckerchiefs. They were very
useful for people like me who had no guide or communicator even though
I do not
sign. They spoke
excellent English (the language of the conference) and could sign in
Finnish and other sign languages. They were a great aid to me. We all
had name
badges which we
wore day and night (perhaps I exaggerate) but one deficiency was that
they were normal-sized. I contend that in conferences attended by
people with
sight problems these badges should be jumbo-sized with large lettering in contrasting colours.
The opening ceremony was preceded by a session in which the
arrangements to assist people with sensory loss were explained. For me,
an Usher Syndrome 2 person this
meant induction
loops and I am pleased to say that the quality of the induction loops
was high. Also remarkable was the quality of the instantaneous
translation into English
and Finnish of
other languages including sign languages. There was always a copious
supply of sign language interpreters at the front of the auditorium. An
interesting
feature of the
conference was the continuous description in English and Finnish of
everything that was happening on the stage. We got to know the Finnish
word for
"description"
(kuvailu) as this word was used whenever the skilful describers gave us
very comprehensive information over our headphones.
I will not give
a blow-by-blow account of the proceedings of the conference as you can
read about this in the published material. I want to mention the
peripheral activities.
Near the
beginning of the conference we were all invited to a do at the Tampere
Town Hall where we were welcomed by the Mayor using an excellent PA
system. These
functions are
always difficult for people with serious hearing problems who cannot
sign because of the background noise. I normally retreat to a corner to
eat and drink the
goodies (never a hardship) and hope that people will come up and talk to me which usually happens.
Another big event was the outing to Viikiinsaari, an island in a nearby
lake. The island was a typical Finnish holiday place with a dance hall,
a sauna and bonfire provisions.
I well know that
June days in Finland can be really warm and pleasant but I had a job
persuading many of the participants that this was the case. The day was
so cold and
drab and I felt
sorry for the African delegates huddled around the bonfire. Still, I
think we all had a good time although we were very unlucky with the
weather throughout the
conference.
A memorable visit was that to the well-equipped Resource Centre and
living quarters on the outskirts of Tampere. This is an exemplar not
only for Finland but for the whole
world. It is
called Kuurosokeiden Toimintakeskus. I was slightly miffed as I
couldn't detect a single mistake in the English of the interpretor for
the day. However, we did
forgive each other.
The conference finished on the Tuesday morning but I decided to stay
the extra night. It's good practice for Usher people to start a trip as
early as possible in the morning
to get maximum
light - even in the Finnish summer. I wandered around the city and did
a dry run at the station for the following morning. Early that next
morning I got lost at
the station
because it is very big and mostly underground. At last I found the
platform but I was three minutes late for the train. Amazingly, it was
still there so I jumped in
just as the
doors were closing. When the ticket inspector came along I asked in
mock indignation why the train was four minutes late: "What is the
world coming to?" He
hung his head in
mock shame and the ice was broken among all the passengers in the
compartment. Finns are like English people. They are rather reserved
but they like a
joke. So I was
able to converse all the way to Helsinki Central Station and was taken
right down to the correct line in the new Underground station there.
The Metro system
had been built
since my last visit. I found my way - I don't know how - to Iiris, the
headquarters of the Finnish Blind Society. The Finnish Deafblind
Society has offices
there and I met
again new chums I had made at the Conference. I spent a couple of days
in Helsinki with Heikki Majava and others. I then spent a few days with
old friends
near Lahti and departed from Tampere airport on the following Sunday. Will I see Finland again?
Colin Bennett