Communicating with deaf people, from assistance to inclusion

How did your working life change, from when you started to the present day? Has technology been helpful to you?

Roberto: My professional career has undergone many changes since I started 34 years ago. As technology developed, the company supplied us with all the best technological devices, such as smartphones, laptops with high-definition webcams, etc. Obviously, this allowed me to actively participate to video-conferences and company meetings, especially thanks to the Pedius and VEASYT services offered by TIM.

Which communication difficulties a deaf person still encounters in the workplace nowadays?

Roberto: Despite all the improvements made, there are still a few difficulties to overcome. The biggest one is managing to interpret some of the more complex terms. 
Often, this does not allow deaf people to fully understand the meaning of the overall text.

How did you start collaborating with Roberto?

Cosimo: When I started working with Roberto in the same unit, I understood the difficulties experienced by deaf people, who often felt excluded and misunderstood, both at work and outside of work.

What did you learn during your shadowing experience with deaf colleagues?

Cosimo: Roberto's perspective made me more sensitive and empathic towards deaf colleagues. This is why I started collaborating and creating projects that could break down this barrier as much as possible.

Lorenzo, how was Pedius conceived? Did you have any experience of deafness?

Lorenzo: The idea was inspired by the story of Gabriele, a deaf boy who had a car accident and couldn't call the emergency services, at the time I worked as an IT consultant and it was my job to employ technology to find solutions to companies' problems. That day I decided it was time to use my knowledge to help people.
Until then, I had no idea of the difficulties that deaf people have to overcome every day; I had the chance to get to know Gabriele who, as well as teaching me a bit of sign language, helped us better understand a different, and in some ways fascinating, world.

How do you combine the business model with the social aims offered by your service?

Lorenzo: We're used to consider the services sector as split into two, profit and non profit, without realising that there might be other ways, where profit could merely be an instrument to maximise social impact. We believe that remote communication is a right for all, this is why we offer all our users 20 minutes phone calls per month, while for greater requirements it's possible to pay a nominal fee of 30 euro per year and make unlimited calls. We can offer these prices because our business relies on companies like TIM, who chose to purchase our services to make their call centres accessible and to enable all their employees to dial in and participate to conferences.
Pedius reinvests all its profits in research and development, to continuously improve the access to services for deaf people.

Who is Lorenzo Di Ciaccio, CEO Pedius: after four years as an IT consultant, Lorenzo left his job to found Pedius, a telephony service for deaf people. From 2013 to the present, Pedius enabled over 30,000 people in 14 countries to communicate over the phone. Pedius has raised about 2 million euro from private individuals. As well as working at Pedius, Lorenzo teaches business ethics at the Luiss Guido Carli University.

Enrico, how can technology bridge the communication gap between deaf people and users?

Enrico: By combining the mobility potentials of 4G and 5G networks on modern smartphones and tablets with the expertise of the VEASYT interpreters' network, that operates in smartworking mode throughout Italy.
A LIS interpreter, just like and if not even more than a spoken language interpreter, must guarantee kindness and empathy when interpreting.
This is made possible by the video call technology integrated in the VEASYT platform and by the management process and linguistic assistance perfected by the company, so that the IT element almost “disappears” for the users, who feel safe and enjoy the experience.

Do you have an anecdote encapsulating the relationship with your deaf customers?

Enrico: Every single video interpreting service involves a bit of “magic”, as it enables a dialogue that would otherwise be impossible.
But during this period of health and social emergency, we like to talk about hope. Just like the hope given a few days ago to a deaf patient in sub-intensive care who, thanks to VEASYT, could communicate with the doctor and be reassured that their condition was improving. The interpreter who translated the news in LIS saw a peaceful smile appearing on the patient's face, even behind the respiratory mask. A smile of hope for the future.

Who is Enrico Capiozzo, CEO VEAST: after studying engineering in Italy and The Netherlands, in 2012 Enrico took on the challenge of combining passion and innovation with the desire of “leaving a mark” and generate positive social impact in his own country. This is the vision of social entrepreneurship that led to the creation of VEASYT, which to date has supported and continues to support communication between thousands of deaf citizens and dozens of hospitals, municipalities, institutions and companies, in order to make Italy a more innovative and accessible country.