New inclusive project "Louder than Words" in Grodekovsky Museum

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The Grodekovsky Museum was among the winners of the competition to support the development of inclusive practices in Russian museums of the Svet Charitable Foundation for Social Assistance and Support with the project "Louder than Words". Thanks to the Foundation, we will be able to realize a long-standing idea - to create a video guide in Russian Sign Language (RSL) for several expositions of the museum, as well as to supplement several ready-made videos with adapted subtitles. Thus, by the end of 2025, a new service for deaf and hard-of-hearing visitors will be available.

For this audience, tours or video content in sign language is preferable to accompanying texts. The point is not only in the visual contact with the speaker and his emotional story, but also in the fact that diverse information is perceived easier and more familiar, because sign language is natural for deaf people. The museum actively develops cooperation with a number of public organizations of disabled people, it includes the organization of excursions and events with the involvement of sign language interpreters. The video guide will help to provide a comfortable visit without being tied to events, at any convenient time, or introduce the museum to those who are not in Khabarovsk. The route includes three significant expositions of the museum, devoted to the nature of the region, traditional culture of indigenous peoples and the history of annexation and development of the Amur territories by Russia. Such an excursion is a kind of "business card" of the Khabarovsk Krai. It will be possible to watch the videos on personal mobile devices and on museum digital tablets. There is no need to pay for the service. 

The "Louder than Words" project includes several stages - route development, preparation of texts, their adaptation and translation into sign language, filming of the speaker and exhibits, testing of initial videos on focus groups, and preparation of a guide booklet. All this involves close cooperation with professional interpreters and representatives of the target audience, who not only act as consultants and contractors, but also guarantee the expertise of the finished product. Therefore, in addition to the experienced team of museum workers, at each stage of the project partners are included in the work: ARIDONS, a public organization for the support and rehabilitation of children with hearing impairment and deaf-mutes; Khabarovsk Regional Branch of the All-Russian Society of the Deaf; Regional Branch of the All-Russian Organization of Parents of Disabled Children, VORDI; Boarding School No. 6. Among the specialists involved are professionals in the field of video production. The author and project manager is Margarita Pozdnyakova, a guide at the Grodekovo Museum.

We believe that the appearance of this route will not only attract new visitors with hearing impairment to the museum, but also raise public awareness about the culture of sign language and the needs of deaf people. There is a lot of interesting work ahead, keep an eye on the project news!

The project is implemented with the support of the Light Charitable Foundation for Social Assistance and Support.

Author and project leader: Margarita Vladimirovna Pozdnyakova, guide of Grodekovo Museum

Implementation timeframe: February - December 2025.

Financial support: "Light" Charitable Foundation for Social Assistance and Support

Amount of financing: 1,080,000 rubles.  

Partners:

- ARIDONS, a public organization for the support and rehabilitation of disabled children with hearing impairment and deaf-mutes;
- Khabarovsk Regional Branch of the All-Russian Society of the Deaf;

- Regional Branch of the All-Russian Organization of Parents of Disabled Children, VORDI;

- Regional state budgetary general education institution implementing adapted basic general education programs "Boarding School No. 6"

# museum for everyone # thunderclap # inclusion in Grodekovsky # accessible museum # text language  

Contact person: Margarita Pozdnyakova, (4212) 477 158