Welcome to Interpreters of
Colour Network

Addressing the underrepresentation of people of colour in the sign language interpreting and translation profession, and offering a safe, nurturing and supportive environment for our colleagues of colour.

About IOCN

The question that we at Interpreters of Colour network get asks repeatedly is ‘Why do we need an organisation like IOCN?’ We at IOCN feel that we have a responsibility to answer that question. We can start with the stats.

The RNID state that the total number of people in the UK who use British Sign language (not necessarily as their main language) is estimated to be 151,000 and, of these, 87,000 are Deaf.

Our Aims

  • Reframing the conversation on race, ethnicity and culture away from stereotypes to reflect the present construction of European society.
  • Challenging the negative views of IOC’s held by some in the SLI profession and in society more generally.
  • Supporting research that explores interpreting with ‘third cultures’, culture brokering, the impact of race, ethnicity and culture.

Latest Blog Post

Admin

Deaf Day 2022 at City Lit

Deaf Day is a free annual event hosted by City Lit’s Centre for Deaf Education where the Deaf community come together, socialise and walk around

Read More »