The Calypso project has started!

At last, our Calypso project is up and running and last week we had the opportunity to travel to Barbados and put the team together in person for the very first time!

The aim of our visit was to connect with the teams on the ground there, touch base with all the participants and to meet with the main stakeholders in the project. Working with one of our key delivery partners - the Barbados Council for the Disabled - we give immense thanks to our funders who have made this work possible including Peter & Jan Boos Family Foundation, Maria Holder Memorial Trust and Decibels Charity, UK.

The musicians team consists of Sean Forbes, Wawa Snipe, Teddy Calderon, Jake Bass and Ruth Montgomery who also has the role of project lead. We are very much looking forward to working with the young students from the Barbados Community College and their amazing Calypso musical skills on steel pans.. along with all manner of other instruments. We are also thrilled to be working with staff and deaf pupils of the Irving Wilson School to bring music into the classroom.

In collaboration with visual artists and a photographic exhibition (led by Stephen Iliffe) as well as storytellers, we believe music is a tool to make our voices heard and bring communities together to raise awareness of deaf lives in Barbados and beyond.

Our research team, with the support from the Deaf community in Barbados, is facilitated by Dr Penny Moore and will collect vital data of the Deaf community in Barbados to assist in wider conversations around service planning. Alongside this Sandra Davies (specialist Teacher of the Deaf) will meet with those offering education to young deaf Barbadians for a skills, knowledge and resources exchange.

We return to Barbados this coming November 2022 with a packed programme of events, workshops and opportunities with the Deaf Community including a fully accessible concert at the Frank Collymore Hall. Keep your eyes peeled for more details coming very soon!