Giving Voice to The Voiceless: Our Journey to Create an AI System for Tunisian Sign Language Transcription

Our Big Idea & Essential Question 

Communication
👉 How can deaf individuals communicate with other people in order to express their problems and ideas?

Our Challenge

Deafness is widespread around the world. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are currently more than 430 million people living with disabling hearing loss. It is also expected that by 2050, this number could be over 700 million. In Tunisia, there are over 60,000 deaf people according to the African Sign Languages Resource Center. The impacts of deafness are broad and can be profound. The main issue we are dealing with is essentially the lack of communication tools and the inability to deliver information to deaf people in Tunisia.

This inconvenience has proven to be disastrous as it severely impacted the education rate for them. Nearly 95% of deaf people are uneducated or quit school at the elementary level. Besides, they often find themselves discriminated against simply for their difference. The majority of people barely recognize sign language and won’t be able to understand it without the presence of an expert. Imagine being easily misunderstood, unable to communicate with other people and yet no one makes an effort to help you out. Deaf people have found themselves to be facing a disadvantage in the Tunisian society and that is why we, a team of 6 students at ESPRIT, have decided to help this community and create an easier, more fluid communication tool for them.

Why Our Project Matters ? 

Our project is aligned with some of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in order to contribute to the global effort to achieve a more sustainable and equitable future. 

👉 The first SDG that we are striving for is the SDG of reduced inequalities which aims to ensure that all people have equal opportunities and are able to participate fully in the economic, social, and political life of their societies. One way in which this goal could be applied in the context of helping deaf people to better communicate is by providing them with the tool they need to communicate effectively with hearing people. 

👉 The second SDG is excellent education by providing an inclusive educational tool for the 95% illiterate deaf people in Tunisia who were unable to participate in this trip due to very poor communication options. The scalability of our project in other fields such as education can also help teachers easily understand and interact with their deaf students without struggling with the translation of sign language anymore. 

👉 The third SDG of good health and well-being aims to ensure that all people have access to the health services and care they need to maintain and improve their physical and mental health. Providing deaf people with access to the right tools can help them to better communicate with hearing people and participate fully in society. This, in turn, can improve their overall health and well-being by reducing the isolation and stress that can result from a lack of communication. In addition, addressing issues related to discrimination and stigma against deaf people can also contribute to their good health and well-being. For example, ensuring that deaf people have equal access to healthcare services and education can help to reduce health disparities and improve their overall quality of life. 

👉 The fourth SDG aims to eliminate poverty. As long as deaf individuals have access to education, their integration into the labor force will be considerably simpler, allowing them to cover the costs of at least their basic needs and lifting them out of poverty.  

 

👉 Investigation