Transcript:
Hello Deaf BC! I’m happy to be able to make this video on my own personal time because it was something that I was not able to do previously. Now that I am no longer a representative of Wavefront Centre for Communication Accessibility, I feel it is appropriate for me to come forward and make it official for the signing community in BC about the organization’s name sign.
As most of you know, when I started out at WIDHH, the organization was in the middle of rebranding and was on its way to a “new home” on Quebec Street in Vancouver, BC. I also found myself in the middle of younger and older generations, trying to bridge them together. It was not an easy time but I tried my best and advocated for the sign language community, and decided to give the organization a new name sign, along with continuing to honour its old name sign (WIDHH). We were emphasized not to use WCCA for short because it does not sound positive (meaning something else) so we were made to say Wavefront Centre for short.
However, I received mixed responses and hosted a community meeting in January 2020 to get more input. I was pleased that it went well as we learned from each other, agreed to slightly modify the name sign and give it a bit of time. A year passed. I was recently contacted by several IBPOC representatives through Greater Vancouver Association of the Deaf (GVAD) and had a very respectful discussion about it. I agreed that it does continue to give off mixed feelings for many people and it was personally awkward to witness signing errors in the name sign itself. I believe we have given it enough time to see if it’s well acquired and we can all agree that it still isn’t. Therefore, I have asked the ACS team to stop using the name sign and they fully supported it.
Moving forward, please know you have my blessing and I urge you to stop using the name sign and instead finger spell “Wavefront” and sign “centre” for now. If you have deeper connection with its history, you’re most welcome to sign WIDHH because it’s still the operating name of Wavefront Centre. We currently do not have an official acronym for Wavefront Centre yet. If you wish to receive an update, please contact them directly.
Thank you for connecting with me, sharing your concerns, and advocating for the sign language community. I see you and I feel you. ILY!
