Hello and welcome to Alldeaf! Interesting to see where it is that you're currently attending school at, hopefully you'll provide other AD'ers with information and facts about your country, your school, the Deaf/HoH/CI over there...anyhow, hope you'll enjoy your stay here in AD!
Have a great day!
~RR
Sure, I provide here with information and facts about my country, university, the Deaf/HoH/CI:
1. Facts about Austria:
Once the center of power for the large Austro-Hungarian Empire, Austria was reduced to a small republic after its defeat in World War I. Following annexation by Nazi Germany in 1938 and subsequent occupation by the victorious Allies in 1945, Austria's status remained unclear for a decade. A State Treaty signed in 1955 ended the occupation, recognized Austria's independence, and forbade unification with Germany. A constitutional law that same year declared the country's "perpetual neutrality" as a condition for Soviet military withdrawal. The Soviet Union's collapse in 1991 and Austria's entry into the European Union in 1995 have altered the meaning of this neutrality. A prosperous, democratic country, Austria entered the EU Economic Monetary Union in 1999.
more about:
https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/au.html
2. Facts about my university: it calls Johannes Kepler University
Johannes Kepler University Linz (JKU Linz, or just JKU -- the full German name is Johannes Kepler Universität Linz, the short version is Universität Linz, University of Linz in English; its Latin name is alma mater Kepleriana) is a public institution of higher education in Linz, the capital of Upper Austria, offering bachelor's, diploma, master's, and doctoral degrees in business, engineering, law, science, and the social sciences.
JKU was founded as the "College for Social and Economic Sciences Linz" (Hochschule für Sozial- und Wirtschaftswissenschaften Linz) in 1966. Three years later, the science and engineering school opened. The law school and university status arrived in 1975 when the college also adopted its present name, in honour of the famous astronomer
Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) who wrote his magnum opus harmonices mundi ("The Harmony of the world") in Linz during the early 17th century and who spent some time teaching mathematics at an agricultural school which Linz had at the time.
Today, 11,800 students study at JKU's 90 acre (364,000 m²) campus in the northeast of Linz (approx. 6.6km = 4.1 miles from the city centre), with 1 in 11 being from abroad. The campus is served by the public tram system of the city -- there are trams every 7-8 minutes on working days (less frequently during the evening, the week-end, and public holidays) and the journey to the city centre takes approx. 16 minutes. Most of the campus has been wireless for several years now, the university was the first to introduce an electronic student ID in 1998, and has been offering a very successful distance law degree with lecture notes on DVD and via internet streaming.
The university is home of the Johann Radon Institute for Computational and Applied Mathematics (RICAM) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. Specialties include technical mathematics, applied economics, business law, European law, and mechatronics.
more about the university:
Johannes Kepler University Linz - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
3. Facts about the Deaf/HoH/CI
In Austria, there are about 10,000 Deaf and about less then 500,000 HoH people. I dont know the number of the CI people. :-(
Oh well, there are a lot of problems to talk about some issues:
Deaf education: the education is not provided by teachers with Austrian sign language (OEGS ...
Österreichische
Gebärden
sprache in German) after the prohibition law was removed in 1984 that the sign language is allowed to use in the lessons and the Deaf community as well as the Austrian society. Still, teachers (most hearing) dont use it because they thought that the sign language won't help/support the personal development of the Deaf pencils. Then they found out that they were wrong with that idea and never apologized for their mistakes and support Deaf people to wear CI.
Strangely as well as oppositely, there was the culmination of the Austrian Deaf history in 2005: the Austrian parliament approved the entire and official recognition of the Austrian sign language (OEGS) that is anchored to the article § 8 of the Austrian constitution. That means, the OEGS is the second official language in Austria after German language.
Right now, there are two deaf teachers who graduated from the college of education. Because the government believed according to the law (prohibition act of professions to the disabled people) that said which Deaf people don't have certain occupational aptitude to fullfill their criteria of becoming teachers. Myself, I think the government forgets this profession as Deaf teachers are especially real expertes in the Deaf education which Deaf pencils can identify with.
Therefore, there is much to do and fight for Deaf rights...
My university and me have big future plans and support me in this path. The government believes much more in results of the researchs than endless debates...
Deaf community: there are many groups; some which don't have strong identity as Deaf persons don't accept by themselves who, what they are. Of course, there are such Deaf people who accept by themselves and call this group as Deaf power which I am involved in.
The Deaf power popped up first time in 1995, when the WFD congress took place in Vienna, the capital city of Austria.
Now, you may think why that is real bad in this situation: Yes, it is. Everything has changed in 1880 in Milano, Italy when the world congress of teachers in the Deaf education was taken place. Only Americans refused to sign that change and still to support and to improve Deaf life.
I hope, I provided enough important information to you, AD'ers!
Dont hestitate to ask me any questions and feel free!
magus
here and enjoy AD! 
