I am delighted to share with you the impact RNID has made this year. We are presenting this report online for the first time so that as well as reading about our achievements and tracking our progress, you can now see and hear people telling their own stories. Showing you our Impact Report online will also help reduce our effect on the environment.
Since RNID was founded in 1911, we have been successful in campaigning for better treatment and services and we have delivered improved access to employment, audiology provision, residential and community care, education, aids to living, transport and leisure. We have become experts in hearing and hearing loss and its impact on people’s ability to communicate.
In 2007-08 we continued to make a profound impact on all those issues. As you move through this site you will see that we have grouped our aims and achievements in four key areas: breaking barriers, creating opportunities, valuing hearing and working together.
Now we must look to the future. In the last six months, we have had an in-depth review of RNID's strategy to take us up to and beyond 2013. We have developed a broader and expanded vision which has the potential to have a significant impact on everyone in society for generations to come.
Our new vision statement is:
Our vision is of a world where deafness or hearing loss do not limit or determine opportunity, and where people value their hearing.
In working towards this vision, RNID’s activities over the next five years will revolve around three main themes:
- First, ensuring the rights and opportunities for deaf and hard of hearing people to lead a full life.
- Second, promoting hearing health, preventing hearing loss, curing deafness.
- And third, removing the stigma of deafness.
The major change for us is that we now have a focus on everyone’s hearing not just on those who are losing or who have lost their hearing. Sixty million people in the UK have an interest in hearing or communicating well, and we want everyone to be aware of the need to value and look after their hearing.
In many ways this represents a return to our roots as an organisation. Our founding principles were to encourage prevention of hearing loss as well as to mitigate the effects of deafness and hearing loss.
This is an exciting and challenging time for us and we hope to make an even bigger impact in the years to come.
I hope you enjoy the report.
Jackie Ballard,
Chief Executive