MILAN – Silent Coffee, one of the winners of the 2019 social innovation camp ‘Miyaheli’, supported by the Australian Government was launched yesterday. Team Silent Coffee’s concept was of running a café with deaf baristas, where customers can order coffee in sign language, and experience the barriers that people with disabilities face in their everyday lives.
The concept would also provide employment for deaf people and a space to have interaction with the general community, while providing the public a chance to learn simple sign language through the act of getting a coffee.
The team was able to pilot their concept, thanks to the coffee shop ‘The Coffee Shrub’, where during set hours, silent coffee can be hosted within it. The team has been working with sign language interpreters to make their dream a reality.
“UNDP always has and will continue to advocate for a society that is accessible and inclusive to all. We hope that through this initiative everyone gets a chance to experience and understand the barriers in communication that people with disabilities face on a daily basis,” said Akiko Fujii, UNDP Resident Representative, at the launch at The Coffee Shrub premises today.
UNDP wishes to thank partners for the support: Ooredoo, the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment, Ministry of Gender, Family and Social Services, and several passionate NGOs such as Maldives Association of Persons with Disabilities (MAPD), Maldives Deaf Association, and the Blind and Visually Impaired Society of Maldives.
