SignWriting In Norway
A Brief History...

SignWriting has been used in Norway since 1988. Thanks to the dedication of Ingvild Roald, a teacher of the Deaf at Bjorkaasen Skole in Bergen, Norway, interest began to spread among Norwegian Deaf people. Ingvild has been encouraging Deaf people to use the SignWriter Computer Program and did the translations of the SignWriter manuals and textbooks from English to Norwegian. The Norwegian government sponsored these translations.

In 1992, the Norwegian Broadcasting Network (NRK) aired a television program in March and July, which briefly discussed SignWriting. SignWriting is recognized by the Norwegian National University Council as a subject that, combined with other subjects, qualifies for university admittance.

SignWriting Used In Two Norwegian Schools
In Norway, an elementary and junior high school, Hunstad Skole, in the city of Bergen, has been using SignWriting since 1988. They have chosen to combine the writing of signs in SignWriting, with some written remarks in Norwegian, for the school's teachers, for teachers of mainstreamed students, and for parents of deaf students. They have been writing by hand all these years, but hope to start using the SignWriter Computer Program at a later date.

Bjorkaasen Skole, a senior high school in Bergen, has also been using SignWriting since 1988. A few years ago, Hunstad Skole, Bjorkaasen Skole, and another senior high school in the city of Stavanger, were fused into one administrative entity, called the "Vestlandet Kompetansesenter". Teachers at this center have the responsibility of teaching signs to other groups outside the center. SignWriting is used daily by the Sign Language instructors for this program, teaching the reading and writing of signs to parents, teachers of mainstreamed children, and the school's new teachers.

Ingvild Roald is in the process of completing new publications in SignWriting for Bjorkaasen Skole, including books and dictionaries written in SignWriting.