I’m back from Paris, where I had a great time at Viable France’s Grand Opening ceremony.  Anthony blogged last week about Viable France and our goal to bring video communication access to Europe and around the world.

Check out photos of employees in our Rockville office videoconferencing with people from Viable France. Photos from the event in Paris to come. UPDATE, 6/12: Photos from Paris have been added to the album!

This is truly an exciting week not just for Viable, but for the deaf world. President John T.C. Yeh, Vice President Joseph Yeh, and myself will be in Paris for the grand opening and official launch of Viable France, which will be shown live on DeafNation on Thursday, June 4 at noon EST.

Viable France is a local and deaf-owned organization that shares the same values and beliefs as we do here in the USA. We believe in creating opportunities for deaf people whenever possible and that all people should have the best communication access available.

Video technology has been around for years, but there is no video relay service equivalent to what we have in America. That’s not because of technology or because deaf people in other countries have different needs. With all our cultural variations and differences, it’s amazing how deaf people’s communication needs are so basic and alike. The answer is video.

All of us here at Viable have been working hard to ensure that our products, technology and services are available to the people who need them most. Our efforts have included working with countries around the world to introduce pilot video interpreting programs, bringing our technology (such as call centers and the VPAD) and services (such as VRI) to them. At the same time, we have been working with local deaf people to launch coordinated political efforts to fight for VRS within their country.

The grand opening of Viable France is an important day for the future of a Viable Europe. Representatives from more than 16 countries are expected to attend and take part in what we hope will become the groundswell for video interpreting access across Europe, similar to what we have here in America.

Join us on this special day for the deaf world.  Watch the grand opening ceremonies at www.deafnation.com and celebrate as France take a step toward greater communication accessibility, and ultimately greater opportunities for the French deaf.