Tomorrow on 6th June (6/6) we are joining #CaptionTHIS campaign in the USA as a day of action using social media to highlight the lack of online subtitling using the hashtag #subtitlesnow on twitter, facebook and email. Adding to that is the quality (or lack of).

We are telling websites, broadcasters and the UK government how they fail to subtitle (caption) video content, online streaming, news and live broadcasting online for the UK population.

Deaf people work, vote, have families, pay taxes and are a part of society. Yet all 10 million of us – 1 in 6 of the UK population have no access to video content online and poor quality subtitles being broadcast on TV.

Join us using email, twitter and facebook. 

Let’s stamp out social exclusion and discrimination tell the UK we need #subtitlesnow!

Contact your local newspaper, tv station, favourite website and tell them why it is important.

How to join in on 6th June by email, twitter and Facebook.

• Email the organisation/website and ask them to subtitle their video content

Mention what it means to you to miss out – the personal stuff always helps, the statistics (10 million people in the UK are deaf or hard of hearing < that’s 1 in 6 of the population), the economics 20% of business is loss due to inaccessible services or websites – don’t they want our business?

• Tweet them use #subtitlesnow hashtag. #CaptionTHIS in USA suggested asking nicely e.g.  @bbcnews, @channelfournews  @guardian  etc: “please add #subtitlesnow  to (then link to video). Your videos aren’t accessible to the deaf/hard of hearing ppl.” (Remember to put the full stop ‘.’ in front of the @ so your followers can see the tweet and use #subtitlesnow hashtag so we can pick it up.)

• Contact the organisation on Facebook  – write on their wall and tell us on FB: www.facebook.com/subtitlesnow (include #subtitlesnow hashtag!)

Step by Step guide to adding subtitles to you tube or vimeo video

Suggest they look at Universal subtitles (now called Amara) to subtitle for free. www.universalsubtitles.org

Linda Spurdle’s blog show’s the cultural sector how easy it is in her subtitle.

Talk About Local give clear step by step instructions anyone can follow. http://talkaboutlocal.org.uk/how-to-add-subtitles-to-videos-using-universal-subtitles/

SubtitlesNow! Some twitter links to contact:

A typical week of no subtitles:

• The 22 Big Screen live sites – no subtitles. Many watched the jubilee celebrations at big screens across the country. “Technically it is impossible” we are told by BBC Big Screens. Yet Royal Opera House subtitled Madame Butterfly live on the Big Screen at Trafalgar Square. Yet NONE of the 2012 outdoor celebrations  will be subtitled at all!
• The live site events are not only sponsored by BT, Lloyds TSB, Cadbury and Cisco. But also received National Lottery funding. To quote London 2012 Website “to provide an event space in the heart of communities across the UK, broadcasting major sporting occasions together with great musical events – yet no subtitles.
• London 2012 torch relay videos showing the highlights – no subtitles
• Leaverson Inqury live streaming online – no live subtitles by BBC, The Guardian, Channel Four or Sky.
• Channel Four #nogobritain campaign interviews/news reports  – no subtitles  (they agreed to add them when we contacted them). Are they now?
• No 10 Downing Street – no subtitles. Baroness Warsi still hasn’t replied  to our video of October 2010 asking why the Conservative Conference 2010 had no live BSL interpretation or subtitles. The same month Equalities Act 2010 became law.
• Thinking Digital 2012 took place last week. Another of the long line of digital conferences streamed live – no subtitles. It helps not just deaf people but everyone especially when the sound quality at streamed events is poor/broken. They do want to get it right so lets tell them why.
• Technology Strategy Board, NESTA and Arts Council England all live stream events/webnars – no subtitles. No criteria either for digital accessibility in any of their guidelines either.
• National Digital Inclusion Conference (NDI 2010 and NDI 2011 conferences included live BSL and subtitling (after a pesky people campaign), yet at NDI 2012 that took place on 30/31 May  Winkball interviewed delegates for the second year running videos posted on line –  no subtitles.
• The Space – art on demand – no subtitles. It’s an “experiment” so deaf and hard of hearing audiences don’t matter as we can’t expect artists and arts organisations to subtitle their material.
• Coronation Street on ITV – video specials and interviews and iplayer – no subtitles

Lastly check out #CaptionTHIS  campaign at http://blog.deafpolitics.org/