Doug Alker

Doug Alker (born 1940) is the former chair of the British Deaf Association and the Royal National Institute for the Deaf.[1][2][3] His self-published 2000 book, Really Not Interested in the Deaf?, is a criticism of the Royal National Institute for the Deaf (RNID) and the story of his departure from the group.[4]

After he left RNID he set up the political pressure group Federation of Deaf People (FDP) in 1997. As the chair, he and the FDP are primarily responsible for pressuring the UK government into officially recognizing British Sign Language.[5] On 18 March 2003 the UK government formally recognized that BSL is a language in its own right.[6]

He previously worked as a researcher for the BBC television programme See Hear.[1]

Publications
  • Alker, Doug (1 July 2000). Really Not Interested in the Deaf?. Doug Alker. ISBN 978-0953903702.

References
  1. Paul Myers (2 December 1994). "Campaigners Hail Charity's Appointment of Deaf Chief". The Guardian.
  2. Laura Noble (19 January 1995). "New chief sends out the right signals Doug Alker's deafness hasn't stopped him taking his organisation's top job. Laura Noble reports". The Independent.
  3. Linda Jackson (1 December 1994). "Charity Names Deaf Chief Executive". Press Association.
  4. David Brindle (5 July 2000). "Blood on the pages: Britain's leading deaf charity riven by warring factions". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 September 2010.
  5. "Thousands "Sign Up" For Deaf March". PR Newswire. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  6. Stiles, H. Dominic W. (13 November 2013). "Official recognition of British Sign Language 1987-2003 – suggested reading". blogs.ucl.ac.uk/. Retrieved 28 July 2015.


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