Petra launches weekly sign language news bulletin

AMMAN — The Jordan News Agency (Petra) on Saturday launched a weekly sign language news bulletin to serve the deaf community in the Kingdom and beyond.

The bulletin, which is the first of its kind for an official Arab news agency, will be available weekly on Petra's website and social media pages, including YouTube. The first bulletin, which aired last Saturday, can be found here: (https://youtu.be/LO7DNvSpKqE).

The visual newscast highlights the week's most significant local, regional, and international headlines in all fields, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

In this regard, Minister of State for Media Affairs and Chairman of Petra's Board of Directors, Faisal Shboul, emphasised the significance of this step and said it demonstrates the government's commitment to reaching out to all segments of society, including the deaf, who, he stated, have the right to access correct and accurate information.

Director-General of Petra Fayek Alhijazin stated that the launch of a bulletin in sign language is a part of the agency's modernisation and development efforts, as well as its strategic plan, which mandates keeping up with the most recent developments in the media industry.

He said the sign language news bulletin is hoped to add value to the agency's news service offering to various media outlets and support the national media landscape as well.

Alhijazin added that Petra's plan for development and modernisation is in full swing and aims to enhance the agency's service offering, upgrade its website and news editing and delivery system, and rebuild its archive in collaboration with the National Library.

Osama Tahrawi, President of the First Jordanian Association of Sign Language Interpreters, applauded Petra's pioneering step and expressed the association's willingness to work with the agency to deliver the bulletin to the intended audience within Jordan and beyond.