In anticipation of writing a proposal for the establishment of a new secondary school program for Deaf students in the Philippines, Nora Shannon, senior project associate of PEN-International, visited Manila from August 18-27, 2009. The purpose for the visit was to learn more about the country's educational system for deaf students. Ms. Theresa Christine De La Torre, director of the Center for Access and Development at CSB, arranged the visit, which included visiting existing secondary programs for deaf students and interviewing stakeholders of the new school program.
Current and former teachers and interpreters in secondary programs for the Deaf, faculty of the School for Deaf Education and Applied Studies at De La Salle-College of St. Benilde, and deaf students in secondary and tertiary programs for the deaf were encouraged to describe their "ideal" high school program for deaf students. Copious notes were taken to be included in a proposal and timeline for the development of the new school.
An independent film titled, "Silent Odyssey", which showed the importance of Filipino Sign Language and an overview of deaf education in the Philippines, was another part of this fact-finding trip. The final activity of the week was a show performed by Silent Steps, a dance troupe directed by world-renowned deaf artist Myra Medrana.
