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Inclusion in focus: First Lake Constance conference for the deaf successful!
Heike Heubach led the Lake Constance Conference 2025 at the PH Heidelberg, which discussed inclusion and sign language.
Inclusion in focus: First Lake Constance conference for the deaf successful!
From April 23rd to 25th, 2025, the Lake Constance Conference 2025 (BOTA) took place in Friedrichshafen, which focused on the promotion and inclusion of people with hearing impairments. Around 200 participants, including both deaf and hearing experts from education, politics and society, took part in the event. Heike Heubach, the first deaf member of the German Bundestag, took over the patronage of the conference, which was co-organized by the Institute for Special Education at the Heidelberg University of Education. The motto of the conference was: “Set sail – act professionally”.
The conference offered participants the opportunity to exchange ideas about current developments. Professor Dr. Johannes Hennies gave the opening lecture and discussed the technical perspectives in changing times. He particularly emphasized that change in favor of deaf people has only been seriously advanced in the last ten years. In this context, he explained that multilingualism and sign language are increasingly recognized as educational goals.
Specialist lectures and workshops
A central point of BOTA was the discussion about challenging behavior of students with hearing impairments, which was led by Professor Dr. Florian Kramer was addressed. Additionally, Dr. Anja Gutjahr, Dr. Barbara Bogner and Ann-Kathrin Böhm are offering a workshop on digital, barrier-free teaching in order to meet the special needs of this group of students. Participants were able to actively participate in the development of new teaching methods.
Christiane Stöppler, chairwoman of the BDH regional association in Baden-Württemberg, also took part in the conference and emphasized the importance of the participation of young people with hearing impairments for future society. As a support following previous discussions, she made it clear how important it is to protect the interests of people with hearing impairments and to improve their opportunities for participation.
Inclusion and sign language
A central theme of the conference was the importance of sign language as a means of communication and its role in promoting the autonomy of deaf people. Jürgen Dusel, the Federal Government Commissioner for the Affairs of Disabled People, spoke on the occasion of International Day of the Deaf about the need to integrate sign language into school curricula. A school subject of sign language would not only benefit deaf students, but also promote understanding and communication between hearing and deaf classmates.
The introduction of such a school subject is seen as an important step towards social recognition of the challenges faced by deaf people. Access to interpretation services and the training of qualified sign language interpreters are crucial for an inclusive society in which deafness is viewed as part of human diversity. These considerations were viewed as groundbreaking by many participants at the conference.
Heike Heubach said during BOTA that inclusion is not expensive as long as it is considered from the start. She emphasized that through appropriate measures and awareness-raising, both the educational opportunities for children with hearing impairments and participation in society can be significantly improved. During a panel discussion, representatives of the deaf community were in the majority, which was seen as a positive sign for an increasingly inclusive society.
BOTA, which has taken place every three years since 1956, has established itself as an important platform. The aim of the conference is to protect the interests of people with hearing impairments and to improve their quality of life. Events like these are crucial to fostering dialogue about accessibility and participation and raising public awareness of the challenges deaf people face.