This prestigious prize, awarded by the European Commission, recognizes educational projects that promote innovative, inclusive and collaborative teaching practices. In 2025, only 117 projects were selected across Europe, including three in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation.

The award-winning project concerns the Certificat interuniversitaire en Langue des signes de Belgique francophone (LSFB) et français, co-organized by UNamur and UCLouvain Saint-Louis Bruxelles and supported by the Université de Toulouse Jean Jaurès (UTJJ) thanks to Erasmus+ funding. Running from September 2023 to June 2024, it aims to professionalize deaf interpreters in French-speaking Belgium and France, by offering them a unique training course leading to certification. Thanks to an innovative pedagogical approach, combining formal, non-formal and informal learning, 19 deaf adults were able to obtain certification, strengthening their professional recognition and role in society.

"We implemented this certificate because of the urgency and need to develop continuing education for deaf interpreters in French-speaking Belgium and the necessary reflection on the new profession of deaf interpreter in France," emphasizes Professor Dany Etienne (UCLouvain Saint-Louis Bruxelles), Dean of the Marie Haps Faculty of Translation and Interpreting.

"Deaf interpreters in Belgium are often self-trained, with no official recognition, which limits their professionalization and affects the services offered to deaf people. By integrating knowledge and tools from other universities, we have been able to develop suitable training, guaranteeing professionalism and ethics, in order to improve the quality of interpreting services and encourage recognition of the profession," adds Professor Laurence Meurant (UNamur).

This project thus marks a first in Belgium and France, filling a major gap in the training of deaf interpreters. It paves the way for better quality interpreting services and official recognition of the profession.

An exemplary university collaboration

The complementary expertise of the three partners has enabled the development of a unique training program of excellence:

  • The research into the linguistic study of LSFB at UNamur conducted in collaboration with the ASBL École et surdité and the Centre scolaire Sainte-Marie Namur.
  • Research and practice in the field of co-interpretation for UCLouvain Saint-Louis Bruxelles.
  • Translation didactics for UTJJ.

This collaborative work has made it possible to develop tailor-made modules, adapted to the specific needs of deaf learners, and to create transnational links with experts in the UK, USA and Germany.

Find out more

This is also a project to support ! More info: https://unamur.be/fr/soutenir/lsfb

This project was made possible thanks to co-financing from the European Union.

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