SignDNA is the home of Aotearoa New Zealand’s visual Deaf history.

A revolutionary device which opens up a whole new world for those born deaf is now being demonstrated in Wellington. New Zealand is the only second country in the world to adopt the system so far.

The 600 people in Wellington at last have their own sign interpreter. Rachel Locker was appointed as sign language interpreter for the deaf on Monday.

In the past 18 months, the NZAD has opened field offices in Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington, and hopes soon to establish two more in Nelson and Dunedin.

Deaf people are angered and disappointed by the threat facing the TV show News Review.

Nearly quarter of a million dollars in sponsorship has been raised for the NZSL dictionary, a joint effort by the University and the New Zealand Association of the Deaf.

The first time Monica Leach took part in the Oxfam Trailerwalker was with a group of hearing friends. Leach, who is Deaf and uses NZSL, found it difficult to communicate with the team. But last weekend, her team Deaf Power Walk completed it in Taranaki as an all-Deaf team.

Arash Tayebi’s idea to develop sign language avatar technology is personal. And while Kara Technologies is still in the pilot stage, Tayebi hopes the technology will become easier to access as 24/7 teachers or in emergencies.

Six months after deaf and hearing-impaired children in the region lost their deaf tutor, problems with the teaching of NZSL continue. "NZSL is not a choice, it's a necessity and we have to give these kids a voice," mother Charmaine Strickland said.

Nearly 90 Christchurch people have spent the last year training to be interpreters at the World Games for the Deaf, with about 50 deaf people teaching the volunteers their language.