New sign-language guide service at the Alhambra

The Alhambra has just become more accessible. This morning in the Palace of Carlos V, Paulino Plata, Government of Andalusia minister for Culture, presented a new sign language guide service for deaf visitors. With this new initiative, sponsored by Fundación Orange, the Alhambra and Generalife becomes the first monumental site to offer this multimedia technology in Spain. Also present at the launch were Manuel Gimeno, chairman of Fundación Orange, and Alfredo Gómez, chairman of Fundación Andaluza Accessibilidad.
The new service consists of handheld multimedia screens, which display selected content in Spanish Sign Language (Lengua de Signos Española – LSE) and with subtitles. As Plata explained, the aim of the service is “to give deaf visitors and their families greater access to the Alhambra’s heritage, adapting the visitor experience to different needs. The service offers greater autonomy to visitors with hearing disabilities, making the Alhambra more accessible to all types of public”.
Sign Language Guides will be available in Spanish and English, to guide visitors with hearing disabilities around the site. The service is offered free of charge at the Entrance Pavilion, close to the ticket offices.
The project, developed in conjunction with Fundación Andaluza Accesibilidad Personas Sordas (the Andalusian foundation for accessibility for people with hearing disabilities) and with the technical expertise of Stendhal, confirms the Fundación Orange commitment to people with disabilities. According to Fundación Orange general director, Manuel Gimeno, the service, a part of the Accessible Museums project, “aims to make Spanish culture and art more accessible to people with hearing difficulties”.
To date, the Orange Foundation has implanted this service in the Reina Sofía Museum, the Altamira National Museum and Research Centre and the Catalonian National Museum of Art.