Irma Sluis to make a TV program with deaf and hard of hearing people

Popular sign language interpreter Irma Sluis is going to make a Dutch television program with deaf and hard-of-hearing people. The program, which will be the first of its kind, will collaborate with radio DJ Igmar Felicia, KRO-NCRV announced on Wednesday. Sluis will make her debut as a presenter on the program, which will start November 13th on NPO Zapp.

The program has the English-language title Hands Up. Six teams will participate in the first broadcast, comprised of a child and a celebrity partner. One person on each team has a hearing impairment, while the other does not. The six teams will perform tasks in which they can only communicate using sign language.

Each week a team will drop out until one duo can call itself the winner of the Hands Up Trophy 2021. The broadcaster, KRO-NCRV, wants Hands Up to build a new bridge connecting all all hard of hearing people and Dutch society.

Dutch Sign Language interpreter Irma Sluis calls it a great honor to be able to work on the program. "It's so nice to see how enthusiastic, respectful, and interested everyone is, before and behind the scenes," says the new presenter. KRO-NCRV will offer a basic course in sign language online in addition to the program on NPO Zapp.

Sluis gained popularity in the past year and a half through her role at the coronavirus press conferences of the now caretaker Cabinet. Her interpretation of the word "hoarding" gained a great deal of public attention. Sluis's popularity has increased the interest in the sign language interpreter course at the Hogeschool Utrecht.