Tuesday 24 April, 19:00 (Cinéma Galeries)

Runtime: 72'

Tobias was already a year old when his parents were confronted with the news that he'd been born deaf. Their automatic reaction was to moderate their expectations—a deaf child, they assumed, was surely destined for an isolated, disadvantaged life. His father Alex de Ronde looks back on the life of his now young adult son and the choices he made as a father. The childhood photos, home movies and frank conversations with Tobias and his brother Joachim reveal how he managed to turn his disadvantage to his benefit. He connects the worlds of the hearing and the deaf through his job as a teacher of sign language. By unconditionally accepting his deafness, he’s able to address several issues, like raising a deaf child and its effects on other family members, and the absurd consequences of having a disability status.

For more on the film, click here.

The film will be introduced by the Ambassador of the Embassy of The Netherlands in Belgium

And followed by a panel discussion with:

• Alex De Ronde, Director of 'Deaf Child';
• Tobias De Ronde, Protagonist of 'Deaf Child';
• Susanne Bosman, United Nations Human Rights Office (OHCHR);
• Moderated by Christophe Verhellen, UNRIC;

There will be an interpreter for the deaf and hard of hearing.

Followed by a Reception, courtesy of the Embassy of The Netherlands in Belgium.

The film is in Dutch with English subtitles and has a run time of 1 hour 12 minutes

Due to the large number of no-shows, we kindly ask you to register only if you are able to attend our event.

Registration on the night starts at 18:30 - Doors close at 19:15.

** Download the handout **

Please note : Seats are allocated on a first come, first served basis & should not be reserved for late-comers

*For health and safety reasons, we reserve the right to refuse entry once we have reached maximum capacity