Buket Ela Demirel

A researcher and sociologist working on sign language and cultural and social change in the Deaf community, Demirel graduated from the Department of Sociology at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University in 2013. While still an undergraduate, she began taking part in special and pioneering projects for people with disabilities and socially disadvantaged groups at many civil society organizations, such as Düşler Akademisi (2010), Vodafone Foundation (2011), Koç Foundation (2012–2014) and İKSV (2016). Founder of the Words of Silence initiative, Demirel organized, with volunteer instructors, the first free EKPSS exam preparation course taught in sign language (2015–2016). After writing the sign lyrics for the song ‘Eller Konuşur’ (Hands Speak) by the group Defrap (2017), she has been the sign language lyricist for the Birlikte Güçlü Sesler (Strong Voices Together) Choir, formed in collaboration with İKSV Alt Kat and the Istanbul Music Festival. She currently works as a researcher on Turkish Sign Language and Deaf Culture in the Department of Linguistics at Boğaziçi University. Demirel, who has severe hearing loss due to a seizure she had at the age of 2.5, speaks Turkish Sign Language and Turkish fluently.