About us (Text in easy language)
equalizent is a company for education and counselling. Our main focuses are:
- People who are deaf
- People who are hard of hearing
- Sign Language
- Diversity management
Diversity management means:
To have respect for differences between people and to use these differences in a positive way.
The employees at equalizent are all different.
We appreciate that.
Deaf and hearing people work together at equalizent.
This is why we use 2 languages at equalizent:
Austrian Sign Language (ÖGS) and German.
Our employees are also very different in other ways.
Our employees at equalizent include:
- Women and men
- People from different countries
- People with and without disabilities
We have a lot of experience with diversity.
That's why we also advise other companies how different people can work together well.
For example, hearing people and deaf people.
What equalizent does
equalizent works in many different areas.
These include:
Education, training and courses
for deaf and hard of hearing people.
equalizent offers training for deaf youth and adults.
We use Austrian Sign Language (ÖGS) in lessons.
This is the first language of most deaf people in Austria.
Deaf teenagers and adults can take courses and training for job preparation and job orientation.
We also support deaf youth and adults, so that they can do different training.
We have made 9 professional fields accessible to the deaf.
For example, we help deaf youth with their search for apprenticeships.
We also support deaf apprentices during their apprenticeship.
There are also English and German courses.
Deaf people can learn and practice reading and writing in English and German.
Courses for hearing people
Hearing people can learn Austrian Sign language at equalizent.
There are weekly courses or diploma courses.
Diploma courses take place several times a week and last longer.
Art and culture
- Diversity Ball
From 2008 to 2021 equalizent organized the Diversity Ball.
We celebrate differences and diversity.
It is the most colourful and inclusive ball in Vienna.
We work together with 150 partners on the Diversity Ball.
About 2,500 guests come every year.
Since 2022 the Diversity Ball is independent.
- Hands-Up
Hands-Up is an exhibition in the first district in Vienna.
Visitors can experience the world of the deaf.
Deaf guides show visitors through the exhibition.
To date, more than15,000 people have visited the Hands-Up exhibition.
- Sign-Time
Sign-Time is a company of equalizent.
Sign-Time develops avatars.
Avatars are characters from the computer.
Avatars can look like humans or like animals.
They appear in computer games, for example.
Sign-Time uses avatars for sign language.
Sign-Time can translate simple information into sign language using avatars.
Other projects
equalizent does more projects on the topics of deafness, sign language,
disability and diversity management.
We work on these projects in Austria and other countries.
We have already partners in 18 countries.
We are currently working on getting partners to open equalizent companies in other countries as well.
Our goal is that equalizent exists in many countries.
How equalizent came into being
The history
Monika Haider founded equalizent in 2004.
Since then equalizent has grown a lot.
In the beginning, 12 people worked at equalizent.
Today, more than 60 people work at equalizent.
One third of the employees are deaf, two thirds are hearing.
The deaf employees work in all areas.
They work in the company management or work in building services, but also in training or other projects.
The name
Hearing and deaf employees chose the name equalizent together.
The name equalizent stands for many things.
The last 4 letters in the name equalizent are: zent
“zent” stands for the German word "Zentrum” which means centre.
The first 5 letters of the word are: equal
This should show:
Deaf, hard of hearing and hearing people are equal.
They have the same rights.
equalizent also means: electronic qualification centre.
The word electronic means working with computers.
The word qualification means training.
We use computers and technology for sign language.
Our company Sign-Time makes videos in sign language, for example.
The sign name for equalizent consists of the sign for the word "pull up"
and the sign for the word: "quality".
The management
Marietta Adlbrecht has been the managing director of equalizent Vienna since 2022.
She studied teaching Italian and German at the university.
She has taught at a school.
She has advised companies on how to become better.
She also showed companies what employees need to work well.
For three years, Marietta Adlbrecht was the managing director
of a company that buys and sells products.