September is Deaf Awareness Month!
September 23: UN celebrates International Day of Sign Languages
Picture above: Maleni Chaitoo, representative of the International Disability Alliance, addresses the meeting using sign language during the special event in observance of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (2015). Photo:UN Photo/Amanda Voisard
September 23rd, the International Day of Sign Languages, highlights that sign languages are full, natural languages vital to the linguistic identity, culture and human-rights enjoyment of deaf people. With over 70 million deaf people globally using more than 300 sign languages, the day stresses the importance of early access to sign language, quality education in sign language, and services that ensure deaf people can fully participate in society.
The UN endorses this day to promote and protect sign languages and to involve Deaf communities in decisions affecting them, building on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Designated for 23 September at the proposal of the World Federation of the Deaf, the Day was first observed in 2018 and extends the long-standing International Week of the Deaf (first held in 1958), a global movement advocating for Deaf unity and awareness.
Full article on UN.org: un.org/en/observances/sign-languages-day