International Day of the Deaf (25/09)

International Deaf Day, celebrated annually on the last Sunday of September, was established in 1958 to celebrate the creation of the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) in September 1951. It concludes the last full week of September, which is celebrated as International Week of the Deaf.

The purpose of Day — is to raise international awareness of the problems faced by deaf people every day. After all, according to statistics, every ninth person suffers from hearing impairment. It is lost as a result of injury, illness or congenital defects.

There are 2,500 languages on the planet. But there is another form of communication that has recently become more and more of interest to scientists, — is the language of gaze and gestures.

The World Federation of the Deaf (WFG), which today unites 125 national organizations from all five continents, developed the Gestuno — gesture system in the 1950s to serve international deaf events, that is, congresses, symposia, conferences, including sports ones.

In 1760, Abbot de L'Epe (Charles-Michel de l'Épée) founded the first school in France — Paris Institute of the Deaf (Institut National de Jeunes Sourds de Paris). The abbot was the founder of the facial method, a great supporter of sign language.

Don't believe in the myth that the deaf are closed and unsociable. Dozens of wonderful and great personalities were deaf. Pierre de Ronsard — Renaissance poet, called the «prince of French poets», was an excellent fencer and dancer. His wonderful phrase went down in history: «With bad hearing there is nothing to do in the palace».

History knows other great names. Victor Hugo — author «Notre Dame Cathedral». Ludwig Van Beethoven — greatest composer. Antonio Stagnoli — is one of the Italian artists. Claude-Andre Desaint — French sculptor. Jean-Jacques Rousseau — French philosopher and writer.

Currently, according to WHO, about 466 million people suffer from various hearing impairments — is more than 5% of the world's population, of which more than half suffer from disabling hearing loss. In Russia, 10% of the population — are people with hearing impairment, including more than 1 million — children. Preschool and secondary educational institutions for children with hearing impairments operate in many regions of Russia, and some have secondary specialized and higher educational institutions where children with hearing impairments can continue their education.

The All-Russian Society of the Deaf (VOG), which has been a member of the World Federation of the Deaf since 1955, also supports such people. VOG has been operating since 1926, unites more than 100 thousand members, has 76 regional and more than 800 local branches throughout the Russian Federation. The VOG, like the World Federation of the Deaf itself, emphasizes respect for the rights of people with hearing impairments, their social rehabilitation and integration into modern society, increasing their level of education, as well as access to information technology and services.

The WFG has associate member status in the United Nations, UNESCO, the International Labour Organization and the World Health Organization. On International Day of the Deaf, the federation recommends and encourages all deaf associations to campaign to sensitize politicians, authorities, the media and the public to the problems of people with hearing impairments.

In Russia, all kinds of sports, cultural, educational and charitable events in different regions of the country are traditionally timed to coincide with this day.

Let us remind you that March 3 is International Ear and Hearing Health Day, and September 23 is International Sign Language Day.

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