September 23 is International Day of Sign Languages, designed to draw attention to their significance in the lives of many millions of deaf and hard of hearing people. The memorial date was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in December 2017.
Resolution 72/161 was initiated by the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD). According to this organization, there are over 70 million deaf people in the world for whom sign language is the main form of communication with the outside world, and there are about 300 sign languages, as well as international sign language. The world community recognizes sign languages as full-fledged natural languages.
In proclaiming the date, the UN sought to highlight the role of sign languages in realizing the rights and freedoms of people with hearing disabilities. This is consistent with the principles of the Sustainable Society Program, according to which the protection of people's rights and freedoms, as well as the protection of linguistic and cultural diversity, are essential steps towards achieving its goals.
The UN resolution calls on states to ensure that all those in need have early access to sign language, quality education for deaf people, and the study of sign languages takes on the most facilitated and accessible forms.
The choice of date for the establishment of the International Day of Sign Languages fell on September 23, as the day on which the World Federation of the Deaf was established in 1951. In addition, International Sign Language Day falls on World Deaf Week, celebrated annually since 1958 in the last full week of September.
Having gained official status, International Sign Language Day has made deaf communities around the world more united. Traditionally, this date is now marked by events to inform and educate the population of different countries about the problems of deaf people and what role sign languages play in their lives.
In Moscow, as in many other cities around the world, events dedicated to the celebration of World Deaf Week and International Sign Language Day are held annually in September. One of the most striking events was the Sign Language Festival, which is held in the parks of the Russian capital. Volunteers in the alleys invite everyone to get acquainted with sign language and even master the main ones (a way to say hello and get to know each other). Sign language in Russia, where over 13 million deaf people live, has state status.
Until now, communication in sign language is common in the vast majority of cases only among deaf people. The desire to provide the opportunity to study sign language, even in a simplified form, for everyone would make the world kinder and allow us to overcome the barrier that stands in the way of communication between deaf people and people who have not lost the ability to hear. Well, in the meantime, sign language is studied in special courses or faculties where future sign language interpreters are trained.
But deaf communities, Governments and civil society organizations continue to make collective efforts to develop, promote and recognize national sign languages as part of the vibrant and diverse linguistic landscape of their countries.
Postcard «September 23 — International Day of Sign Languages»