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Each year on the 23rd of September, the world pays homage to people with hearing disabilities by celebrating The International Day of Sign Language. The day offers an opportunity to not only support and protect the linguistic identity and cultural diversity of deaf people and other sign language users around the world, but offers everyone the chance to educate themselves and strive to be better equipped when dealing with deaf people.
According to the World Federation of the Deaf, there are approximately 72 million deaf people around the world, using more than 300 different sign languages to communicate. Not only does this call for the need to acknowledge sign language as a legitimate language of communication, but to integrate it in mainstream forms of communication so that deaf people do not feel excluded. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities recognises this need and obligates states to provide facilities where sign language can be taught.
The International Day of Sign Languages was first celebrated in 2018 as part of the International Week of the Deaf. This specific date was chosen to commemorate the establishment of the World Federation of the Deaf in 1951 and marks the advent of an organisation fully committed to preserve sign languages as well as the diverse cultures of the deaf people around the world. The foundation of all their goals is to preserve the rights of these people under the Charter of Human Rights.
The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 23 September as the International Day of Sign Language to raise awareness of the importance of sign languages. They resolved to establish quality education and services for deaf people and other sign language users. Important emphasis was given to their inclusion in every stream of decision-making, especially those regarding their own self, supporting the principle of "nothing about us without us" in terms of working with deaf communities.
For 2020, the World Federation of the Deaf plans to issue a Global Leaders Challenge, aiming to promote the use of sign languages by people in every strata of society.
