International Day of Sign Languages - 23 September.

International Day of Sign Languages on September 23rd recognizes the importance of language through signing.  According to the UN, early access to sign language is vital to the growth and development of deaf individuals. The day takes place during International Deaf Week in the last week of September.

According to the World Federation of the Deaf, there are more than 70 million deaf people worldwide. More than 80% of them live in developing countries. Collectively, they use more than 300 different sign languages.

Sign language is not a universal language. Some of the most common ones throughout the world include:

• British Sign Language (BSL)
• French Sign Language (FSL)
• American Sign Language (ASL)
• Irish Sign Language (ISL)
• Chinese Sign Language (CSL or ZGS)
• Indo-Pakistani Sign Language

In some countries, access to sign language is common. However, others, such as South Asia, Indo-Pakistani sign language lacks support. In Inda, 1.8 million people live with deafness and yet only 250 certified language interpreters work in the country. For reasons like this, it’s important to spread awareness about the importance of sign language.

The UN recognizes that sign language is a human right for the deaf. Every deaf person in every country should have access to learning it.

The World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) first requested an international day to recognize the importance of sign languages. On December 19, 2017, the United Nations passed the resolution and declared September 23rd International Day of Sign Languages. This date commemorates the establishment of WFD in 1951. The first International Day of Sign Languages was observed in 2018 under the theme, “With Sign Language, Everyone is Included!”

This year 2022 theme “Sign Languages Unite Us".

Source: www.un.org

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