Background

The proposal for the Day came from the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD), a federation of 135 national associations of deaf people representing approximately 70 million deaf people’s human rights worldwide. The resolution A/RES/72/161 was sponsored by the Permanent Mission of Antigua and Barbuda to the United Nations, co-sponsored by 97 United Nations Member States and adopted by consensus on 19th December 2017. The choice of 23rd September commemorates the date that the WFD was established in 1951. The UN General Assembly has proclaimed 23rd September as the International Day of Sign Languages to raise awareness of the importance of sign language in fully realising the human rights of people who are deaf. The resolution establishing the Day acknowledges that early access to sign language and services in sign language, including quality education available in sign language, is vital to the growth and development of the deaf individual and critical to the achievement of the internationally agreed development goals. It recognises the importance of preserving sign languages as part of linguistic and cultural diversity. It also emphasises the “nothing about us without us” principle regarding working with Deaf communities. The International Day of Sign Languages is a unique opportunity to support and protect the linguistic identity and cultural diversity of all deaf people and other sign language users. During the 2023 celebration of the International Day of Sign Languages, the world will again highlight the unity generated by our sign languages. Deaf communities, governments and civil society organisations maintain their collective efforts – hand in hand – in fostering, promoting, and recognising national sign languages as part of their countries’ vibrant and diverse linguistic landscapes. 

Shaping minds and hearts by sharing experiences 

CHARM-EU is delighted to share the story and message of Inna Shparber, who shared with us her experiences during the International Day of Sign Languages.

“I was born deaf, and my mother tongue is German Sign Language. I am a deaf student of social work: transnational at the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences. I, myself, am deaf since birth and have a migration background. During my studies, I also worked in a café at my faculty. I interacted with many hearing people and experienced the phenomenon of integration first hand. I learned a lot about the majority community’s perspectives, the ‘hearing community’ as deaf people call them. In this separation between the two communities, hearing and deaf, we can already see how there is a sense of segregation that is important to address. What we call each other has an impact on how we interact with each other.”

Inna continues and tells her international experiences: 

“Throughout my studies and interaction with other social work students, I have noticed that little to none of my colleagues have shown an interest in nor have they sought information on the deaf community, whether through learning sign language or interaction with a deaf individual. My role was president of the European Deaf Students’ Union (EDSU) 2019-2021. I have been a board member of viStudis (an organised German group for students) from 2019 – 2020. I studied in Frankfurt as social work: transnational. Volunteer abroad (Cameroon): I work with several organisations as Behinderung und Entwicklungs¬zusammen¬arbeit e.V. (bezev). The work focuses mainly on improving the development (in the area of volunteer) and participation opportunities of persons with disabilities in the Global South. Therefore, I have volunteered from 2015 – 2016 in Cameroon at a deaf school. I have been writing some papers for Bezev, like my year of volunteering as a deaf person. Sometimes, I make videos in sign language. Link: Handeln | Einfach Machen (jetzt-einfach-machen.de). I wrote an article: Hostingwerk (vision-inklusion.de). Working with deaf refugees: Through volunteering, I am working with deaf refugees at the Frankfurter Stiftung für Gehörlose und Schwerhörige. I organise activities like ‘Deaf-Treff’ (where they can exchange about deaf culture / general knowledge of life and teach in German Sign Language and German Language. Furthermore, I have also worked with deaf refugees, which made me realise that something is missing for them to be granted an equal opportunity to participate as citizens within national borders. I was delighted to work on ENABLE, GUIDE TO INCLUSIVE YOUTH ACTIVITIES with Agnes for Organising Bureau of European School Student Unions – OBESSU. The theoretical overview of practices from this guide aims to create inclusive spaces within the school and school student unions by understanding how complex disability is and offering tools and examples of good practices.” You can access the guide: Enable_Guide (obessu.org)

Don’t’s and do’s, Inna cites from the guidebook what to avoid and use: 

AVOID: ‘DEAF AND DUMB’ / ‘DEAF WITHOUT SPEECH’ / ‘DEAF-MUTE’ / ‘HEARING IMPAIRED’. Short explanation: These words assume that deaf people are incapable of communicating and/or thinking. The word ‘hearing impaired’ is a medicalised view of deaf people that disregards their identity and culture. USE DEAF AND/OR HARD OF HEARING. Short explanation: The words ‘deaf’ and ‘hard of hearing’ describe people with varying levels of deafness. Some people prefer the word ‘Deaf’ with a capitalised D, especially when they are culturally Deaf. Culturally deaf people typically use sign language and have a shared heritage and distinctive culture that shapes their worldviews. 

CHARM-EU’s commitment to working towards inclusive and just societies.

In alignment with CHARM-EU’s vision and mission and part of our work on inclusion and diversity to create an innovative university model that identifies and reflects on social challenges, CHARM-EU joins to raise awareness of this International Day, reiterating our commitment to creating a safe, welcoming, and respectful organisational culture, including educational and working spaces. Joint efforts of the CHARM-EU community and actors will foster awareness-raising and create a more just, inclusive society. CHARM-EU is committed to shaping minds and developing structures to realise the UN SDG’s values meaningfully. Realising the SDGs requires everyone’s actions, regardless of size. 

Joins us to raise awareness by using the hashtag #signlanguage. Find more information by visiting the following link: International Day of Sign Languages | United Nations

Resources:

• International Day of Sign Languages | United Nations
• Enable_Guide (obessu.org)

Credit: 

The contribution was prepared by Anna Tepliczky, a student volunteer of ELTE BGGYK, in collaboration with Agnes Sarolta Fazekas-Vinkovits, Leader of CHARM-EU Inclusiveness (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) Team and Inna Inna Shparber, who has co-wrote the ENABLE GUIDE with Agnes Sarolta Fazekas-Vinkovits among her many professional activities.