The United Nations (UN’s) International Day of Sign Languages (IDSL) is annually observed across the globe on 23 September to support and protect the linguistic identity and cultural diversity of all deaf people and other sign language users worldwide.
- IDSL 2024 is celebrated as part of the International Week of Deaf People (IWDP) 2024 from 23 to 29 September 2024.
2024 Theme:
i.The 2024 theme of IDSL is, “Sign up for Sign Language Rights”
ii.The 2024 theme encourages world leaders and government officials to support sign language rights in their countries by signing in their national sign language.
Significance:
i.IDSL recognises the importance of sign languages in the realisation of human rights for deaf people across the globe.
ii.IDSL aims to raise awareness of the deaf community’s issues and challenges, celebrating the richness of sign language culture and promoting linguistic diversity.
iii.Approaching the 20th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in 2026, the efforts focus on better national implementation of linguistic rights for the Deaf community.
- The Convention adopted in December 2006, recognizes and promotes the use of sign languages.
Background:
i.The proposal for the IDSL came from Helsinki(Finland) based World Federation of the Deaf (WFD), a federation of 135 national associations of deaf people.
ii.On 19 December 2017, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) adopted the resolution A/RES/72/161, proclaiming the 23 September of every year as the International Day of Sign Languages.
- The resolution was sponsored by the Permanent Mission of Antigua and Barbuda to the UN, and co-sponsored by 97 UN Member States.
iii.The 1st IDSL was observed on 23 September 2018 as part of the International Week of the Deaf (IWDP).
- The IWDP was first celebrated in September 1958.
Why 23 September?
The date 23 September commemorates the establishment of WFD in 1951.
- This day marks the birth of an advocacy organization (WFD), and one of its main goals, is the preservation of sign languages and Deaf culture as essential to the realisation of the human rights of deaf people.
About Sign Language:
i.Sign language is a visual language expressed through physical movements and is a fully developed natural language, distinct from spoken languages.
ii.Sign language is the main form of communication for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
- An international pidgin form of sign language is also used by deaf people for cross-cultural communication. It is not as complex as natural sign languages and has a limited lexicon.
iii.According to the WFD, over 70 million deaf people exist worldwide, with more than 80% in developing countries. Collectively, they use over 300 sign languages.
iv.The first formal sign language was developed in France by Abbé Charles-Michel de L’Épée, a French Catholic priest who established the first public school for the deaf in 1755 in Paris, France.
- He was recognised as ‘The Father of Sign Language and Deaf Education’.
Symbol:
The colour blue has been used by the WFD since its founding in 1951, and the Blue Ribbon has been used as a symbol of deaf communities’ work over the centuries for equality in society and recognition of their national sign languages.
2024 Events:
i.The WFD organised the Global Leader Challenges 2024 during the IDSL 2024 on 23 September 2024.
- This challenge aims to promote the use of national sign languages by national and global leaders in partnership with their national associations of deaf people.
ii.The WFD organised the Blue Light for Sign Languages in 2024, aiming to unite the world, its citizens, communities, and societies through the blue light.
Events in India:
On 23 September 2024, the Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre (ISLRTC), under the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan) (DEPwD), Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MSJE), organised an event to celebrate IDSL 2024 at Bhim Hall, Dr. Ambedkar International Centre (AIC), Janpath, New Delhi, Delhi .
i.B.L. Verma, Minister of State (MoS), MSJE presided over the event as the Chief Guest, and Rajesh Aggarwal, Secretary (DEPwD) was the Guest of Honour.
ii.The primary focus of the event is to highlight the unity generated by sign languages and the need to preserve them as an essential part of linguistic and cultural diversity.
Key People: The event was also attended by Dr. Sharanjeet Kaur, Chairperson, Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI); Rajeev Sharma, Joint Secretary, DEPwD; and, Dr. Jitendra Sharma, Director, ISLRTC, among others.
Launches during the event:
During the event, the following Indian Sign Language (ISL) terms and Videos were launched:
1.Launch of 2500 terms in ISL:
i.The ISLRTC has collaborated with 4 organizations to expand the existing ISL dictionary by adding 2,500 new terms. The key organizations involved are:
- YUNIKEE, Hyderabad(Telangana): Developed 1,000 terms
- India Signing Hands Private Limited (ISH), Mumbai(Maharashtra): Contributed 500 terms
- Bridge Connectivity Solutions Private Limited (BCS), New Delhi(Delhi): Added 500 terms
- Anuprayaas Solutions, Mohali, Punjab: Created 500 terms.
ii.These new terms cover various school subjects like mathematics, science, language, geography, and higher education areas such as philosophy, linguistics, etc.
2.The ISLRTC, in collaboration with YUNIKEE, launched 100 foundational concept videos in ISL for Class 6 subjects, including Science, Social Science, Mathematics, and English.
3.Launched ISL Dictionary in 10 regional languages namely, Tamil, Telugu, Assamese, Bengali, Marathi, Odia, Gujarati, Punjabi, Kannada, and Malayalam, to promote accessibility.
4.Released Deaf Role Model videos, developed by the ISH, to inspire the community.
5.Launched accessible educational stories in ISL for children of all age groups, fostering inclusive learning.
6.Inaugurated the Secure, Scalable & Sugamya Website as a Service (SWAAS) platform, offering access to websites of 25 National Institutes/Composite Regional Centers (CRCs) and the Ministry. It is live in 13 regional languages including Hindi and English.
7.Trophies and certificates were distributed to the winners of the 7th ISL competition 2024, a national-level competition held for students with hearing disabilities.
