06:00, 23 September 2024
Words by Cheyanne Bryan, Editorial and Campaign Marketing Executive, London
Established by the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) in 2018, International Day of Sign Languages is celebrated annually on September 23rd to raise awareness about the importance of sign languages in the lives of deaf individuals and to promote linguistic and cultural diversity.
Here are 4 sign language success stories that emphasise the importance of this visual language.
From September 2025, British Sign Language (BSL) will be taught as a GCSE option in England. This initiative aims to promote inclusivity and raise awareness about the importance of communication with the deaf and hard-of-hearing community. If implemented in 2025, it would provide students with the opportunity to learn British Sign Language (BSL) as part of their formal education, enhancing their communication skills and understanding of diverse cultures.
The introduction of sign language as a GCSE subject would not only benefit students who wish to pursue careers in fields such as education, healthcare, and social services.
Find out more about the specification here.
Social media has become a third space for many people and with the rise in newer social media platforms, users have spoken up about adaptations that will serve their community or marginalised users.
The rise of closed captioning and sign language interpretation in television and online content has significantly improved accessibility for deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals. TikTok has auto-captions available on most of their videos and instagram has added a closed caption feature to their stories.
In collaboration with the Gloucestershire Deaf Association, The Cheltenham Literature Festival is providing British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters at six events to enhance its accessibility. This initiative follows a positive response to the town's Jazz Festival, which also offered interpreters.
The Cheltenham Literature Festival runs 4-13 October, to find out more, head here.
This may be considered a historical pop culture moment, but during Rhianna’s 2023 Super Bowl halftime performance the sign language interpreter, Justina Miles, became a fan favourite across social media.
As she is seen dancing along to Rhianna enthusiastically, her personality shone through and captured the hearts of global audiences. Aged just 20-years-old, she became the first female deaf performer at the show.
Watch Justina’s performance here.
At Smiley Movement, we like to elevate the work of charities across the world. Here are three charities whose causes align with the themes in this article.
Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID) is a national charity that supports over 12 million people with hearing loss, deafness and tinnitus. Find out more.
Gloucestershire Deaf Association. This charity provides vital practical and emotional support to children, young people and adults living in Gloucestershire who are deaf, hard of hearing or deafened. Learn more here.
Deaf Action. This is a charity that supports the diversity of deaf people, including deaf users of British Sign Language (BSL), and those who are deafened, deafblind or hard of hearing. Support them here.
