World Sign Language Day

Why is in news? World Sign Language Day is celebrated on September 23

Sign Language Day was celebrated by the Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre (ISLRTC), New Delhi under the aegis of Department of Empowerment and Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) (Divyangjan), Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment at New Delhi.

Ever since the United Nations declared 23rd September as the International Day of Sign Languages, the ISLRTC celebrates it every year on 23rd September.

The theme for 2023 is “A World Where Deaf People Everywhere Can Sign Anywhere!”.

This theme underscores the unifying power of sign languages, emphasizing its importance for deaf communities, governments, and civil society organizations.

DEPwD and ISLRTC had brought more citizens, stakeholders, service-providing agencies, Deaf schools, NGOs, activists, Deaf leaders, educators, researchers etc. together on this Sign Language Day celebration to create positive awareness about Indian Sign Language among all sections of our society.

Significance of IDSL:

Promote the linguistic identity and cultural heritage of deaf people.

Advocate for the recognition and protection of sign languages as full and equal languages.

Raise awareness of the challenges faced by deaf people in accessing information and services in sign language.

Promote the use of sign language in all aspects of life, including education, employment, healthcare, and government.

On the occasion, several programs and materials were also launched:

Basic Communication Skills in Indian Sign Language an online self-learning course was launched. The primary aim of this course is to foster basic communication skills in Indian Sign Language.

It is tailor-made for parents of deaf children, siblings, educators, and individuals interested in acquiring basic knowledge of Indian Sign Language (ISL). The course comprises 10 modules, covering 30 essential topics, ensuring a comprehensive grasp of basic ISL communication.

260 signs of Financial terms in Indian Sign Language which are jointly developed by ISLRTC, Societe Generale and V-Shesh was launched. The sign for financial terms are developed to facilitate communication between deaf and hearing people working in the financial and banking sector. The project will help improve the employment prospects of deaf job-seeking youth.

10,000 ISL dictionary terms were launched on website.

ISL course in Special Schools for the hearing impaired was launched.

Video Relay Service for the deaf community through WhatsApp video calls was launched. Video Relay Service is a video telecommunication service which enables deaf people to communicate with hearing people vide a remote sign language interpreter.