International Week of Deaf People

The past year has shown us new needs and new ways of guaranteeing the well-being of deaf people in situations of crisis. Under the circumstance of different crises, including infectious diseases, climate change, natural disasters, and armed conflicts, deaf people all over the world experience language deprivation, socioeconomic disadvantages, and audism. Today, we emphasise the importance of securing and maintaining the human rights of all deaf people during the different, multiple, and overlapping crises we face today.

On this International Day of Sign Languages, we celebrate our collective efforts- deaf communities, governments, and civil society representatives- to recognize and promote the different national sign languages around the world. Together we sign onto a declaration of support for sign languages as an essential human right for deaf people, and sign for human rights!

Deaf communities are diverse, intersectional communities. Today, we celebrate our richly diverse deaf communities and the many ways of living and being in the world that our diverse deaf communities share. Among these identities are gender, age, sexuality, linguistic preferences, ethnicity, socio-economic background, disability, and religion. Governments and deaf communities must recognize and promote the intersectional nature of deaf communities within services, projects, and advocacy work. Deaf communities and deaf organisations must be inclusive of all deaf peoples in their countries. Together, we can build strong communities respectful and inclusive of all deaf people.

For more than a century, deaf communities around the world have organised into representative associations to advance their human rights. These organisations need funding, capacity building, and empowerment to carry out the principle of “Nothing About Us Without Us”. Today, support your local, national and international organisations of deaf people!