This evening, the Social Cultural Center for the Deaf, affiliated with the Ministry of Culture, organized an introductory workshop on the International Day of Sign Languages, which falls on September 23 of each year.
The workshop, which was presented by female translators from the center, aimed to shed light on sign language and raise community awareness of this language and its importance in conveying information and events to the deaf in full with ease and ease, which develops and qualifies them for life, society, and work, and prepares and trains society.
The workshop included an introduction to the Social Cultural Center for the Deaf, and its role in disseminating the culture of the deaf community and its sign language to the hearing people, and providing various types of seminars and cultural and social life courses, in addition to sign translation services. Finally, some ideas were presented from the attendees to support this group in various matters of their lives.
International Day of Sign Languages is an opportunity to support and protect the linguistic identity and cultural diversity of all deaf and other sign language users.
The United Nations announced that this year the world will once again highlight the unity that sign languages generate in the world, as deaf communities, governments and civil society organizations maintain their collective efforts – side by side – in sponsoring, promoting and recognizing national sign languages, As part of their countries’ vibrant and diverse linguistic landscapes
There are 70 million deaf people around the world, according to statistics from the World Federation of the Deaf 80% of those deaf people live in developing countries and use more than 300 sign languages.
The World Federation of the Deaf, a union of 135 national associations of the deaf, had submitted a proposal to celebrate International Day of Sign Language. To adopt United Nations Resolution 161/72 in partnership with 97 member states, it was adopted by consensus on December 19, 2017, and then began to be celebrated globally in 2018.
The date of September 23 was chosen because it is the date of the establishment of the International Federation of the Deaf in 1951.