On December 19, 2017, the United Nations General Assembly declared September 23 as the International Day of Sign Languages. The resolution (A/C.3/72/L.36/Rev.1 – International Sign version here) was initially adopted by consensus during the 48th meeting of the Third Committee of the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday, November 16, 2017, and was officially adopted today at the 72nd United Nations General Assembly.
The resolution was proposed, or sponsored, through the Permanent Mission of Antigua and Barbuda to the United Nations, following an original request by the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD). The WFD worked with its member countries to garner support from their respective Permanent Missions to the United Nations, who have the power to vote for adoption of the resolution as co-sponsors at the United Nations General Assembly. The resolution was co-sponsored by 97 United Nations Member States and adopted by consensus.
The choice of September 23 commemorates the date that the WFD was established in 1951. This day marks the birth of an advocacy organisation, which has, as one of its main goals, the preservation of sign languages and deaf culture as pre-requisites to the realisation of the human rights of deaf people.
The first International Day of Sign Languages will be celebrated on September 23, 2018 as part of the International Week of the Deaf.
The Deaf Community in the Adventist Church of the Inter-European Region
There is an official organization of deaf people in the territory of the Inter-European Region since 2010. But at the local level, the attention paid to this special group of people starts from further away.
In Germany, for example, in 2019, the Adventist Church will celebrate the 100-year anniversary of the birth of the Ministry for the Deaf.
In France, the organization is a bit younger, but equally active. For years now, national conferences have been organized and backed by local programmes.
Spain is also dynamizing a series of activities that include training courses, meetings, and local translation services. In Spain, in a short period of time (a couple of years) the population of interpreters has increased from a few dozen to about 400, involving people who assiduously follow courses and update their knowledge to make a service increasingly effective.
Portugal and Italy are in the launch phase. Programs are intensifying, placing the deaf protagonists at local and national levels.
In 2018, Italy, like Spain, introduced the participation of deaf children in the summer programs of Pathfinders of the Adventist Church: an unexpected success.
Switzerland is also offering a space within the national and local activities. The progress of these programs is becoming even more noticeable.
For some years now, the Czech Republic has been encouraging a national ministry in favor of the deaf. As in other cases, these are local projects with the intention of stepping up to national status.
In Romania, the situation is similar to other countries where this precious ministry is gradually gaining ground. However, the Romanian reality is perhaps unique in Adventist Europe where people with different disabilities, along with their assistants, have been participating for years in programs of the association Rise and Walk, which now has 4,000 members throughout the country.
Worldwide, the Adventist Church has established a ministry, ADMI (Adventist Deaf Ministries International), which represents a significant population of deaf Adventists worldwide. For more details, see www.adventistdeaf.org.
At a European level, as in other continental contexts, there is a department that deals mainly with the organization of training meetings for interpreters and international congresses.
"I've learned a lot over the years as an international coordinator," says Corrado Cozzi, Inter-European Region Deaf Liaison and Special Needs Ministries Director. "One of the things that struck me was that to talk to a deaf person, you have to stop, you have to look him in the eyes, your attention has to be only for the dialogue undertaken; in short, total attention for those who are in front of you. This does not always happen during a ‘normal’ conversation.”
During the last five years, some international Congresses for the Deaf have been organized, the last of which, in Seville, saw the presence of about 200 participants not only from Europe, but also from other parts of the world. The success of the event has prompted the organizers to establish another international Congress for 2020, in Italy. Will we be more this time?
"I think so," confirms Cozzi, "given the increasing participation at various levels of the Adventist Church.
The celebration of an official day called by the UN like this, on 23 September, is undoubtedly an important recognition for the population of the deaf, who see their language made official in different countries around the world.
