International Day of Sign Languages 2021: History, significance and this year’s theme

Over 5 percent of the world’s population requires rehabilitation for their loss or inability to hear. Almost all deaf people across the world rely on sign language to communicate with their peers and loved ones, making it their only mode of physical conversation.

Sign language is a way of communication that uses visual-manual modality to convey a message. Sign language, as opposed to common belief, contains the full spectrum of a language, including proper grammar, punctuation, and lexicons.

The International Day of Sign Languages is celebrated every year to raise awareness about the usage of sign language and help those who have impaired hearings to be less conscious of them while expressing their thoughts in sign language.

International Day of Sign Languages 2021: History and significance

The first International Day of Sign Languages was celebrated on September 23, 2018, after the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) proposed the observation of such a day to raise awareness about the usage of sign language and the lives of people who have impaired hearings.

The day September 23 was chosen as the International Day of Sign Languages because the World Federation of the Deaf was established on this day, back in 1951. The WFD has since grown to an organization of around 135 national associations of deaf people.

Sign languages are used by people with disabilities across the world. The main significance and purpose of International Day of Sign Languages are to raise awareness about the usage of sign languages. It is also celebrated to recognize the importance of preserving sign languages for those who rely on them for communication.

Sign languages hold a lot of importance to those, who use this as a primary mode of communication. According to WFD, there are over 70 million deaf people in the world, and hence, the usage of sign language should be preserved at all costs.

International Day of Sign Languages 2021: Theme

As per the World Federation of the Deaf, this year’s theme for the International Day of Sign Languages 2021 is “We sign for human rights”. According to the United Nations, the theme for this year shows "how each of us – deaf and hearing people around the world – can work together hand in hand to promote the recognition of our right to use sign languages in all areas of life."