International Day of Sign Languages 2022: What is ‘Blue Light’ event?

Today (September 23) is the International Day of Sign Languages and the theme for 2022 is ‘Sign languages unite us’.

According to the United Nations (UN), the proposal for the International Day of Sign Languages came from the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD), a federation of 135 national associations of deaf people, representing approximately 70 million deaf people’s human rights worldwide.

The resolution was sponsored by the Permanent Mission of Antigua and Barbuda to the UN, co-sponsored by 97 United Nations Member States and adopted by consensus on December 19, 2017.

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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 UN said.

The International Day of Sign Languages was first celebrated in 2018 as part of the International Week of the Deaf.

According to the World Federation of the Deaf, there are more than 70 million deaf people worldwide. More than 80% of them live in developing countries. Collectively, they use more than 300 different sign languages.

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In a message on its website, WFD said, “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.”

For this International Day of Sign Languages 2022, the WFD has launched the ‘Blue Light for Sign Languages’ event aiming to highlight the unity brought by the shared experience of national sign languages.

🔵Shine a Blue Light On Sign Languages!🔵
The UN’s Palais des Nations in Geneva is lit up in blue for the International Day of Sign Languages 2022. @UNGeneva #IDSL #BlueLight pic.twitter.com/yDI9TeG79i

— World Federation of the Deaf (@WFDeaf_org) September 23, 2022

“This event aims to unite the world, its citizens, communities and societies through the blue light. We invite all public places, public landmarks and official buildings, Presidential houses, County buildings, City Halls, and others to be spotlighted in blue light on 23 September 2022.

“By highlighting the blue colour on their buildings and landmarks is a reaffirmation of our joint commitment to supporting national sign languages and showing solidarity with global deaf communities. Together, we can achieve human rights and a more equal society via the use of national sign languages in all areas of life. The colour blue has been used by the WFD since its founding in 1951, and the Blue Ribbon has been used as a symbol of deaf communities work over the centuries for equality in society and recognition of their national sign languages,” WFD said.