This Friday, 18th March is an important day for the Deaf community in the UK. It marks the 19th anniversary of the date British Sign Language was first recognized as a language in its own right by the UK government.
19 years later we hope that we’ll finally see a BSL Act which gives legal status to British Sign Language and requires the government to put in place guidance for providing public services and information to Deaf people who use BSL.
So, the 18th March will be an important day. It also coincides with Sign Language Week 2022. The theme for this year is: “BSL Brings Us Together!”
There will be another big BSL Rally to celebrate our beautiful, unique, visual language and show the world that BSL does indeed bring us together!
It will be at Trafalgar Square from 11:30am – 2:30pm and Eloise (Year 12) and Leesa (SHSG Communication Support Worker) will both be there wearing their brightest gloves and Deaf identity clothes.
The Baftas also celebrated Sign Language, with the film CODA receiving two wins – best supporting actor (Troy Kotsur) and best original screenplay. They had two interpreters during the acceptance speeches, one ASL and the other BSL. It was fantastic to watch!