Celebrate ASL!  NAD Observes WFD International Day of Sign Languages

Posted September 14, 2007

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The National Association of the Deaf (NAD) will host “Celebrate ASL!” in observance of World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) International Day of Sign Languages on Friday, September 28, from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm, on the front steps of Chapel Hall at Gallaudet University.  This event, supported by the ASL and Deaf Studies Department at Gallaudet, will also reaffirm the long-standing position of the NAD that American Sign Language (ASL) is the natural language of the American deaf community.

At the July 2007 World Congress of the WFD in Madrid, Spain, delegates overwhelmingly supported the creation of an International Day of Sign Languages, as a celebratory event to be observed annually during the last full week of September (International Week of the Deaf, a WFD-sanctioned annual activity, is observed during this same time period). The year 2007 marks the initial observance of this annual celebration of sign languages.

The “Celebrate ASL!” program on Friday afternoon September 28th is open to the public.  Planned speakers include Yerker Andersson, former WFD president and current NAD Board of Directors member on behalf of Region I (northeastern United States); Nancy J. Bloch, chief executive officer of the NAD; Stephen Weiner, Provost, Gallaudet University; MJ Bienvenu, chair, ASL and Deaf Studies Department, Gallaudet University; Melissa Malzkuhn, graduate student at Gallaudet University and secretary of the WFD Youth Section (supported by the NAD); and others to be announced. 

“Celebrate ASL!” supports the global objectives of WFD, one of which specifically focuses on advancement of human rights through sign languages. In furtherance of that objective, the NAD Board of Directors is developing a position statement to reaffirm the historic stance of the NAD on ASL.  “We value ASL,” said Bobbie Beth Scoggins, president of the NAD, “as much or more today as we have in the past.  We advocate for the acquisition, learning, and use of ASL by everyone, and we recognize ASL as the heart of the American deaf community.”

At 7:00 pm on the same day, September 28, noted deaf artist Bernard Bragg will present his new “Theatre in the Sky” performance at Elstad Auditorium, hosted by Gallaudet University’s Theater Arts Department (to purchase tickets, go to http://depts.gallaudet.edu/theatre).

The NAD encourages local communities to become part of the “Celebrate ASL!” effort in observance of WFD International Day of Sign Languages during the last week of September (WFD International Week of the Deaf is observed during the same time period). The NAD website will feature a listing of celebrations across the nation (to submit your local event plans, go to http://www.nad.org/CelebrateASL).

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