Welcome to the International Week of Deaf People 2025, a significant event that plays a crucial role in advancing the rights of the deaf community.
Celebrating Identity, Cultures and Rights!
The Theme is about ‘No Human Rights Without Sign Language Rights!’
22nd to 28th Septmeber 2025
Monday 22nd September 2025
Deaf Communities Leading
“Deaf-led alliances, in collaboration with governments and other organisations, play a vital role in advancing sign language rights. Following the motto’ nothing about us without us’, actual progress comes from partnerships where deaf people lead and others support them as committed allies.” World Federation of the Deaf
D/deaf people and D/deaf with disabilities people play critical roles as leaders, advocates, campaigners, and supporters. They want everyone in the communities, such as Education, Health Sector, Police, Public Services, and Government agencies, to learn about our sign language rights as a form of equality for them. It is about removing ableism to un-ableist communities and allowing us to communicate with them without problems. It is vital to work as team players, a support group and teambuilding.
Without sign language, we will be lost and stuck in a hole without any communication method during the Civil Disaster crises, evacuation, and become more isolated in the communities anywhere in the world. Sign language is a language, not a spoken language, where we can not hear, even the neurodiverse people/children, who are unable to communicate, and they do speak in sign language, improving their self-esteem, and gaining more confidence to communicate with their families, work colleagues/staff, and friends.
Let’s look at who were the popular D/deaf or D/deaf with disabilities people who led the recognition of our sign language in the country or in the world?
Helen Keller – Deafblind
Kitty O’Neil – D/deaf (Quote: in her words, “Deaf people can do anything. Never give up. When I was 18, I was told I couldn’t get a job because I was deaf. But I said, someday I’m going to be famous in sports, to show them I can do anything.”)
Haben Girma – Deafblind https://youtu.be/I180MrmwKeE?si=I0n5bqZPUDA1WfdD
Vint Cerf – deaf-Hard of Hering (Widely known as one of the “Fathers of the Internet,” Cerf is the co-designer of the TCP/IP protocols and the architecture of the Internet) https://youtube.com/shorts/XXoJMAJfbPs?si=FyPjtVSSxRlKTrgt
Claudia L. Gordon – Deaf https://youtu.be/VaGSspTZY90?si=gHtAodoL0fB6GkuG
Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes – better known as Fransisco Goya – deaf with mental illness
Marlee Matlin – Deaf
Laurent Clerc – Deaf
Life in Eureka 