Sign Language Week (SLW) is a flagship awareness week for British Sign Languages (BSL) and Irish Sign Language (ISL), celebrated every year in March.
The week is organised by the British Deaf Association, which has chosen the theme of ‘Promoting BSL and ISL as indigenous languages of the UK’. The campaign aims to celebrate and educate about BSL and ISL, to encourage more people to start learning it and preserve BSL and ISL for future generations.
Visit the Sign Language Week website here to find out more and see BSL and ISL videos about the week and how to support it and get involved.
- Go Blue for BSL/ISL (wear turquoise to support SLW)
- Download #SLW24 Assets to raise awareness
- #TakingBSLForward – the vision
- Free BSL lesson for companies and primary schools
- Early Years Campaign
Sign Language Week commemorates the first time BSL was acknowledged as a language in its own right by the UK Government on 18 March 2003. It holds immense significance for the BDA, particularly this year, as they launch the #TakingBSLForward campaign. This campaign aims to empower, support and encourage the UK Deaf Community to take ownership of shared BSL futures, and incorporate BSL into all stages of life.
BSL was legally recognised in law by the UK Government on 28th April 2022. 28 April will now be known annually as ‘National BSL Day’. BSL is the fourth most widely used indigenous language in the UK, with an estimated 151,000 individuals utilising the language.
