World Deaf Day is observed on last Sunday of September every year to create awareness about the contributions of deaf people to society. World Deaf 2019 falls on September 29. The day also aims at drawing attention towards the challenges faced by people of the deaf community. According to WHO, there are 360 million persons in the world with disabling hearing loss. In adults, hearing loss is defined as hearing loss greater than 40 decibels (dB) in the better hearing ear. In children, hearing loss is greater than 30 dB in the better hearing ear.  International Day of Sign Languages 2019: Interesting Facts And Information About Sign Language You Should Know.

The proposal for the Day came from the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD), a federation of 135 national associations of deaf people which represents approximately 70 million deaf people's human rights worldwide. The resolution A/RES/72/161 was sponsored by the Permanent Mission of Antigua and Barbuda to the United Nations, co-sponsored by 97 United Nations Member States and adopted by consensus on December 19, 2017. International Day of Sign Languages 2019 Date and Theme: Know History and Significance of IDSL Declared by United Nations.

World Deaf Day 2019 Theme

The day is observed alongside International Day of Sign Languages (IDSL) which was on September 23. The over-arching theme of  IDSL 2019 is 'Sign Language Rights for All!' which corresponds with International Week of the Deaf, and each day of the week has a sub-theme:

September 23 - Sign Language Rights for All!

September 24 - Sign Language Rights for All Children

September 25- Sign Language Rights for Deaf Senior Citizens

September 26- Sign Language Rights for DeafBlind People and Deaf People With Disabilities.

September 27- Sign Language Rights for Deaf Women

September 28- Sign Language Rights for Deaf LGBTIQA+

September 29- Sign Language Rights for Deaf Refugees

Watch The Video Below:

International Day of Sign Languages was celebrated as a part of the International Week of the Deaf that takes place from September 24 to 30. The International Week of the Deaf was first celebrated on September 1958. It has since then evolved into a global movement of deaf unity that aims at raising awareness of the issues deaf people face in their everyday lives.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 29, 2019 07:30 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).