Thursday 12 October 2000 – the BDA launched this controversial campaign – challenging Westminster’s attitude to recognising British Sign Language. The sign depicted on the billboard actually means ‘idle’ – but they make their point clearly.
*Image credit BDA.
Victoria Williams
Founder & CEO
terptree
I remember this day very well. At the time, I was working at the British Deaf Association (BDA) and felt really proud to be working for a charity that were getting people to think and challenging the status quo.
After a lot of hard work from the BDA, other deaf organisations and the deaf community – British Sign Language (BSL) was recognised as an official language in its own right in 2003.
The next stage is a BSL Act, something that has already happened in Scotland and in Ireland with the Irish Sign Language Act.
This would ensure that it was a legal duty for businesses and organisations to make their products and services accessible in BSL.
Take a look at the BDA’s current campaigns: https://bda.org.uk/project/our-work-in-government/
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