Support the rights to use sign language in educational programmes

To all my dear readers,

Right to use sign language in educational programmes

World Federation of the Deaf is calling individuals to sign this petition, New Era Document, which rejects the resolutions of the 1880 Milan Congress that banned the use of sign language from educational programmes for deaf children. This is a call upon all nations and people of the world to remember history and ensure that educational programmes accept and respect all languages, including sign languages, and all forms of communication. The New Era Document was first presented and signed by hundreds of people in the 21st International Congress on the Education of the Deaf (ICED) in July 2010 in Vancouver, Canada. The official petition, which you'll find below, is now open for signatures until the next ICED Congress in Greece 2015. Please sign this petition - http://www.petitions24.com/wfd

A New Era: Deaf Participation and Collaboration from TheNewEra2010 on Vimeo.

I received an email from my senior friend, JM who is working in Singapore. I also support the "New Era Document" because this is helping the deaf community to gain more knowledge and wisdom if they learned better when they used sign language-educational.

Hi friends

Hope you all are doing well. I would like to share the great thing with you. I believe most of you all haven't hear about ICED.. You know what is WFD but how about ICED? Well, ICED is stand for International Congress on the Education of the Deaf. ICED's main focus on Deaf Education, develop new technologies and system for Deaf Education. For many years ICED and WFD on their own way. Until last July, ICED and WFD work together on this new era.

WFD/ICED Board member, Dr. Joe McLaughlin from Canada will give a talk about "New Era Document" on Saturday, 30 October located at Singapore Association for the Deaf (SADeaf). Open to all who are keen to understand about this. It will be great opportunity for you all to attend to make our country towards a better future for deaf community. For those who stay in Sabah, will opportunity to attend his talk in Kota Kinabalu next week.

To know more information, please go http://www.wfdeaf.org/news_ICED.html

If you are unable to attend but still support, you may go for petition at http://www.petitions24.com/wfd

Please share with your friends about this.

Thank you for your time.
JM

I also see the result of deaf education in Malaysia is not well. That cause a lot of deaf students don't be good at studying in the special schools when they are not understand what are the teachers are saying during they are studying in their hearing class. The colleges and universities also don't have the service interpreter for Deaf students. Without the sign language education, they have to study by themselves, and always ask lecturers & friends.

Sign Language potrays the image, identity and culture of the country that the Deaf Community belongs to. In Malaysia, we have the Malaysian Sign Language (Bahasa Isyarat Malaysia—BIM). The Deaf regard Sign Language as their natural language which reflects their cultural values and keeps their traditions and their heritage alive. We can enjoy to communicate with the deaf and hearing people via the sign language. My hearing friends always enjoyed to use the sign language after they learned it! They told me that it is very unique and amazing! Don't be scare to use sign language in the front of the hearing people. It help to increase the awareness of hearing people. :)

So, it is for the principles of human rights and education for the world! If you believe that the Deaf people have the right to use sign language as their medium of instruction in schools and other educational venues, then please sign the petition made by the World Federation of the Deaf - http://www.petitions24.com/wfd