City of Kobe: International Day of Signed Languages Event

International Day of Signed

Languages

Every year, September 23 is the International Day of Signed Languages, which was resolved by the UN General Assembly on December 19, 2017, and the resolution states that UN member states shall take measures to raise awareness of signed languages throughout society to recognize that signed languages are equal to spoken languages and to ensure the full guarantee of the human rights of the deaf The resolution also states that September 23 will be a day of celebration for the signing of the 1951 International Convention on the Rights of the Deaf. September 23 is also the date of the establishment of the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) in 1951. In conjunction with the World Federation of the Deaf’s “Blue Light

for

Signed Languages” event, the Japanese Federation of the Deaf will hold the “Blue Light for Signed Languages: Let the world and Japan shine with blue light” Challenge Project 2024 to bring citizens, communities and society together. On September 23 (Monday, national holiday), we are calling for the lighting up of landmarks and facilities across Japan in blue, aiming to unite citizens, communities, and society in spreading awareness of “Sign Language as a language”.
Kobe City, as the first government ordinance city to enact a sign language ordinance, agrees with the purpose of this event and will light up the following seven locations with blue lights.

Date and Time *This year’s event has ended.

September 23, 2024 (Monday, national holiday) Sunset –
*Depends on the location.

Location

This year

Reference

• （All Japan Federation of the Deaf special page (external link)