A community promotional event was held last Saturday by the Macau Deaf Association (MDA) on the first-floor foyer of Broadway Hotel in Cotai to mark the International Sign Language Day and the International Week of the Deaf.
The event, sponsored by the Social Welfare Bureau (IAS) and supported by Galaxy Entertainment Group (GEG), consisted of an opening ceremony, a series of sign-language-themed stage performances and booth games, as well as an open-top bus parade that started at the venue and travelled through the city, allowing MDA’s Sign Language Ambassador volunteers to promote inclusiveness to residents in Taipa Village and in the peninsula’s Iao Hon and Patane districts.
According to an MDA statement, the event aimed to raise disability awareness in civil society and to promote the rights of the deaf and hearing-impaired people to use sign language, in line with this year’s theme of the International Sign Language Day: “A World Where Deaf People Everywhere Can Sign Anywhere!”.
MDA President Wong Kam Sun said in his opening remarks that the association would continue to work on breaking down the communication barriers that prevent deaf people from fully participating in society, in collaboration with the local government and enterprises, as well as educational institutions.
Wong also announced the launch of a new sign language eLearning Platform, delivering online sign language lessons on a weekly basis that is hosted primarily by local deaf and hard-of-hearing children and teens. “When you learn a new language, you get to learn a lot about the culture and the people of that particular language, it is like a by-product of learning a language,” Wong added, highlighting the understanding of the “deaf culture and its own rich history” as the premise of building a more inclusive society.
Representatives of the Macau Deaf Association (MDA) and community leaders pose for a group photo during the open-deck bus parade’s launching ceremony outside Broadway Hotel in Cotai. – Photo provided by the MDA
