The world commemorates the International Day of Sign Languages today, and in Macau, the Macau Deaf Association (MDA) has organised its annual Multi-Sign Language Promotional Parade with the theme of “Join us to support the right to sign language” with the aim of encouraging residents to learn sign language.
At 2:30 p.m. yesterday, the organiser held an opening ceremony at the Macau Science Centre in Nape, with a multi-sign language theatre and booth games, during which Macau Deaf Association President Wong Kam Sun delivered his opening remarks in sign language, emphasising the fundamental right and importance of sign language as a language: “We hope that Macau can legislate to protect the accessibility needs of the deaf and hearing impaired, and ensure that sign language becomes an integral part of the integration of the deaf into society”.
According to Wong, in order to promote the development of sign language in Macau, his association not only publishes physical materials for local sign language teaching, but also develops various multi-media resources for the promotion of sign language, covering various aspects such as sign language teaching, cultural introduction and news coverage, in the hopes of providing a wealth of resources for residents to learn sign language, so as to enable more people to understand and learn sign language, to promote the understanding of sign language in civil society, and safeguard the right of the deaf to use sign language.
Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the ceremony, Macau Deaf Association Director Nerissa Lau Sut Man pointed out that there was a growing demand for information and visual accessibility facilities for the hearing impaired, adding that her association received last year the referral of about 10 newborns: “In the past, most of the services targeted at the deaf were to assist them in handling matters such as government applications and medical conditions. However, nowadays, their demand for receiving information is increasing, and not all channels of information are equipped with sign language and subtitles, so there is still a lack of sign language interpreters in terms of the growing demand for their services.
Lau said that the association has come into contact with 800 hearing-impaired persons who know sign language and comprise different age groups, but there was still a great demand for sign language interpreters because for hearing-impaired students who can only receive learning materials in sign language, the association needs to send its staff members to accompany the students to their classes. Lau also pointed out the need for the government to increase the number of sign language accessibility support facilities in Macau, so as to enable the deaf to lead a smoother life in all aspects of life and society: “What we want to say is that deaf people often need visual accessibility, for example, when we go to see a doctor, if the nurse is just calling out the number of the waiting ticket, it is a very unfriendly behaviour towards a deaf person. However, all these things can be improved in some ways, including the use of screens and displays. In terms of safety, let’s take a fire as an example, if a deaf person goes to the toilet, how will they know about it? I think it’s something that we need to pay more attention to for reviews, and in order to face the issue”.
Lau encouraged children in general to know about and learn sign language at an early age, believing that learning sign language is very helpful to overall cognitive development. Lau also said she expected the government to encourage schools to incorporate sign language elements into their extra-curricular classes or regular curriculums, hoping that more people will learn sign language in the near future.
Macau Deaf Association President Wong Kam Sun delivers a speech in sign language during yesterday’s kick-off ceremony of the annual Multi-Sign Language Promotional Parade, at the Macau Science Centre in Nape. – Photos: Yuki Lei
Hearing-impaired amateur actors perform a theatre play on the sidelines of yesterday’s ceremony.
