Today's Deaf news briefs

Here are two deaf news briefs. 

International Day of Sign Languages

The first — it is the official “International Day of Sign Languages.” This day was recognized by the United Nations in a 2017 resolution. The World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) led the effort to make the day officially recognized. The WFD was founded on September 23, 1951, so that’s why the date was chosen. I have included a link to an interview with former president Colin Allen in 2017 that describes how the WFD worked to get member countries to support the recognition on September 23. 

This year’s motto is “Sign Languages are For Everyone!” 

The WFD released a video of many different world leaders marking the day and the motto. Featured were top U.N. officials, the prime ministers of Norway, Ireland, Ukraine, Samoa, Belgium, and government officials from many other countries. U.S. Congresswoman Donna Shalala (D-Fla) and Maryland Lt. Gov. Boyd Rutherford also posted videos to mark the day. 

Manny Pacquiao, a boxing star from the Philippines, who is currently a senator, posted a video to say “Happy International Sign Language Day.” 

[Sponsored Video from Convo: https://bit.ly/2RyMogR] 

Netflix releases trailer for “Deaf U” 

The second news brief — the trailer for Netflix’s new “Deaf U” reality series featuring Gallaudet students has been released today. It is two minutes long and it features six students. The executive producer is Nyle DiMarco and the series was filmed last year. It will be available on Netflix on October 9. The link to the trailer is in the transcript.  

https://www.facebook.com/Wfdeaf.org/videos/363034641535838/

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=789077764627459&extid=JbOfY07DL1OWtLEl

DeafU Trailer: https://youtu.be/hr3wwPh5uKs