The Council co-hosted with the Kenya National Association of the Deaf (KNAD) the first National Deaf Symposium on Kenyan Sign Language at the University of Nairobi. Other stakeholders from the Deaf community included Kenya Sign Language Interpreters Association, National Gender Equality Commission (NGEC), Children of Deaf Association – Kenya, National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF), Muslim Deaf Association of Kenya, Commission on Administrative Justice and businesses that have hired deaf persons including Riverside Dental Suites and SafaMart Supermarket. The symposium was part of the activities during the ongoing International Deaf Awareness Week (IDAW) – bringing together voices of persons with hearing impairments in Kenya through the following activities.
• Monday 18 September: Declaration of the Rights of the Deaf Child
Declaration of the Rights of the Deaf Child. This day we call upon global communities to showcase how they are working to achieve these rights. You by sharing videos on social media, and host seminars and events highlighting these rights, and what remains to achieve these rights for every deaf child.
• Tuesday 19 September: Building Capacity Across the Country.
Many deaf people still lack access to basic human rights.
• Thursday 21 September: Putting Deaf People on the Agenda
Deaf communities worldwide work to ensure policies and programs reflect the lived realities of deaf people’s lives.
• Friday 22 September: Achieving Sign Language Rights for All
The legal recognition of national sign languages is an important step towards achieving basic human rights for all deaf people.
• Saturday 23 September: International Day of Sign Languages: A World Where Deaf People Everywhere Can Sign Anywhere
vision of a world where deaf people everywhere can sign anywhere Sunday 24 September: Building Inclusive Deaf Communities
We end this International Week of Deaf People by highlighting the many ways in which our communities represent the broad array of diverse human experiences to be found across the globe. Deaf people are everywhere, and represented in every national, cultural, linguistic and ethnic group. This is a strength of our communities.
A memorandum was developed which will be presented to the Principal Secretary – State Department for Social Protection Mr. Joseph Motari MBS for onward submission to the Chief of Staff – Head of Public Service and His Excellency the President. The issues raised included enactment of the Kenya Sign Language Bill 2023, inclusion in the public service, access to healthcare among others.
