Talking hand shapes: Discovering Sign Language

Our actions on the occasion of the World Days dedicated to disability continue at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centre (SNFCC).

For the International Sign Language Day, on Monday 23 September at 18:00, liminal, in collaboration with the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centre (SNFCC), offers a workshop aimed at raising awareness about deafness and sign language.

What will happen in the workshop

Is there one sign language in the whole world? In sign language we express ourselves only with our hands? Do all deaf and hard of hearing people know Sign Language? How can I learn sign language?

In this workshop we will play and learn about the sign language and the cultural identity of the Deaf community. This is an event to raise awareness about deafness, the barriers and exclusions experienced by Deaf and Hard of Hearing people and the pathways to inclusion.

Two palms with the fingers pointing loosely upwards, one turned to the left and the other with the back of the palm facing us are in the centre and bottom of a black and white photograph against a neutral background

A few words about Sign Languages

Under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, sign languages are recognised as equal to spoken languages and Member States are required to adopt measures that promote the learning of sign languages and recognise the linguistic and cultural identity of the deaf community.
The choice of the date of International Sign Language Day coincides with the founding of the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) on 23 September 1951 in Rome.

The events will be accompanied by simultaneous interpretation in GSL.

Credits

Andreas Plemmenos, special education theatrologist, author, liminal’s Liaison Officer, who belongs to the community of C/deaf people, shares his experience. What is everyday life like between the two worlds, Deaf and hearing?

A woman with straight brown hair and big green eyes smiles warmly at the camera. Dimples are forming on her cheeks.

Androniki Xanthopoulou, Sign Language interpreter, president of the European Forum of Sign Language Interpreters (EFSLI), sheds light on aspects of her professional experience and her career within the Deaf community.

Useful information

Date & Time: Monday 23 September 2024 at 18:00
Location: National Library of Greece in the SNFCC
Opening Time: 18.00
Duration: 90′
Number of participants: up to 25 people

The event will take place in Room 113 on the ground floor of the National Library of Greece in the SNFCC.

Production: liminal

Free admission

For your convenience, you can register by sending an email to [email protected] or by calling 216 8091000.

All areas of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centre are accessible to people with disabilities. For more information click here.

The initiative is made possible thanks to the donation of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF).