U F S D E A F A W A R E N E S S M O N T H 2 0 2 1
"You do not need hearing to listen''
During the 1950s, the World Federation of the Deaf declared September as Deaf Awareness Month. The aim of this month is to promote the positive aspects of deafness, as well as social inclusion. This year, the Department of South African Sign Language and Deaf Studies with support from the Interpreting services and UFS Department of Communication and Marketing team will be hosting a variety of activities during September to promote a greater understanding of the deaf world and to celebrate our deaf friends and colleagues.
Please view our exciting schedule below and join us for this exciting venture. The schedule includes other UFS activities, for example the 2021 Rector’s Concert as well as the Multilingual Mokete which is taking place during September. You can also keep an eye out for any other initiatives of the department on the university’s media platforms.
1 September: UFS Staff Challenge
3 September: Rector’s Concert
7 September: Introduction to South African Sign Language (free workshop)
9 September: Willem Postma school visit
15 September: Workshop – I have lost my hearing! What now?
17 September: Multilingual Mokete
23 September: Closing date for UFS Staff Challenge
23 September: Dr Visser school visit
29 September-1 October: ISPN 2021
#UFSDeafAwarenessMonth: Raising awareness is our shared responsibility
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Opinion: Is it important to promote South African Sign Language?
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Awareness Days 2021
The World Federation of the Deaf has identified themes to create awareness for the deaf during the month of September. International Sign Language Day will be celebrated on 23 September.
Workshops and Symposia
The Department of Sign Language and Deaf Studies are presenting various workshops and programmes, including a Basic South African Sign Language short learning programme.
Competitions
We will run exciting competitions during September. Want to learn basic SASL? Then enter for one of our challenges.
Interesting facts about SASL and Deafness
Interesting Fact 
Deafness and Deaf people are as old as humanity itself.
Interesting Fact
Sign language is
not a
universal language.
Interesting Fact
SASL is an independent language with its own grammar and vocabulary.
Photo Gallery
Deaf Awareness Outreach 2019
A look back: SIGNALS visited the Bartimea School for the Deaf and Blind in Thaba Nchu, where we went to work on the playgrounds – making it colourful again. Students from the university painted and had some fun activities with the learners at the school. Thanks to sponsors such as Mimosa, Partner4life, and Buco, we were able to make this a day of fun for the learners and an opportunity for the students to sign with the deaf community.