SASL Power Lunch Hour – 15 September
Launch of “Deaf Space” – 22 September
Interesting Fact 
Signs have meaning: To a person unfamiliar with Sign Language, signs may appear to consist of random hand and body movements accompanied by various facial expressions.
Interesting Fact
Not all Deaf people can read lips: To read lips is a special skill for both hearing and Deaf people.
Interesting Fact
SASL is an independent language with its own grammar and vocabulary.
During the 1950s, the World Federation of the Deaf declared September as Deaf Awareness Month. The theme for this year is Building Inclusive Communities for All by informing the wider community about deafness, Sign Language and Deaf culture. 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.
Since creating awareness is not limited to September, the staff from the Dept SASL&DS present a variety of short learning programmes and workshops to educate the wider public, such as basic and intermediate introduction to South African Sign Language and workshops on family life and technologies available for Sign Language Interpreters. For more information on this, feel free to contact Carla Joubert (BesterC2@ufs.ac.za).
Please view our schedule for Deaf Awareness 2022 below and see where you can join us for this exciting venture. The schedule includes other UFS activities, for example the 2022 Rector’s Concert as well as the Multilingual Mokete which is taking place during September.
Deaf Awareness Month 2022
Dean's Challenge to Learn SASL
Making an impact through care: Outreach programme benefits Deaf community
Donovan Wright: ‘Teaching South African Sign Language is my great passion’
Renata van Reenen: ‘Being Deaf is my identity and culture’’
Awareness Days 2022
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.
Social Events
The Department of Sign Language and Deaf Studies are presenting various events to supplement Deaf Awareness Month.
Deaf Space
More information will follow soon.
Photos
Deaf Awareness Outreach 2022
The UFS Department of Deaf Studies and South African Sign Language hosted the Bartimea School For the Deaf and Blind on 1 September 2022 for a day of learning, fun, and lots of games to kickstart #DeafAwarenessMonth. The activities took place in front of the Main Building of the Bloemfontein Campus of the University of the Free State (UFS).
Photos
Deaf Awareness Outreach 2021
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.