British Deaf Association holds first BSL conference as it marks one year since BSL Act (BSL)

The British Deaf Association (BDA) has called on the Deaf community to “take BSL forward” as it held its first ever British Sign Language conference in London on Friday.

Set up to mark one year since the passing of the British Sign Language Act, and taking place during the charity’s Sign Language Week, around 300 attendees gathered to discuss how the law – which legally recognised BSL – will go on to benefit the community.

Opening the conference, BDA chair Dr Robert Adam said the event is about “what we can do as a community to support” the BSL Act, “improve the lives of the signing community” and “how hearing professionals can work with Deaf people in order to implement this”.

In her speech as one of the event’s three keynote speakers, former Labour MP Rosie Cooper – who first introduced the BSL Act to Parliament – hailed the fact that people are now signing BSL “in ways they have never done before”.

“People are being enthusiastic about learning to sign. We’re seeing so much more representation than ever before – on TV, on films and adverts – […] and that puts you in a very strong position to make a difference. You can, you should, you will.

“There’s so much momentum – make that into real change. The only way that that can be done, is for the Deaf community to work together, to prioritise the changes that are most needed and to be as vocal and direct as you need to be.

“But being direct has never been a problem for Deaf people normally,” she joked.

Meanwhile Tom Pursglove MP, the Minister for Disabled People, used his keynote speech to announce the 16 members of the first BSL Advisory Board, a non-statutory body set to advise the government on the implementation of the BSL Act.

“The government knows – and I know – that protecting BSL is absolutely front and centre for us, in  building a more inclusive society. I want to broaden the use of BSL, making sure that everybody in our community is a good ally to Deaf people.

“I’m no under no illusions that there is more that we can all do, and I’m committed to making sure more and more people in our communities are using BSL so that everybody is included in our local – but also, in our national – conversations. I look forward to working with you all to make this future a reality,” he said.

Meanwhile Action Deafness CEO Craig Crowley, co-chair of the BSL Advisory Board, made clear to the conference that the Board “won’t be making decisions” and instead, they “will be providing advice”.

He continued: “But don’t think that that advice will be without any force. It will have force and we will be lobbying as to the implementation of that advice moving forward.”

His presentation also included news that the first Board meeting would take place “around mid-spring 2023”, and that the Mr Pursglove is “committed to see a new BSL Plan being produced”.

Pleased to be attending @BDA_Deaf’s inaugural BSL Conference this morning on behalf of @Limping_Chicken – live tweets will be shared here on Twitter using the hashtag #BSLConf. pic.twitter.com/tJFZsjkpWR

— Liam O'Dell (@LiamODellUK) March 17, 2023

 

Separately to the BSL Advisory Board, the BDA’s policy and research lead Tom Lichy expanded on previously announced plans for a BSL Alliance, a group of Deaf organisations which will monitor the progress of the BSL Advisory Board and ensure the BSL Act is “effectively implemented”.

He went on to confirm that any organisation or group which is an “established organisation, not an individual person” and has a “core purpose [which] includes using, promoting or supporting BSL” can join the Alliance – with membership also open to Deaf clubs.

In addition to politics, the conference also included speakers commenting on education, legal rights and audiology.

Katie Littlejohns, who set up a Parliamentary petition calling on the UK Government to fund free BSL courses for parents of Deaf children, confirmed that if her petition doesn’t achieve the required 100,000 signatures to be considered for a debate, “the campaign will not end there”.

She also criticised the Department for Education for insisting the Department for Work and Pensions “holds responsibility” for this policy area, despite the DfE being the department who issued a response to her petition.

“It worries me that the government does not know who is responsible for the communication between deaf children and their families,” she said.

On legal rights, Cardiff University law lecturer Dr Rob Wilks commented: “Deaf people traditionally have been categorised as disabled, so if any Deaf person wants to go to court, for example, they have to utilise the Equality Act, and the gateway to utilising the Equality Act is as a disabled person.

“What would be good is to have minority legal rights through our language which will open up different gateways – for example, to education to deaf children – but we have to think carefully about those rights would have to be amalgamated together.”

Meanwhile on audiology, Deaf audiologist and content creator Sarah Adedeji claimed a lot of Deaf people “don’t realise that they too can actually go into the field and be the change that they want to see”.

“Literally, a Deaf audiologist is unheard of for most people, and that shouldn’t be the case,” she said.

Towards the end of the conference, BDA CEO Rebecca Mansell unveiled the charity’s draft strategic vision to “promote and protect” BSL as part of a new 10-year strategy.

She also called for a “Deaf civil rights movement” to champion the rights of Deaf people.

Discussions with members about the vision will take place in May and June, before being voted on at an Annual General Meeting (AGM) in November.

Updates on progress on the strategic vision will then be provided quarterly.

By Liam O’Dell. Liam is an award-winning Deaf freelance journalist and campaigner from Bedfordshire. He can be found talking about disability, theatre, politics and more on Twitter and on his website.