Petition for official recognition of Bristish Sign Language by UK Government

[jo atkinson]

Please help us spread this petition in the UK and overseas!!!
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IMPORTANT: Please do not delete this mail!  Don't kill the petition!  
PLEASE READ, COPY, SIGN, AND SEND ON...!
 
RECOGNITION OF BRITISH SIGN LANGUAGE PETITION
 
British Sign Language (BSL) is the first language of 57,000-65,000 Deaf people in the UK.  Thousands more use it as a second language and over a million have mastered a basic level of proficiency.  In the past Deaf people have been prevented from using their own language.  In 1880, a Milan conference banned it's use in schools but today it continues to thrive despite attempts to squash it.  British Sign Language is the language by which deaf people achieve access to society since many have little or no access to spoken English.  Just as Welsh people have secured their right to be educated and live their lives through the Welsh Language, so too should Deaf people be able to take their place along side hearing English speakers as full and equal citizens.  
The Federation of Deaf People (FDP) is organising a march for the legal recognition of BSL by the British Government. The march will take place on Sunday 27th June 1999. 

The march will start from Temple Place, London WC2, a petition will be delivered to Downing street and then continue to the finish at Trafalgar Square where a rally will be held. 

We want the British Government to fully and unconditionally accept British Sign Language as a true language, native to the United Kingdom, with full access through it to all who wish to use it. The FDP will ask for a British Sign Language taskforce to be set up to examine the legislative development needed to protect British Sign Language and to enable its users full and equal access as British citizens.  

The FDP will demand amongst other things.

    a..  a review of adequacy of current state provision of interpreting services and ask that greater state funding is made available for services and for training courses to alleviate the shortage of Sign Language Interpreters. 
    b.. a review of the use of British Sign Language in the education to ensure that it is made available as a choice for all deaf children.
 We want official recognition of our language and our right to use it!
 
Please add your name to the list and send it on to all your friends, family and colleagues!  
 
If you are number 20) on the list please continue the petition by forwarding it to your friends but also send it to bslmarch at hotmail.com 

It is better to copy this e-mail and then send it on.  You can forward it but the petition will end up with a long list of names at the top of the e-mail.  
 
Even if you don't want to sign the petition please don't kill it by deleting it.  Instead, please just forward it or send it back to bslmarch at hotmail.com
 
If you receive several copies of this petition, please don't delete it but keep the chains going if possible!
 
 ***if anyone would like to receive a hard copy of the petition to print out and collect signatures from friends without e-mail please contact bslmarch at hotmail.com and we will e-mail it to you as a WORD 6 attachment.
 

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