The fifth anniversary of the recognition of VGT will be celebrated with a Sign Festival for children on 28 April and a major event in the Flemish Parliament on 30 April, with workshops about poetry, music and storytelling in VGT, lectures about the future of VGT, a storytelling contest and a festive march through Brussels.
Fevlado (Federatie van Vlaamse Doven Organisaties, or Federation of Flemish Deaf Organisations), which looks after the interests of the 6,000 deaf and about 26,000 hearing users of VGT, is the main organiser of the events. "We want to celebrate the recognition's fifth anniversary, but, at the same time, we want to show the authorities that our community's ‘language battle' is far from over," explains Fevlado spokesperson Maartje De Meulder.
Today, VGT is still rarely used in education, a situation that the signing community wants to improve. Further, Fevlado wants to stimulate research into VGT and would like to see VGT on Flemish television. It also wants hearing parents of deaf children to be properly informed about the possibilities of VGT and to be encouraged to raise their children bilingual.
If you've never been in contact with sign languages, the celebrations are an excellent way to get to know VGT and its users. On 30 April, "anyone who's interested can learn some of the basics of VGT," says De Meulder. "During the march in Brussels, deaf and hearing people will sign a song in VGT. We hope to reach as many people as possible and raise awareness about VGT among the public."
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