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#12DaysofChristmas: Deaf people made a big noise in Brussels in 2016

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There was much to report on in 2016, from the UK’s referendum to the completion of the EU-Canada trade agreement. Over the twelve days of Christmas, we will be highlighting 12 videos from the past 12 months. Since it is Christmas Day, we thought we would start with an uplifting story.

In September more than 600 deaf people came to the European Parliament to support a resolution on sign language. We were curious about how this would work with so many different languages. What we saw was truly remarkable. With the help of around 30 professional signers, the Parliament was able to have simultaneous signing into all European languages

The event was led by Helga Stevens MEP, who is the European Conservative and Reform Group candidate to become the next president of the European Parliament.

On 23rd of November, the European Parliament gave their overwhelming support to the resolution. The Parliament’s resolution called on sign-language interpreters to receive equal terms and for a general improvement in the provision of signing at both a European and national level.

Sign language interpreters are often an afterthought compared to spoken language interpreters across many public institutions, including the Parliament. We hope that 2017 is a better year for accessibility for all and welcome the introduction of the European Commission's Accessibility Act.

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