International Day of Sign Languages is celebrated every year around the globe on 23rd September, along with International Week of the Deaf.

Sign languages use the visual-manual modality to convey meaning. Sign languages are expressed through manual articulation in combination with non-manual markers. These are full-fledged natural languages with their own grammar and lexicon.

Each country has its own native sign language. Sign languages have been used throughout history by groups of deaf people. One of the earliest records of a sign language was in Plato’s "Cratylus", from 15th century BC.

The first International Day of Sign Languages took place on the 23rd of September in 2018. The date was chosen because it is the same date as when the World Federation of the Deaf was launched in 1951. Each year, the theme for the day is different