Kazakhstan to seek recognition of national sign language

Noting that Kazakhstan ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities last June, Kosherbayev highlighted that a sign language is as an official language in Great Britain, Iceland, Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Austria, Spain, Sweden and South Africa.

International best practices for official recognition of sign languages and fingerspelling alphabets with engagement of Kazakhstan’s missions overseas will be studied in the future, said Kosherbayev.

The decision to seek recognition of Kazakh sign language and fingerspelling alphabet will be further discussed with the participation of state agencies and organizations concerned in line with the country’s social inclusion policy.

Earlier it was reported that Maqsut Narikbayev University had hosted the first Kapuscinski Lecture, featuring Professor Abhimanyu Sharma’s talk on the role of language in shaping inclusive and sustainable societies.