Danish Deaf Association
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The Danish Deaf Association ( Danish: , DDL) is a private
advocacy group Advocacy groups, also known as lobby groups, interest groups, special interest groups, pressure groups, or public associations, use various forms of advocacy or lobbying to influence public opinion and ultimately public policy. They play an impor ...
which works to ensure better living conditions for
deaf Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is written ...
people in Denmark. It campaigns for equality between deaf and hearing people in education, paid employment and accessibility, as well as the legal status and accessibility of
Danish Sign Language Danish Sign Language (, DTS) is the sign language used in Denmark. Classification Henri Wittmann (1991) assigned DSL to the French Sign Language family because of similarities in vocabulary. Peter Atke Castberg studied deaf education in Europe ...
.


History

In 1866, a group of deaf craftsmen in
Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...
who had attended the Danish Institute of Deafness founded an association called ('the
Deaf-mute Deaf-mute is a term which was used historically to identify a person who was either deaf and used sign language or both hearing impairment, deaf and muteness, could not speak. The term continues to be used to refer to deaf people who cannot speak ...
Association of 1866'). On 29 October 1898 they formally opened their own building at Brohusgade 17 in
Nørrebro Nørrebro (, ) is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen Municipality, Denmark. It is northwest of the city centre, beyond the location of the old Northern Gate (''Nørreport''), which, until dismantled in 1856, was near the current N ...
. At the 4th Congress of the Council of the Deaf in Sønderborg on 18 May 1935, it was decided to found a nationwide association, the Danish Deaf Association. The Danish Deaf Association later helped found Døvefilm in 1963, a production company that produces TV programs for the deaf.


Danish Sign Language advocacy

The organization worked for the formal recognition of Danish Sign Language as a separate language, which was achieved in 2014. Upon its recognition, the Danish Sign Language Council was established. The Danish Deaf Association appoints a member to the council. The Danish Deaf Association has also pushed for Danish authorities to make information available in Danish Sign Language, such as information about the COVID-19 pandemic.


Memberships

The Danish Deaf Association is a member of the
World Federation of the Deaf The World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) is an international non-governmental organization that acts as a peak body for World Federation of the Deaf#Constituency, national associations of Deaf people, with a focus on deaf people who use sign langua ...
, the
European Union of the Deaf The European Union of the Deaf (EUD) is a supraorganization comprising each respective National Association of the Deaf of the member states of the European Union. The EUD is a nonprofit organization founded in 1985 and is a Regional Co-operating ...
since 1985, and the Nordic Council of the Deaf.


References


External links


Danish Association of the Deaf website
{{authority control Organizations based in Copenhagen Deafness organizations Deaf culture in Denmark