From Invisible to Visible
As a cultural minority group, the Dutch deaf community has its own language, culture and history that dates back to the founding of the first deaf school in 1790 and possibly even before that. In 2021, Dutch Sign Language was officially recognized. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in Dutch heritage, but the heritage of the deaf community has remained largely invisible. At the same time, passing on sign language and deaf culture to younger generations is becoming less and less self-evident, due to changes in education, technology and society. Sign language researchers, members of the Cultural Heritage of the Deaf working group, deaf experts and heritage organizations are joining forces to increase the visibility and sustainability of deaf heritage in the Netherlands with the deaf community, by developing a Canon of Deaf History.