The BDA – Past, Present & Future
The present BDA originated from an idea in a railway carriage in France, in which two people (James Paull of Kilmarnock and Francis Maginn of Belfast) were travelling to the International Congress of Deaf-Mutes in Paris, July 1889. At that time, there was no true national association for Deaf people in Britain, and the Report of the Royal Commission for the Education of the Blind, Deaf and Dumb had just been published. This Report overwhelmingly endorsed the recommendations of the Milan Congress of 1880 which favoured the Oral System. During their train journey the two men agreed on the urgent need for a national association to be formed which would campaign for the protection of Deaf people’s sign language.
In 1890 Francis Maginn formally launched the British Deaf and Dumb Association (BDDA).
The BDDA later changed its name to the British Deaf Association (BDA) at its Congress in Bournemouth in 1971. This was in time to meet the implementation of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act, 1970, which imposed statutory duties on local authorities to provide for the welfare of disabled people, including the Deaf, and encourage them to overcome their disabilities.
From this moment onwards, the BDA began to be more proactive in their approach to campaigning for the wider use and recognition of sign language (or British Sign Language as it had now become). Some notable achievements in the promotion of sign languages, include, the publication of the BSL/English dictionary, the success in getting official recognition of Sign Languages through the European Parliament in 1987, and most importantly the official recognition of British Sign Language in 2003.
The BDA has continued to campaign for the rights of the UK Deaf community over the years. Although British Sign Language is now recognised it still does not have any legal protection. This means that Deaf Sign Language Users do not have full access to vital information and services, including education, youth services, health and employment services.
This is not the end of the fight. The BDA is still working towards and will continue to campaign for the legislation (protection) of BSL. We are also working to gain the right for all Deaf children to receive education, using BSL and English, and the right to quality and choice in education.
The BDA has always campaigned to fight discrimination against the UK Deaf community. We will continue to fight for rights to equal access for services, education, healthcare and employment for as long as society fails to provide this. We will do this by raising issues to our Government through lobbying and affecting change in policy by making sure that our shared rights and views are heard. The BDA will continue to be the voice of the Deaf community.