Article written by Liam O'Dell (March 18, 2026)

Camden Council marked this year’s Sign Language Week on Wednesday by erecting the ‘deaf flag’ in its council chamber, in what Mayor Eddie Hanson said was a “proud moment” for the local authority.

Camden became the first London borough to sign the British Deaf Association’s British Sign Language (BSL) Charter in May 2015, with Mayor of London Sadiq Khan adopting the document for the Greater London Authority in November 2023.

The deaf flag, approved by the World Federation of the Deaf in 2023, was designed by French deafblind artist Arnaud Balard.

Addressing attendees at a Town Hall, Hanson expressed his “sincere thanks” to the deaf community who have “campaigned for many years for the recognition” of BSL, describing the legal recognition granted in the 2022 British Sign Language Act as a “significant milestone."

“Now, three years on, it is vital that we continue to organise, celebrate and respect BSL as a language in its own right, and acknowledge its rich cultural and linguistic value,” he said.

Vikram Hansrani, director of education commissioning and inclusion at the council, also spoke at the event, and made a commitment on behalf of the authority. He said: “In this borough, in Camden, we’ll continue to strengthen inclusion in mainstream schools, we’ll continue to invest in specialist settings and expertise, and we will work in partnership with the deaf community."

Alongside speeches, the reception included performances from Frank Barnes School for Deaf Children – also based in Camden.

Deputy headteacher Catherine Drew, who spoke on Wednesday morning, is also a member of the UK government’s BSL Advisory Board, established in December 2022 to advise the government on issues affecting deaf people.

Outlining the two main focusses for the education subgroup for the next three years of the board, of which she is co-chair, Drew said: “One is deaf education, and the other is about BSL being included in education, which is a bit different.”

“Deaf children in education all have different needs, and it doesn’t matter whether you’re in a deaf school, a special school, mainstream unit, whether you’re academic or not, how do these young people learn? How do they have access to their education, and how can we support every deaf child?"

“We also need to support deaf teachers. We need to support them on their career path when they’ve reached all their training. Where do we support them within their education, and BSL within education?”

Sign Language Week is led by the British Deaf Association (BDA), with this year’s theme being ‘United In Sign’.

Concluding the celebrations, the charity’s CEO Rebecca Mansell said: “In the UK, a lot of children still don’t get the opportunity to learn BSL early. Obviously Camden is leading the way, but we need more to be done.

“We want to see other councils replicating what you do well in their areas. So all of us have a role here today. We can’t just go, ‘great, Camden has got this’, we need to look at what they do well and make sure it’s implemented around the UK.

“We can also think about what Camden can do better, what they can do to identify even more provision for its local residents.”

She went on to add that the BDA wants Camden and other local authorities to “guarantee some policy reform” and “system change” with “deaf leadership”.

“Because without language, you don’t have equality, and we won’t be united in sign.

“We have to work together. We have to work together for BSL to thrive,” Mansell said.