How is International Sign becoming increasingly present in the lives of deaf people?

Edsign is pleased to welcome Marta Morgado, postdoctoral researcher fellow, and Neil Fox, research fellow on the SignMorph project led by Adam Schembri, at the University of Birmingham. They will be presenting their research into the impact of the increasing presence and use of International Sign (IS) on deaf communities and their languages. In the case of the Portuguese deaf community, people use both Portuguese Sign Language and IS, largely because social media provides daily access to these resources. As a result, the two are increasingly mixed, but does this pose a risk for the future? They have also conducted interviews with the British deaf community: is British Sign Language following the same path? And more broadly, is this happening to sign languages worldwide?

This event will be hosted by Deaf Action in their Blackwood Bar, and it will be live-streamed too. 

The event will be presented in BSL and there will be no interpretation.

🗓 Thursday 7th May 2026

⏰ 6:30–8:00 PM BST

📍 Blackwood Bar Deaf Action, Albany Street, EH1 3QY