Minister of Culture and Commerce Lilja Dögg Alfreðsdóttir presented Anna Jóna Lárusdóttir with the special honorary recognition of the Communication Centre for the Deaf and Hart of hearing (SHH), for her contribution to the preservation of Icelandic Sign Language. This is the first time the recognition has been presented. The presentation took place on a special festival program organized by SHH in celebration of the Day of Icelandic Sign Language, 11 February. A parliamentary resolution by the minister has proposed that this day should be a flag day.

Impairable contribution

“Anna Jóna Lárusdóttir was born in Akureyri on September 29, 1950. At the age of four she went to the homeschool Heyrnleysingjaskólinn and finished her junior high in 1966. She had studied Icelandic sign language from her schoolmates. Anna Jóna has been active in social work and the interests of deaf people, she chaired the Deaf Association for many years and was a member of the board of the association and the Döff 55+ association for a number of years.

Anna Jóna has attended various courses in sign language and sign language instruction both in Iceland and abroad, and she taught Icelandic sign language at Heyrnleysingjaskólinn, Vesturhlíðarskóli, the Communication Centre and Hlíðaskóli, and taught various classes to deaf children and to adult hearing people. There are several recordings of Anna Jóna that have been used for teaching at the Communication Centre and the University of Iceland,” says Anna Jóna.

“Your contribution to the preservation of the Icelandic sign language is invaluable,” said Anna Jóna, “a treasure that future generations can look for, see interesting stories and study Icelandic sign language Your contribution is a valuable part of the history of the sign language people and provides the sign language children with a view into the experience of the sign language people of the past and present and enhances their identity for the future,” the minister said, among other things, when she presented the recognition to Anna Jóna.

First comprehensive overview

The Minister also presented the recognition of the Day of Icelandic Sign Language on behalf of the Icelandic Language Committee. The recognition was awarded to Valgerður Stefánsdóttir for her invaluable contribution to the Icelandic Sign Language and its language community. This is the first time the recognition has been presented.

“Valgerður was the first chair of the Icelandic Sign Language Language Committee and served for nearly six years. She was also the first director of the Communication Centre for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired from the time of its establishment until 2019. Before that, Valgerður had been both a teacher of deaf children and a sign language interpreter. Valgerður’s projects in the field of Icelandic Sign Language are numerous, whether they are committee work, administrative work, teaching or dissemination – all projects she has worked diligently to promote and support Icelandic Sign Language and its language community. One of her biggest contributions to the Icelandic Sign Language community is research and dissemination,” Valgerður says in part.

“Valgerður defended a doctoral thesis in anthropology at the University of Iceland in December, which is an entrepreneurial research and the first comprehensive overview in Iceland of Icelandic sign language and the development of Danish culture. The doctoral thesis is an invaluable source for future generations of information on the origin and development of Icelandic sign language and the people who created it, Danish Icelanders,” the minister said in part.

The role of the Icelandic Language Committee is to advise the government on matters pertaining to Icelandic Sign Language and to promote the use of the language in Icelandic life. The language committee reminds the public of Icelandic Sign Language where appropriate, works to make it visible and that requirements are made when using it.

The event was hosted by Kristín Lena Þorvaldsdóttir, director of SHH, which is the Icelandic Language Centre and has been working on preserving and creating recordings of the language and using them for research and teaching. The meeting was chaired by Uldis Ozols, who spoke about Táknmálseyja – a language stimulation project for children of Icelandic táknmál at SHH. The event was hosted by the iconic singer Kolbrún Völkudóttir. The children’s song from the play Fíasól never gefst upp, in its own translation into Icelandic táknmál.