The British Deaf Association (BDA) is pleased to announce Yvonne Cobb as their first Celebrity Ambassador. As a Deaf heritage British Sign Language (BSL) signer, Yvonne has been making waves on BBC Morning Live as a regular TV chef, signing in BSL on mainstream TV. Yvonne is renowned for her lifelong advocacy for the Deaf community, having grown up in a Deaf family with BSL as her first language.
In her capacity as a Celebrity Ambassador, Yvonne Cobb will support the BDA's 10-year strategic vision, Taking BSL Forward, with a specific emphasis on breaking down barriers for Deaf children and young people to ensure they and their families are able to learn sign language from the early years.
The BDA believes that Deaf children and young people in the UK have the right to acquire the languages – BSL (or Irish Sign Language in Northern Ireland) in addition to English – that will enable them to thrive and grow into confident young people.
As a Celebrity Ambassador for the BDA, Yvonne will take the lead in building support in the media and among celebrity circles to amplify the BDA's central message and bolster our efforts to increase awareness and promote the inclusion of BSL in every aspect of British society. The BDA hopes that Yvonne’s visibility will contribute to addressing the historical and ongoing challenges faced by BSL signers in the UK today – which include stigma, marginalisation, ignorance, and oppression.
The BDA is incredibly grateful to Yvonne for accepting this role, which highlights the importance of her work and influence in supporting and representing the estimated 90,000+ Deaf BSL signers in the UK. Her expertise in the media, coupled with her dedication to our cause, will help us to raise the profile of BSL in the UK and make a lasting impact on our #TakingBSLForward campaign.
Yvonne Cobb said:
"I am honoured to become the BDA’s first Celebrity Ambassador on behalf of the British Deaf community. I am proud to have worked with the BDA during Sign Language Week, teaching BSL to the staff of over 1,000 companies. This was the right thing to do to create a more inclusive and accessible society, improving the lives of Deaf people, and helping companies to provide better services.
"I am proud to have grown up with BSL as my first language, and to have built a strong sense of Deaf identity and culture as an active member of the Deaf community. I’d like to send out a powerful symbolic message to see every Deaf child grow up with a sense of belonging and help us overcome linguistic exclusion.
I am proud to have been appointed as the BDA's first Celebrity Ambassador. This accomplishment is the result of teamwork. I am excited to have this role, and I am personally committed to elevating the UK's Deaf community."
Robert Adam, Chair of the British Deaf Association, said:
“On behalf of the BDA’s Board of Trustees, we are delighted to appoint Yvonne as our Celebrity Ambassador. We launched a campaign called BSL in Our Hands during Sign Language Week (18-24 March 2024), calling on the Government to fund free access to sign language tuition to the families of all newly-diagnosed deaf children. People tell us they are shocked this isn’t already part of the early years intervention.
There are over 50,000 deaf children across the UK, over 90% of whom are born to hearing parents with no knowledge of sign language. Babies start to develop language from birth. Early language acquisition is essential for a child’s development and wellbeing, yet access to sign language is limited, patchy and expensive.
We believe that offering access to signing and spoken language mitigates the risk of Deaf children becoming language deprived. We believe that with the right access to language, there's no limit to what a Deaf child can achieve.
Appointing Yvonne as our Celebrity Ambassador is a crucial step towards elevating our campaign to ensure every Deaf child in Britain has BSL in their hands.”
ENDS
