The Berlin Protocol of Deaf Studies: Strengthening Our Heritage

Within human nature is the desire to preserve their own way of life, but climate change and natural disasters are interfering. To fight this development, the international community agreed on guidelines for global climate protection in the Kyoto Protocol. This commentary is centered on discussing the protocol and its impact to Deaf Studies.

The deaf community is also subject to changes toward more diversity. Following the example of the Kyoto Protocol, the international symposium "Deaf Studies: Strengthening Our Heritage" summarized guidelines and milestones from a linguistic, political, and social-anthropological perspective for the preservation and strengthening of the heritage in the Berlin Protocol. The aim was to reflect on the direction in which Deaf Studies is heading and what the deaf community and the scientific discipline of Deaf Studies need in order to preserve their heritage under particular conditions. Highly important is the expansion and reflection of the perspectives, discussions, and discourses of Deaf Studies, as well as an interdisciplinary collaboration with other fields. Ultimately, the Berlin Protocol serves as a primary framework for further discussion and aims to demonstrate the benefits of biodiversity within the global deaf community.