Recent developments

It builds on the European Union of the Deaf’s volume Sign Language in the Era of Artificial Intelligence (2025), which emphasises that AI must follow human-rights-based principles and ensure that deaf people remain active rights-holders. The chapter by Rathmann and Romanek focuses specifically on AI-generated sign languages (AI-SL), outlining both the opportunities for accessibility and the risks of treating signed languages as “low-resource”. Key concerns include cultural distortion, unethical data use, biometric vulnerabilities and inappropriate substitution of human expertise in sensitive domains.

Aligned with European and international legal frameworks, the document calls for Deaf-led co-design, transparent governance and robust ethical safeguards. Within the ECML DeafSign project, AI-SL is positioned as a supportive tool for underserved learners, including deaf migrants, deaf children and hearing families, and heritage signers. The authors advocate CEFR alignment, inclusive datasets and policy guidance to ensure that AI strengthens linguistic rights, expands learning pathways and protects the cultural and linguistic diversity of sign language communities.

Full text of the paper is available here.

Survey data from 32 Council of Europe member states revealed substantial gaps in provision for deaf learners with refugee and immigration backgrounds. Participants noted limited access to sign language classes, accessible information and stable funding mechanisms, resulting in disrupted language development, restricted participation and increased social isolation. The second day examined additional structural challenges. Families of deaf children often receive unbalanced guidance at the time of diagnosis, which delays early access to sign language learning opportunities. Heritage signers, despite early exposure to sign language in family and community settings, have few structured pathways to develop advanced proficiency.

Several countries illustrate effective good practice examples, demonstrating the value of coherent legal frameworks, institutional support structures and systematic involvement of Deaf professionals. Examples include early family-support models, CEFR-aligned curricula and targeted programmes for deaf migrants.

Across the workshop, participants identified common priorities: enforceable sign language rights, evidence-based and balanced family information, professional training and certification for teachers, sustainable funding models, accessible digital resources and active Deaf-led participation in policy design and implementation. The next step involves translating these priorities into European guidelines and pilot initiatives developed with deaf-led partners.

The workshop underscored that access to sign language learning is a fundamental prerequisite for social inclusion, democratic participation and linguistic human rights. Ensuring equitable access requires recognising and supporting the linguistic diversity of all sign language learners.

Full workshop report is available here.

Report of group work is available here.

The following topics are examined: 

1. Deaf EU immigrant and their sign language learning opportunities
2. Deaf refugees in selected CoE countries and their sign language learning opportunities
3. Service providers providing sign language learning opportunities of Deaf signers with immigration and refugee backgrounds
4. Researchers describing sign language learning opportunities of Deaf signers with immigration and refugee backgrounds 

The short interviews will be made available in International Sign (with English translation) on the ECML DeafSign project page www.ecml.at/DeafSign by April 2025 and contain three core questions (1. Experiences of sign language opportunities, 2. Institutional support and 3. Recommendations). 

A summary of the short interviews will be shared at the ECML workshop in May 2025.