Pinoy youth leader pushes Deaf rights at UN forum

A Filipino youth leader and student at British School Manila (BSM) in Taguig has called for the expanded use of sign language to benefit the Deaf and hard of hearing communities. Johann Nicholas Chan, co-founder and president of FSL [Filipino Sign Language] for Inclusive PH, a non-profit founded by students of British School Manila, attended the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Youth Forum held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The forum was held under the theme of the 2026 High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), focusing “on transformative, equitable, innovative, and coordinated actions to advance the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals.” It was convened by Lok Bahadur Thapa, ECOSOC president, and organized by the UN’s Department of Economic and Social Affairs, in collaboration with the UN Youth Office and United Nations Inter Agency Network on Youth Development. Chan was given the chance to speak and shared two interventions advocating for the Deaf and hard of hearing communities. He said for the Deaf and hard of hearing communities, the inclusion of “water, sanitation, and hygiene (SDG 6) remains inconsistent and often delayed.” “Today, over 1.5 billion people globally live with some form of hearing loss, including 430 million with disabling hearing loss. At the same time, many communities, especially in developing regions, still struggle to access safe water and sanitation. During floods and emergencies, risks from waterborne diseases like diarrhea increase, making timely information critical,” he said. He added, “Now imagine facing these dangers without understanding warnings or advisories. For many Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing individuals, vital information is often shared through inaccessible formats like radio or spoken briefings. As a result, they must rely on others or risk being left behind. We call for three urgent actions: make sign language standard in...