Rosa is deaf. She is 13 years old, has long black hair, wears a pink coat and her favorite subjects are Visual Education and Technology Education.

Rosa tells Lusa, with the help of a Portuguese Sign Language (PSL) interpreter, in real time, how important it is for her to be able to celebrate the National Day of Deaf Education, because it allows her to interact with other deaf students from other schools and other countries, as well as to meet various Portuguese and Spanish PSL interpreters.

"It's a perfect day. It's great", says the teenager, stating that it is essential to have interpreters in schools so that deaf students can understand the subjects taught by teachers and so that the message gets across, because if they don't exist, "they don't understand anything".

"Love is urgent" is the welcome phrase given to Rosa and to over 600 deaf students from 22 Portuguese schools and one school from Madrid (Spain), who today gathered at Eugénia de Andrade Secondary School, in Porto, to participate in various inclusive recreational activities.

In statements to Lusa, Sara Pinho, PSL interpreter at Eugénio de Andrade School, explains that the event was organized to mark the National Day of Deaf Education and Deaf Youth, which began to be celebrated in 1997 and which, for decades, fought for the recognition of PSL as an official language and to be the main vehicle for access to education and information.

"As a dynamic group that we are, we decided to welcome reference schools from all over the country, including the islands, and a school that comes from Madrid, to have a day full of recreational, sports, cultural and even culinary activities".

Despite the many "achievements made" for the community of deaf students in Portugal, namely having PSL interpreters in Portuguese public schools, having speech therapy, and developing a "prepared inclusive education", Sara Pinho highlights that one of the biggest battles they are fighting is for schools to have "complementary offer so that hearing students learn PSL, to facilitate communication and to create truly bilingual schools".

"It is a good practice and we would like to see it reproduced throughout the country, even in those that do not have deaf students, so that, in the future, a deaf student or a deaf person outside can live a normal life, in which society knows how to communicate in sign language, at least the basics, so that there are not so many barriers, nor so much lack of access to information".

Gabriela, 15, is a student who came today from a school in Madrid to celebrate the day in Porto. In an interview with Lusa, she reveals that she started learning sign language at the age of 3 and assumes that it is very important to celebrate this day, to raise awareness among people about the need for all young people and all adults, even those who do not have hearing problems, to learn sign language.

"It is very important, because not everyone can communicate by speaking English, or other languages, and therefore, I think we should all learn", says Gabriela, who says she has "very many deaf friends".

Nicole is 9 years old and came today from Madeira Island to celebrate the National Day of Deaf Education in Porto.

For Nicole, it is important to celebrate this day to be able to meet other deaf children and to be able to contact deaf students from all over Portugal and even from Spain.

In Portugal there are at least two thousand deaf students in public schools in Portugal, said Sara Pinto.

The Eugénio de Andrade School Group has 45 years of history and is considered a national reference in the area of Deaf Education, developing the precepts of Inclusive Education, that is, a school for everyone, with everyone and for everyone.

*** Cecília Malheiro (Text), André Sá (Video) and José Coelho (Photos), from the Lusa agency ***

Read Also: Project detects communication failures in preschool children in Viana (Portuguese version)