World Cup in International Sign World Federation of the Deaf is pleased that the World Cup will be accessible to Deaf people. Fifa will broadcast the football games in International Sign. For more information, please visit Fifa's official website.
Media Release from Deaf Australia Nelson silences deaf people On 20th August, 2009, Dr Brendan Nelson MP excluded the voice of deaf people from discussions about the needs of deaf babies and children at Parliament House, Canberra, Australia. Media Release Word doc Media Release PDF
World Federation of the Deaf would like to thank all Ordinary Members (37) that have paid their membership fees for 2010.
Unfortunately, there are still many members (93) that have not contributed their membership payment to the World Federation of the Deaf. WFD statutes regulate that those members that have not paid their membership fees are not entitled to vote in the General Assembly or to nominate President or other candidates to the Board unless they fulfil their commitments to the WFD. All those members that have not paid please make your payment as soon as possible for 2010 or any outstanding membership payment for previous years.
Again, WFD would like to thank those members that have paid their membership fee for 2010:
ALBANIA AUSTRALIA BELARUS BELGIUM BENIN BOSNIA/HERZEGOVINA
BULGARIA BURKINA FASO CHINA CONGO, Rep of CROATIA CZECH REPUBLIC DENMARK ERITREA ESTONIA FINLAND FRANCE GEORGIA GERMANY GUATEMALA HUNGARY INDIA IRELAND ITALY JAPAN KOREA LATVIA LITHUANIA MACEDONIA NEPAL NETHERLANDS NEW ZEALAND NIGER NORWAY PAKISTAN PORTUGAL ROMANIA RUSSIA SENEGAL SERBIA SINGAPORE SLOVENIA SOMALIA SOUTH AFRICA SPAIN SRI LANKA SUDAN SWAZILAND SWEDEN SWITZERLAND TOGO TUNISIA TURKEY UGANDA UKRAINE UK USA
WFD concerned on Deaf children in Haiti 10 February 2010
WFD has received information from various sources about the Haiti earthquake’s impacts on Deaf population, even though received information still remains scattered. World Federation of the Deaf is especially concerned for the needs of deaf children, who are particularly affected by this crisis. However, more information is greatly needed concerning the Deaf community at large. WFD is working at the moment with its Regional Secretariat in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean and the Deaf Association in Dominican Republic (Asociación Nacional de Sordos de la Republica Dominicana) to find ways how to help Deaf population. However, at this point, WFD can only encourage people to make donations either directly to deaf organisations or through other reputable humanitarian aid organisations. Please note that WFD is not in a position to ensure any reliability of these organisations and how donations are used. Thank you for all those who have expressed their willingness to help.
Up to the present, WFD has obtained information about the following organisations that have been affected by the earthquake:
Institut Montfort Pour Enfants Sourds (Montfort Institute for Deaf Children)
Institute Montfort is a school with over 600 Deaf students. The school was destroyed by the earthquake, but fortunately all the children who lived in the dormitory were safe. However, situation of those children who went home after school is still unknown. They have appealed money to build up a fence around their place of relocation and to set up a small warehouse to store furniture.
Website: www.FriendsOfMontfort.org (Friends of Montfort is functioning in the US)
Cappa Sourd
Cappa Sourd's building was completely destroyed by the earthquake. Cappa Sourd, Center for Assistance of Deaf and Hard of Hearing, is a national non-profit organisation working on integration and support of psycho-socio-cultural aspects of people with Deaf and hard of hearing concentrating mainly on children and young adolescents in Haiti.
Website: http://www.freewebs.com/cappahaiti
St Vincent School The school served deaf, blind and other children with disabilities also including a group of children with severe multiple disabilities and wheelchair users. It is supported by Episcopal community. The school was destroyed in the earthquake, but the survived children are evacuated. Some money has been raised for their cause by a religious community. http://www.cmmh.org,
or http://www.friendsofstvincents.org
WFD again stresses that Deaf people must be included in the acute emergency relief phase as well as in the reconstruction process. WFD shares the view with the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities that has recently stated that persons with disabilities must not become the forgotten ones during times of crises.
The World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) is an international non-governmental organisation representing approximately 70 million Deaf people worldwide. It is estimated that more than 80 percent of these 70 million live in developing countries, where authorities are rarely familiar with their needs or desires. Recognised by the United Nations (UN) as their spokes-organisation, WFD works closely with the UN and its various agencies in promoting the human rights of Deaf people in accordance with the principles and objectives of the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other general acts and recommendations of the UN and its specialised agencies. When necessary, WFD uses special, legal or administrative measures to ensure that Deaf people in every country have the right to preserve their own sign languages, organisations, and cultural and other activities. Most important among WFD priorities are Deaf people in developing countries; the right to sign language; and equal opportunity in all spheres of life, including access to education and information.
