WFD Activities
Regional Secretariat Meetings
The WFD has met with three Regional Secretariats in recent weeks:
- South America
- Eastern Europe and Middle Asia
- Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean
Regional Secretariats are an important part of the WFD's work and the WFD will continue to meet with and work with our Regional Secretariats to support deaf people in regional collaboration around the world.
5 new staff members
The WFD is pleased to announce the expansion of its staff team from September 2021.
- Mr Yauheni Koraneu, Chief Financial Officer
- Mr Alessandro Abbate, Business and Development Officer
- Mr Ian Dhanoolal, Access to Health Research Fellow
- Ms Jolene Ayres Ogunjirin, Project Manager
- Mr Alejandro Lopez Florez, Access to Health Research Fellow
Webinar "Let us teach our sign languages! - Deaf people vindicating their expertise"
The WFD is pleased to invite you to its upcoming webinar on Sign Language Teaching taking place this Thursday 28 October 2021 from 14:00 to 15:30 CET. This event aims to explore the importance of deaf people taking the lead in teaching their own national sign language with a mix of theoretical and practical presentations from panellists representing the different regions of the world.
New COVID-19 Project focused on Latin America
The WFD is pleased to announce the creation of a new project team. The project will focus on issues around COVID-19 in Latin America. The team will be responsible for collecting information about deaf peoples’ access to healthcare and COVID-19 information.The WFD look forward to working to achieve full human rights and access for deaf people.
A Call for Applications
WFD shares the terms of reference of the International Disability Alliance (IDA) for consultants to support the documentation of what inclusive employment is based on Article 27 and to document the experiences of meaningful OPD engagement within the Inclusion Works programme.
Read more
A summary of the International Week of Deaf People
and International Day of Sign Languages 2021
From September 20 to 26, 2021, the world celebrated deaf people. This week was an opportunity to highlight the human rights of deaf people. This year’s theme for the International Week of Deaf People was “Celebrating Thriving Deaf Communities”. Deaf communities have grown and thrived over the years and have given us strength. This week was an opportunity to celebrate their incredible endurance at the local, national and international levels.Find all the information about this week of celebration.
Online Events
We Sign for Human Rights!
The WFD and the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG) have organized a webinar on September 23, 2021 to celebrate International Sign Language Day. The purpose of this webinar was to raise awareness and empower States Parties on the importance of sign languages.
Deaf Culture and Arts for Human Rights
The objective of this webinar was to celebrate and highlight deaf culture through deaf arts and performances as a means to achieve human rights for deaf people.
Global Leaders Challenge
To celebrate the International Day of Sign Languages, the WFD invited leaders to show their support for Sign Language by taking part in the Global Leaders Challenge.Like last year, many leaders stood together to promote sign language at international, national and local levels.
WFD 70th anniversary
On 23 september 1951, the WFD was founded in Rome, Italy. This year, WFD celebrates its 70-year anniversary by co-hosting an online celebration with Italian National Association of Deaf "Ente Nazionale Sordi". This was the occasion to unveil the statue of Mr Vittorio Ieralla, the first president of the WFD.
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