The day opened with two plenary presentations. The first, from Ms Hend AL-SHOWAIER of Saudi Arabia, set the scene for the congress on the big picture of Human Rights.

She highlighted the need for respect for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) to enable deaf people across the world to achieve their human rights and especially in the recognition of national sign languages. This was then followed by the interesting presentation of Dr Soya MORI of Japan who outlined the research he had carried out and how this would support increasing our knowledge of the needs of deaf people in the framework of human rights.

A big part of any WFD Congress is the social and community getting together. The social aspects of the Congress is in full swing, with many delegates catching up with old friends and new acquaintances as people made their way to and from the Plenary Presentations and the two Commission topics for the day: Human Rights as well as Sign Language and Deaf Culture. Going by the vibe we all feel when walking through the passageways, there is a lot to look forward to as the Congress program gets underway.