World Federation of the Deaf

A new step has been taken in collaboration with the host of the XX World Congress. 🇦🇪 The WFD President officially signed the contract in the presence of Mr. Musabah Al Neyadi, President of UAE Deaf Association and H.E Abdulla Abdulalee AlHumaidan, ZHO General Secretary.

WFD President recently met with representatives from the The World Federation of the Deafblind (WFDB). During this productive meeting, Dr. Jospeh Murray provided valuable insights and advice on strategies for officially establishing an International Day of the #Deafblind.

Every year, States Parties and Civil Society Organisations gather at the UN headquarters in NYC for the COSP to review the CRPD's implementation. This event is crucial for the disability movement, bringing together OPDs, state delegations, experts, donors, and INGOs like WFD to advocate for the rights of people with disabilities. This year, WFD attended with a representative from our Ordinary Member in Ukraine. Over 5 days, we had 4 meetings with UN representatives and 10 with government and INGO representatives. We also made official statements to highlight the realities faced by deaf people in crises and called on governments to take action. This year’s COSP was historic as Hiroshi Tamon, a deaf human rights expert from Japan, was elected to the CRPD Committee for the second time since 2006. His four-year mandate starts in January 2025. These 4 days are a significant step in WFD's vision of a world where deaf people can sign anywhere. #COSP17 #CRPD #DisabilityRights

2️⃣ important meetings today with the Permanent Mission of Canada 🇨🇦 and the Permanent Mission of Bolivia 🇧🇴 at the #COSP17!

The WFD delegation had a series of exciting meetings at #COSP17 with Women Enabled International, Government of Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦, and Gertrude Oforiwa Fefoame #CRPD Committee Chair.

Deaf people face major and acute challenges with climate risks and emergencies: lack of access to information and emergency programs in their national sign languages, limited access to resources, and insufficient awareness from authorities. To change, we need to move from politics to action, ensure the involvement of deaf communities through their representative organisations in inclusive decision making spaces, preparedeness planning and responses that include trained sign language interpreters, inclusive alerting and information systems and the legal recognition of national sign languages. #COSP17

We highlight the urgent need for equal ICT access for deaf people worldwide. We call for international cooperation and inclusion of deaf organisations in the design of new information and technologies in compliance with the #CRPD. Hjordis Haraldsdóttir, WFD Board Member and Panelist at the Roundtable of the #COSP17 « International cooperation to promote technology innovations and transfer for an inclusive future »

💬A design that takes into account the needs of people with disabilities is truly a design for all. People with disabilities are the world’s largest minority group, with 1 billion strong! Dr Joseph Murray, WFD President and Co-Chair at the Roundtable of the #COSP17 « International cooperation to promote technology innovations and transfer for an inclusive future »

Roundtable 1 of the #COSP17 under the theme of « International cooperation to promote technology innovations and transfer for an inclusive future » ➡️ Co-Chair: Dr Joseph Murray, WFD President ➡️ Panelist: Hjordis Haraldsdóttir, WFD Board Member 🖥 Watch UNTV: https://lnkd.in/eVJMF3WN

WFD supported Hiroshi Tamon's candidature to the #CRPD Committee by calling on representatives of countries at the UN and encouraging our members to campaign with their governments to vote for him. He is elected to the CRPD Committee 2025 - 2029. We will continue to support more deaf candidates in the next elections. #COSP17