Description and aim
The World Federation of the Deafblind is a non-governmental and non-profit making worldwide organisation. It is an organisation of deafblind people and is the legitimate voice of deafblind people of the world. The work for deafblind people is incipient and it is only during the past ten to fifteen years that deafblind have succeeded in nurturing a unique profile and enjoying an increased understanding of the specific problems resulting form deafblindness.
The aim of WFDB is to improve the quality of life of deafblind people world wide and one of the most important activities undertaken by WFDB is to identify deafblind people in order to break their isolation. WFDB also aims at spreading information about deafblindness and about the kind of service deafblind people need in order to live independent lives. In addition, WFDB strives to have deafblindness acknowledged internationally as a unique disability.
1st and founding General Assembly
The decision to form a world federation of deafblind was made at the 6th Helen Keller World Conference in Paipa, Colombia, September 13 - 19, 1997. After many years of work the conference delegates considered that time was ripe to take the step to found the World Federation of the Deafblind, WFDB. The conference appointed a committee that would prepare the first and founding general assembly of WFDB, which was to be held in connection with the 7th Helen Keller Conference in Auckland, New Zealand, in October 2001. An executive council was elected with Mr. Stig Ohlson as President; Mr. Daniel Alvarez-Reyes as Vice-President; Mr. Lex Grandia as Secretary General and Mr. Jeffrey Bohrman as Treasurer. In addition, six regional representatives were elected to represent their respective regions.
WFDB 2nd General Assembly
WFDB 2nd General Assembly was held in Tampere, Finland, in June 2005. There were 36 voting members present from five of the six regions. A new Executive Council was elected with Mr. Lex Grandia (Denmark) as President, Mrs. Sonnia Margarita Villacrés (Ecuador) as Vice-President, Mr. André van Deventer (South Africa) as Secretary General and Mrs. Gunborg Lindström (Sweden) as Treasurer. The six regional representatives are: Africa: Mr. David Shaba (Tanzania), Asia: Mr. Satoshi Fukushima (Japan), Europe: Ms. Sanya Tarczay (Croatia), Latin America: Mrs. Beatriz Vallejo (Colombia); North America: Mr. Jeff Bohrman (USA). It was decided that the WFDB 3rd GA and the 9th Helen Keller World Conference be held in Cape Town, South Africa in 2009.
Structure
The General Assembly (quadrennial) is the supreme governing body of WFDB. The Executive Council is elected by the General Assembly on a four-year term. The Executive Council consists of four elected officers: president, vice-president, secretary general and treasurer; and six regional representatives (Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, North America, and the Pacific).
Application for membership
If your organization is interested in joining WFDB, or cooperating with us, please fill out the appropriate application for membership (national, associate or individual) and submit it to the below contact address. In case of difficulties in downloading the forms or questions about type of membership, please contact us at the address below (or fax, or e-mail) and state:
Contact Information
WFDB c/o FSDB
S-122 88 Enskede, Sweden
Telephone: +46-8-39 91 55
Fax: +46-8-659 50 42
E-mail: wfdb@wfdb.org
(2005-10-05)