30 August 2018.
The 17th Deafblind International World Conference will be hosted by Able Australia on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia in August 2019. With over 500 delegates from over 35 different countries expected to attend, the conference will give attendees the opportunity to discuss issues, research and personal insights relating to deafblindness. Held every four years, the conference brings professionals, academics, people that work in the deafblind environment and people with deafblindness together.
Over 50 years ago, Deafblind International (DbI) began as a collection of schools, institutions and organisations sharing their experiences of working with children who were deafblind. Deafblind International holds a vision of becoming an international association which promotes the awareness and knowledge of deafblindness as a unique disability, and to influence for appropriate services for people who are deafblind around the world.
Able Australia, originally The Victorian Deaf Blind and Rubella Children’s Association, and then The Deafblind Association, has grown from an association providing services to people with deafblindness and rubella into a diverse not-for-profit organisation that offers a broad range of services to over 5000 people across Australia.
The 17th Deafblind International World Conference has adopted the theme of ‘Sharing the Knowledge to ACT: Accessibility. Communication. Technology. Now is your time to ACT!’
The Scientific Committee encourages submissions from any individual who is deafblind, a family member of someone who is deafblind, an academic or a professional in the area. The Scientific Committee has members from Canada, USA, India, Argentina, Denmark, Japan and Australia, all working to deliver an innovative and involving conference that explores each of the three areas.
The goal of the conference is to capture a variety of perspectives, research and best practices in deafblindness.
To find out more about making a submission to the 17th Deafblind International World Conference and how to register, please click here.