Keynotes
Connect, Participate and Thrive: Pathways to Wellbeing in Deafblindness
Mental Health & Wellbeing, Pere Cantenys Gómez
Keynotes
Moving from the Margins: The Potential of Social Work in Deafblind Practice and Research
Health and Well-being, Dr. Peter Simcock
Keynotes
Advocacy for the Rights of Deafblind Persons – Building Change Through Global Action
Advocacy, Dr Sanja Tarczay, Ph. D.
Keynotes
Touch as a Gateway: Rethinking Communication, Language and Connection
Communication, Prof. Dr. Saskia Damen
Person
Dr Sanja Tarczay, Ph. D.
Sanja Tarczay was born in Zagreb as a deaf child in a deaf family and later became Deafblind. In 1994, she established the Croatian Association of Deafblind Persons “Dodir“ where she is acting as president. She is the creator of a Croatian Sign Language course, courses for Service Support Providers (SSPs), courses for Deafblind interpreters, and the founder of the Croatian Sign Language Interpreting Centre. Since 2008, she has been the practicum leader for a module on Deafblindness at the Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Zagreb, where she earned her Ph.D. in 2014, making her the first Deafblind person in Croatia to graduate with a doctoral degree. In addition, she is a lecturer on the subject of Read more
Person
Dr. Peter Simcock
Dr Peter Simcock is Associate Professor of Social Work and Centre Lead for the Deafblind UK Centre for Education and Research at Birmingham City University. He has a long-standing research and practice interest in deafblindness, with a particular focus on social work and deafblindness, the experiences of those ageing with deafblindness, the relationship between law and social work practice in the field, and qualitative research involving deafblind people. Prior to working in academia, Peter was a specialist social worker with d/Deaf and deafblind people and maintains a connection with practice via his role as Chair of the Deafblind International Acquired Deafblindness Network (ADBN). Plenary Presentation Moving from the Margins: The Potential of Social Work in Deafblind Practice and ResearchTheme/Topic: Health Read more
Person
Pere Cantenys Gómez
Pere Cantenys Gómez is from Barcelona, Spain, Deafblind, and a Human Resources Master’s graduate, International Trade professional, advocate, and youth leader. He has worked in the aviation and logistics industries and studied at Gallaudet University in the United States. He is actively involved in organizations supporting deafblind people and currently serves as Leader of the Youth Committee of the World Federation of the Deafblind (WFDB), a member of the Accessibility Committee of ASOCIDE Catalunya, and a member of COCARMI (Catalan Committee of Representatives of Persons with Disabilities). His work focuses on inclusion, accessibility, youth empowerment, leadership, and international cooperation. In 2026, he was nominated as a speaker at the 19th Session of the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on Read more
Person
Juliet Wabukawo
Juliet Wabukawo is a deafblind self-advocate and teacher from Uganda, dedicated to advancing the rights and inclusion of people with deafblindness. Living with hearing impairment and low vision herself, she brings lived experience and strong commitment to her advocacy work. Juliet serves as a Regional Representative for Africa on the World Federation of the Deafblind (WFDB) Board and is also an active member of the WFDB Women’s Committee. She works closely with the National Association of the Deafblind in Uganda, where she trains deafblind individuals in self-advocacy using simple, low-cost tools. Her efforts focus on empowering individuals to express themselves and actively engage in society. Juliet’s work is grounded in the principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of Read more
Person
Prof. Dr. Saskia Damen
Saskia Damen is a Professor in Inclusive and Special Needs Education at the University of Groningen and a Senior Researcher at the Kentalis Academy in the Netherlands. Her research program focuses on developing evidence-based assessment and intervention methods to foster the development and learning of people with congenital and early-acquired deafblindness and people with complex communication needs. She is responsible for the International Master’s program on Deafblindness at the University of Groningen and teaches on (dual)sensory loss and complex communication needs at pre-master, bachelor, master, and post-master levels. She supervises several PhD projects involving people with deafblindness or complex communication needs, and has published about her research in both scientific and professional papers and books. She is chair of the Read more