Representatives from Rochester Institute of Technology’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf and the World Federation of the Deaf have signed a formal cooperation agreement as a way to continue and strengthen the relationship between the world’s first and largest technological college for deaf and hard-of-hearing students and the global deaf rights organization. The signing, led by RIT/NTID President Gerry Buckley and WFD President Joseph Murray, took place at the 18th World Congress of the World Federation of the Deaf held earlier this month in Paris.
Details of the agreement include:
- Cooperation and collaboration regarding opportunities contributing to shared values, such as providing leadership and advocacy to deaf communities.
- Assisting in making connections and building relationships with national deaf associations for mutual grant opportunities.
- Exchanging information and best practices related to approaches in training and empowerment.
- Promoting the human rights of deaf people within the framework of the United Nations Human Rights system, paying particular attention to the UN Conventions on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
- Affirming commitments to full implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities by all UN member states. Both organizations note the importance of the implementation of the articles dealing with sign languages and professional sign language interpreters.
- Commitment to sharing new research discoveries published by RIT/NTID faculty with WFD for broad dissemination including research on sign language interpreting and pedagogy, access technologies and employment.
“We are honored to be entering into this cooperation agreement with our friends from WFD who tirelessly work to improve the lives of people who are deaf throughout the world,” said Buckley. “We take this commitment seriously and look forward to strengthening our relationship as time goes on.”
For more information, contact Vienna McGrain at 585-475-4952, Vienna.Carvalho@rit.edu, or on Twitter: @viennamcgrain.
PHOTO AVAILABLE: https://www.rit.edu/ritnews/
Caption: Representatives from RIT’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf and the World Federation of the Deaf signed a formal cooperation agreement. Pictured, from left to right, are Gerry Buckley, NTID president; Kasper Bergmann, WFD vice president; and Joseph Murray, WFD president.
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Established by the U.S. Congress in 1965, the National Technical Institute for the Deaf is the first and largest technological college in the world for deaf and hard-of-hearing students. NTID offers associate degree programs for deaf and hard-of-hearing students and provides support and access services for deaf and hard-of-hearing students who study in the other eight colleges of RIT. NTID also offers a certificate in healthcare interpretation, bachelor’s degree program in sign language interpreting and master’s degrees in healthcare interpretation and secondary education for individuals interested in teaching deaf and hard-of-hearing students. Deaf and hard-of-hearing students come from all over the United States and around the world to take advantage of the opportunities available to them at RIT/NTID. Go to www.rit.edu/NTID.
Rochester Institute of Technology is home to leading creators, entrepreneurs, innovators and researchers. Founded in 1829, RIT enrolls about 19,000 students in more than 200 career-oriented and professional programs, making it among the largest private universities in the U.S.
The university is internationally recognized and ranked for academic leadership in business, computing, engineering, imaging science, liberal arts, sustainability, and fine and applied arts. RIT also offers unparalleled support services for deaf and hard-of-hearing students. The cooperative education program is one of the oldest and largest in the nation. Global partnerships include campuses in China, Croatia, Dubai and Kosovo.
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