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Dr. Joseph Murray was born and raised in the United States. But as president of the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD), he has to represent more than 130 countries, each with its own languages, cultures, and attitudes. He explained this balancing act at a campus event last week, “Deaf Lives Across Borders: Navigating Complexities and Differences,” hosted by the Center for Democracy in Deaf America (CDDA).

A new and promising partnership that aims to promote opportunities for an improved quality of life for deaf, hard of hearing, and deafblind people in Ethiopia was launched on December 18, 2023 with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Gallaudet University and the Republic of Ethiopia’s Ministry of Women and Social Affairs (MoWSA). This landmark partnership expands Gallaudet’s global efforts to enhance education, training, and official recognition of sign language in Africa’s two most populous countries – Nigeria and Ethiopia, respectively.

Gallaudet’s campus is already known as the place for deaf experts from different fields to connect. So it is the ideal home for the new Deaf Studies Incubator, which will focus on promoting interdisciplinary, intersectional work. The project just received a $1.5 million grant from the Mellon Foundation.