Global Education Campaign “LET ME IN”: For the Right to Education of Children with Deafblindness
By Mirko Baur – President Deafblind International (DbI)
Deafblind International (DbI), in partnership with the International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment (ICEVI) and the World Federation of the Deafblind (WFDB) and supported by a wide network of regional and national partners, is implementing an ambitious Global Education Campaign titled “LET ME IN”. This four-year initiative (2023–2027) aims to achieve decisive improvements in the realization of the right to education for children with deafblindness, especially in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
Children with deafblindness are among the most marginalized within the disability community, facing profound barriers to education, participation, and social inclusion. The two global reports published by the WFDB (WFDB 2018, WFDB 2023) have clearly shown that children with deafblindness are unfortunately often “left behind.” The second world report (WFDB 2023) evaluates UNICEF data for children and young people aged 2 to 17 from 36 countries and all continents. Across all countries, the data for the children affected shows, among other things, poorer health, contextual problems from birth, and severe exclusion from education. Across all age groups surveyed, only 14% are even part of their respective education systems – an enormous 86% are not.
DbI’s Global Education Campaign responds precisely to this situation and calls for the immediate realization of the right to education for ALL children with deafblindness, and related multiple disabilities.
The campaign was launched in Cairo at the end of 2022. It works on the basis of own data collected, using a bottom-up and top-down approach and a strong network at several levels. There is a global committee, three regional committees and national leadership teams.
On the one hand, the campaign invests in research into the education of children with deafblindness. An international committee of experts is currently reviewing 54 proposals for research projects from Africa, Asia, and Latin America. By July 10, 30 of these will be selected, and their findings will be presented in July 2027 at the 19th World Conference of DbI, which is also the first joint World Conference of DbI and WFDB, in Davos, Switzerland.
Until then, regional conferences take place on a regular basis as the second focus of the campaign: In 2024, a very successful Interministerial Meeting of the ministries of education in Latin America at the Universidad Católica de Córdoba; In 2025, the first DbI Regional Conference for Asia in Nepal and the first DbI Webinar focusing on Southeast Asia in cooperation with a great private-public network in Indonesia and SEAMEO SEN (the Southeast Asian Minister of Education Organization Regional Center for Special Educational Needs); 2026: the first conference of DbI’s Deafblind Africa Network, which will take place in South Africa in cooperation with ICEVI Africa.
At the national level, the third focus of the campaign, 23 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America have developed projects that are particularly relevant to them in the areas of early identification and early intervention, school education, vocational training, and/or assistive technologies. The projects are ready to start or have already begun, cost an average of €20,000, and can be supported by DbI with technical and advocacy assistance and, hopefully, more and more also in conjunction with sponsorship opportunities. The support provided by some of DbI’s organisational members like ONCE/FOAL, CBM or Sense International is fantastic, as are cross-state campaign activities such as a series of continuing education courses in deafblindness within the framework of the Network of Latin American Universities.
DbI is an inclusive international network association that promotes awareness of deafblindness as a unique disability; facilitates the exchange and learning from each other among service organisations, people with lived experience, practitioners, leaders, researchers, and any other person with and without deafblindness in the field; and influences for inclusion, full participation, and access to appropriate services for persons with deafblindness around the world. That is why the Global Education Campaign also functions as a network campaign. Only by working together can we ensure that EVERY child with deafblindness or related multiple disabilities EVERYWHERE in the world is seen, heard, and included in their education system. There is still a long way to go. LET ME IN is an inspiring first step. Any support is VERY welcome!