WFDB has 75 national and associated member organizations from 67 different countries worldwide, including Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Italy, Ivory Coast, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mexico, Mongolia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Norway, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Republic of Congo (Brazzaville), Republic of Guinea, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tanzania, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States of America, Uruguay, Venezuela, and Zambia.
At the regional level, we have strong connections and actively cooperate with organizations such as The European Deafblind Union (EDbU), The African Federation of the Deafblind (AFDB), and The Latin American Federation of Deafblind People (FLASC).
Governance
The organization is governed by an Executive Council (EC) consisting of six members with deafblindness: the President, the Vice President, the Secretary and three EC members. Additionally, there is one representative per region: Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, North America, and the Pacific (six in total). There are also two auditors and three members of the Election Committee.
Partners
WFDB has established partnerships with organizations such as The World Blind Union (WBU), The World Federation of the Deaf (WFD), Deafblind International (DbI), Sense International, and The World Association of Sign Language Interpreters (WASLI).
In 2007, the organization attained consultative status at the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and became a member of the International Disability Alliance (IDA), where the WFDB President serves on the board.
Membership and application for membership
We offer different kinds of membership:
- National membership represents the population of persons with deafblindness in their country. Each country can only have one national member, and the board of the organization must have at least 50% persons with deafblindness.
- Individual membership is open to individual persons with deafblindness who do not represent the population of persons with deafblindness in their own country. Individual members have the right to speak at the General Assembly but not vote.
- Associate membership is open to individuals, organizations, and institutions that align with the aims of WFDB.
- Sponsoring membership is open to individuals, organizations, and institutions that wish to support WFDB financially.