Established in October 2025, the WFDB Women Committee is composed of seven women with deafblindness from diverse regions, age groups, communication systems, and backgrounds.. These voluntary positions reflect a deep commitment to advocating for and advancing the inclusion of the deafblind women community.
The primary mission of the Women Committee is to represent and champion the voices of women with deafblindness on an international stage. They work tirelessly to strengthen efforts that ensure the unique needs and perspectives of this community are recognized and addressed.
We invite you to learn more about the dedicated members serving from 2025 to 2029 below.
If you have any questions or are interested in exploring partnership opportunities, please feel free to reach out to the committee at women.committee@wfdb.eu
Members of the WFDB Women’s Committee (2025–2029):
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Velichka Draganova – Bulgaria, Europe
Velichka Draganova has served as WFDB Secretary General since 2023 and WFDB
Regional Representative for Europe since 2022. She is a member of the Executive Committee of the European Deafblind Union (EDbU) and has led the EDbU Women’s Committee since 2023. She initiated, organized, and moderated the EDbU Women’s Forums held in Bulgaria in 2023 and 2025.
She is a deafblind lawyer, advocate, and leader with long-standing experience in representing and advancing the rights of persons with deafblindness at national and European levels. As President of the National Association of the Deafblind in Bulgaria and Head of the Helen Keller National Center for the Rehabilitation of the Deafblind, she is deeply committed to social inclusion, accessibility, and gender equality, with a particular focus on deafblind women and families.
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Juliet Wabukawo – Uganda, Africa
Juliet Wabukawo is a social worker and disability rights advocate, serving as Program Manager at the National Association of the Deafblind in Uganda (NADBU) and as WFDB Regional Representative for Africa. She is a member of Deafblind International and the National Union of Women with Disabilities in Uganda.
Juliet also serves on the steering committee of the National Special Grant for Persons with Disabilities under the Ministry of Gender, Labour, and Social Development, contributing to national policy frameworks. She is involved in climate change engagement policies for women with disabilities and is part of the Disability Accessibility Auditing team of the National Union of Disabled Persons of Uganda.
She actively promotes inclusive employment and education for women and youth with disabilities and is committed to creating a more inclusive society for persons with disabilities, with a special focus on women and girls with deafblindness.
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Elizabeth Syring – Canada, North America
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Eulalia Alves Cordeiro – Brazil, South America
Eulalia is a woman with deafblindness, specifically Usher Syndrome type II. She currently serves as the President of Grupo Brasil de Apoio ao Surdocego e ao Múltiplo Deficiente Sensorial, where she leads various initiatives focusing on accessibility. She also represents Grupo Brasil as an advisor to the Municipal Forum for Permanent Education and the State Forum for Permanent Education (2023–2025 and 2025–2027).
Additionally, she is a curator-consultant at Fundação Dorina Nowill, participates in the Working Group (Grupo de Trabalho Sentidos) Brasil Perkins, and serves as an advisor at numerous national conferences.
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Akiko Fukuda – Japan, Asia
Akiko Fukuda is a certified social worker and advocate for the rights of persons with deafblindness. She serves on Japan’s Cabinet Office Committee on Disability Policy and is an adjunct lecturer at Rikkyo University and Tokyo Woman’s Christian University. She is also a council member of the Japan Deafblind Association (JDBA) and part of its International Cooperation Committee, and coordinates the Asia Deafblind Network.
A former Secretary General of the World Federation of the Deafblind, Akiko communicates primarily through tactile sign language and uses braille. She uses a ventilator and electric wheelchair due to multiple sclerosis.
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Mahtab Alimohammadi Malayeri – Iran, Middle East
Mahtab Alimohammadi Malayeri was born in 1979 in Iran. She holds a Master’s degree in Philology and Modern and Contemporary Literature cum laude from the University of Verona, Italy, and a Bachelor’s degree in Italian Language and Literature from the University of Tehran, Iran. Despite being both blind and deaf, she has devoted her life to bridging art and literature. She actively participates in cultural and social projects that promote accessibility and inclusion for people with disabilities. She has given many talks in Persian, English, and Italian at national and international conferences, exploring the inner world of human beings and the power and courage to face the impossible.
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Amanda Stevens – New Zealand, Oceania