Rich in professional collaborations, learning outcomes, educational opportunities, and building connections within the deafblind community, the 11th National Deafblind Conference was hosted by SensesWA and held during Deafblind Awareness Week.
As the first National Deafblind Conference to be held in 6 years, it was not surprising that 119 registrants from across the country made the journey to attend in person in Fremantle and Conference Hubs in Melbourne and the Hunter Valley. Many more from around the world (up to 44 at any one time), streamed the conference online, allowing them to actively participate in this important event in real time.
The latest research developments and service improvements in the specialised world of deafblindness were showcased.
The conference was officially opened by The Honorable Don Punch MLA, Minister for Disability Services; Small Business; Fisheries; Seniors and Ageing.
The theme of the conference was “Deafblind Keeping Connected through COVID and beyond” and over three days of presentations, keynote and invited speakers, platform presenters, and people with lived experience shared academic views, research outcomes and their personal reflections on the impact the global pandemic has had on the deafblind community, including how challenging the past two years have been.
The conference provided the opportunity for attendees to learn from one another, for professional collaboration, for education to the broader community on the support needs of people who are deafblind, for friendships and networks to be developed, for reconnection for the deafblind community after the isolation of the last two and a half years and for a national agenda of important issues to be established.
The conference was proudly hosted by SensesWA and supported by a grant from the Australian Government Department of Social Services.
View more photos here: 11th National Deafblind Conference
