International Deaf and Hard of Hearing Organizations

See International Committee on Sports for the Deaf (ICSD)

The International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (ICSD) is the main governing body responsible for the organization of Deaflympics and other World Deaf Championships.



Founded in 1924 and known as the CISS (Comité International des Sports des Sourds), the ICSD is now approaching the century mark of being the organization behind the building, evolving and fortifying the tradition of inviting deaf/hard of hearing elite athletes from all the world to come together not only to compete in their respective sports, but to also develop comradeships between their countries.

The International Federation of Hard of Hearing People (IFHOH) was established in 1977 as an international, non-governmental organization, registered in Germany. IFHOH represents the interests of more than 300 million hard of hearing people worldwide. This includes late deafened adults, cochlear implant users, and people who experience Tinnitus, Meniere’s disease, Hyperacusis and auditory processing disorders. IFHOH has over 40 national member organizations from most regions of the world. IFHOH and the European Federation of Hard of Hearing People (EFHOH) work to promote greater understanding of hearing loss issues and to improve access for hard of hearing people. IFHOH has special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), affiliation with the World Health Organization, and membership in the International Disability Alliance.

The aim of WASLI is to advance the profession of sign language interpreting worldwide.

The World Federation of the Deaf is an international non-profit and non-governmental organisation of deaf associations from 133 countries. In addition to this, its membership includes Associate Members, International Members and Individual Members as well as two categories of Youth Members. The WFD has 8 Regional Secretariats and one Co-operating Member. Its legal seat is in Helsinki, Finland where the WFD Secretariat operates.