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[VIDEO DESC & TRANSCRIPT: Jenny (left) and Howard (right) stand in front of a huge LED screen with text "2023 WFD, XIX WORLD CONGRESS OF THE WORLD FEDERATION OF THE DEAF, JEJU, KOREA."

JENNY: Hello from Jeju, Korea, where we are at the World Congress of the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD).

HOWARD: Yes, there are many countries here. The General Assembly happened in the first two days, that's where Jenny and I served as delegates for the US. We met many other delegates from 77 countries. Many ideas were exchanged, experiences shared, and we learned that we experience many similar challenges as deaf people. It's been a good experience for us so far. During the General Assembly, WFD also shared their priorities and their work. Delegates also voted on the location for the next World Congress in 2027. There were three countries that submitted a bid to host: Nigeria, Norway, and United Arab Emirates (UAE).

JENNY: The bidding process first requires interested countries to pay WFD 5,000 euros to be considered. That fee covers the costs for the WFD host selection committee which consists of three people to visit each country's site for three days. However, for multiple reasons, the committee wasn't able to visit Nigeria so their site visit was done virtually for three days. WFD has a criteria which provides a ranking system for their review which resulted in giving Nigeria 24 points, Norway 28 points, and UAE 28 points -- for Norway and UAE, they got 28 points for different reasons. WFD recommended UAE. Delegates had the opportunity to ask the three countries questions, and one of the questions was whether queer related topics could be presented during the World Congress if held in their country. The three countries responded, and the delegates were not sure if queer related topics were allowed in the UAE. After looking into it, the WFD Board shared that queer related topics were not allowed to be discussed in the UAE, and for that reason, WFD withdrew their recommendation. The delegates were given full authority to decide through the election of the host country where the next World Congress would be held in 2027, and many delegates had concerns about all of this. The election would depend on a majority vote which requires 50% plus one to determine which country will be the host.

HOWARD: Some delegates participated virtually.

JENNY: Right, some delegates voted through zoom and WFD calculated all votes -- in person and through zoom. For the first round, not one county had 50% plus one and Nigeria had the lowest number of votes which meant Delegates would vote again for either Norway and UAE. For the US, we recognize the concerns of our constituents' right to feel safe and protected when attending the next World Congress -- with that, we voted for Norway. However, results showed that UAE received the most votes.

HOWARD: Many of us in the room felt very concerned, anguished, and upset over the results. Many delegates who identified as LGBTQIA2S+ were now unsure they'd be able to attend the next World Congress and wondered if they should demand action from WFD. The question remains, what can WFD Board do at this point? The WFD statutes state that WFD practices a democracy where all countries have one vote through their delegates to decide the host country for the next World Congress. Would the WFD Board be able to veto the delegates' decision? This is not clear.

JENNY: If the WFD Board decides to change where the next World Congress in 2027 will be held, this means delegates from different countries will feel their vote is invalid which may lead to distrust in WFD. This is why WFD practices democracy.

HOWARD: Jenny and I have discussed our communities’ concerns and what we, the US, should do next.

JENNY: We recognize your concerns -- we've asked WFD Board what their plans are ensure the safety and protection of LGBTQIA2S+ attendees at the next World Congress in 2027.]