Ten years after the European Parliament issued a declaration to recognize and implement the rights of people who are deafblind, the topic of deafblindness und combined hearing and vision impairment has received greater attention in Germany. On September 19-20, 2014, Germany for the first time hosts an international congress on “Living with Deafblindness” that aims to foster a dialogue between expert scientists from a variety of disciplines and people with deafblindless, their families and carers.

The congress aims to discuss deafblindness from medical, psychosocial, educational, legal and social perspectives with international expert scientists and practitioners to contribute to a better understanding of the particular situation of deafblind people. Deafblindness is more than the loss of hearing and vision. Deafblind people face major everyday challenges in terms of communication and participation, especially when it comes to access to information, orientation, and mobility.