Mark your calendars: the World Association of Sign Language Interpreters (WASLI) has announced that its next global quadrennial conference will be held in Abu Dhabi in 2027, giving sign language interpreters and Deaf Interpreters around the world a new international gathering to plan for.
A Global Tradition, Every Four Years
WASLI’s quadrennial conference is the organization’s flagship event, bringing together interpreters from across the globe roughly once every four years. Past conferences have drawn hundreds of delegates representing dozens of countries. WASLI’s second conference in Spain welcomed 293 delegates from 44 countries, and its third, held under the theme “Think Globally: Act Locally,” brought in 160 delegates from 46 countries, including 17 African nations. More recently, WASLI held its 2019 conference and General Member Assembly in Paris, France.
Why the Location Matters
Choosing Abu Dhabi continues a pattern of WASLI bringing its global conference to different regions of the world over time, rather than returning to the same handful of countries. That rotation matters. Each new host location makes it more feasible for interpreters based in that part of the world, who might otherwise face significant travel costs and visa barriers, to attend and participate directly rather than relying entirely on secondhand reports from colleagues who made the trip.
What Happens at a WASLI Conference
WASLI’s quadrennial gatherings typically combine professional development sessions, regional and thematic discussions, and the organization’s General Member Assembly, where elections and major decisions about WASLI’s direction take place. It’s also where WASLI’s ongoing partnership with the World Federation of the Deaf tends to take center stage, reflecting the joint WASLI/WFD agreement the two organizations have maintained for years.
Where International Sign Fits In
At a conference of this scale, drawing interpreters from dozens of countries and just as many national sign languages, International Sign inevitably becomes part of the fabric of the event itself, used in hallway conversations, informal networking, and cross-regional collaboration long before anyone reaches the main stage.
The Takeaway
2027 is still a ways off, but announcements like this one matter now. They give national interpreter associations time to plan, fundraise, and prepare delegations, ensuring Abu Dhabi’s turn as host city brings together as broad and representative a group of the world’s sign language interpreters as possible.
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