World links for Deaf & low‑vision users

These are trusted organisations and tools used worldwide. If you need local help (your country/city), start with the global organisations below — they usually link to national members.

Global organisations

🤟 World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) Global advocacy for Deaf people and sign language rights. 🦯 World Blind Union (WBU) Global organisation for blind and partially sighted people (190+ countries). 👂👀 World Federation of the Deafblind (WFDB) Global network and advocacy for deafblind people.

Deaf / hard of hearing

👂 National Association of the Deaf (NAD) Rights and practical resources (US). Useful guides that apply worldwide too. 🧏 Sign language interpreting (WASLI) Worldwide organisation for sign language interpreters and standards. 🎓 Gallaudet University World leader in Deaf education, research and culture.

Tip: For captions, search on this site for “enable captions on YouTube”, “live captions Android”, or “Live Captions iPhone”.

Blind / low vision

👀 RNIB (UK) Practical support, accessible tech info, and guides for living with sight loss. 📚 American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) Research, policy and resources about blindness and low vision. 🤝 National Federation of the Blind (NFB) Community, training and advocacy (US).

Free tools (screen readers & accessibility)

🖥️ NVDA (free screen reader for Windows) One of the most-used free screen readers worldwide. ♿ W3C WAI (Web Accessibility Initiative) International accessibility standards, tips and learning materials. ✅ WCAG 2.1 (accessibility guidelines) The well-known global standard used by many websites and governments.

Emergency communication (relay services)

In many countries there are text/video relay services that help Deaf people make calls. If you need this, search locally for “relay service” + your country. This document explains the idea clearly:

📄 Relay services explained (EENA) How video relay and text relay help with emergency communication.

Suggest a link

Know a good, safe website for Deaf users or low‑vision users? Add it to the Dutch test site first (visibleweb.nl). If it works well, we can move it here to the international list.