DWU Conference

Deaf Women United, Inc hosts a biennial national conference every two years for deaf women. The first conference was dated back in 1985 in Santa Monica. To learn more about past conferences, please visit the past conferences web page.

The purpose of the national conference is to bring deaf women together and promote an understanding of ourselves as Deaf women, to communicate our needs, and to develop inner resources to meet those needs. DWU does this by providing workshops, meetings, and special interest groups to help them set and achieve their educational, professional and personal goals and motivate them to embrace the challenge of leadership.

Through their interaction at social events, the deaf women also meet new people and form friendships. DWU also encourages dialogue and collaboration along deaf women in working together to address the needs of deaf women issues; to acknowledge and accept the diversity of individual Deaf women; to explore how the experience of being Deaf and being a woman affects our lives; to empower women to commit to positive changes by determining how to take control of our lives.

Catherine Davary, who attended the 1999 conference as a scholarship recipient stated, "I really felt like a queen, being pampered for such a long time! I came to DWU with a crisis of my own, and left with a surge of positive insights from all kinds of Deaf women I've met (and some friends I got to see after many years.) It was just marvelous. The Calafia trip- oh my -I've never experienced going on a fabulous enlightening trip with "a bunch of women I didn't know!" IT was just exhilarating! The Deaf women I met have agreed that this is a  newfound "sisterhood." We plan on having our "little reunions" each time we go to DWU !!!! To this date, we're still yapping about the conference via the wonderful world of being online!"

The conference's goals are to highlight women's achievements, celebrate women's history and to instill young women of today with just some of the knowledge, skill and confidence that they will need to grace the world of tomorrow.

Our next conference is in New Orleans in July 2007. 

If your organization is interested in hosting the conference in the near future, please read the bidding procedures how you can participate in this exciting conference planning.