Washington DC, USA (us.gov.krd) – On November 14, 2022, KRG Representative Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman visited Gallaudet University, the Washington-based university for the education of students who are Deaf as well as those with hearing.

Representative Abdul Rahman met with the Office of International Affairs, Admissions and university students and had a tour of the campus. The purpose of the visit was for the Representative to learn about bilingual education, Deaf spaces, Deaf culture, and Gallaudet’s history, with the opportunity to observe Deaf higher education in practice.

Gallaudet University English Language Institute student Hawal Abdullah, who is from Koya in Kurdistan, and International Development M.A. students Emma DeCaro and Elias Henriksen accompanied the Representative on her tour. They shared perspectives from their meetings with Deaf Kurdish leaders on the current state of Deaf human rights and education in the region.

‘It was a pleasure to tour Gallaudet University and to meet its exceptional students, staff and faculty, who shared their experience in Deaf education and had many ideas on how we can advance Kurdish Deaf rights and promote Kurdish Sign Language,’ said Representative Abdul Rahman.

Gallaudet University, federally chartered in 1864, is a bilingual, diverse, multicultural institution of higher education that ensures the intellectual and professional advancement of Deaf and hard of hearing individuals through American Sign Language (ASL) and English.