IFHOH President visits New Zealand

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Published on 27 November 2013

Ruth Warick, the current President of the International Federation for the Hard of Hearing (IFHOH), recently visited New Zealand to appoint a Human Rights Officer for the organization. Louise Carroll, CEO of the New Zealand National Foundation for the Deaf, was appointed to this important new position. In this role, Carroll will assist IFHOH and its member organizations around the world in their work with the Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities of the UN. “Her role will be to develop a toolkit that speaks directly to the UN convention on the IFHOH position on accessibility, healthcare and education,” said Ms. Warick.

Louise Carroll, who is herself hard of hearing, was selected through a competitive process and is an experienced advocate for disabled rights. She works across sectors to address the inequalities faced by people with hearing loss. According to an IFHOH news release, the organization was very impressed by the progress Carroll’s team has made at home. For instance, “New Zealand has developed the Safe Sound Indicator for schools and this has set a great example to the rest of the world,” Warick said. The Safe Sound Indicator is a noise meter with a green-yellow-red lighting system designed to educate children, parents and teachers about noise levels and about preserving hearing.

IFHOH was founded in 1977 and promotes greater understanding of hearing loss issues and aims to improve access to hearing aids, assistive technology, and cochlear implants for the deaf and hard of hearing.