NAD and DYUSA Announce 2011 WFDYS Youth Camp Delegates

The National Association of the Deaf (NAD) and Deaf Youth USA (DYUSA) announce the selection of four delegates to represent the United States of America at the fifth World Federation of the Deaf Youth Section (WFDYS) Youth Camp in Durban, South Africa from July 6–14, 2011.

The delegates who will represent the United States at the Youth General Assembly (YGA) are Bregitt Jimenez from Illinois and LaToya Plummer from Maryland. The alternates are Ryan DiGiovanni from Florida and Megan Malzkuhn from California. All four delegates will represent the United States during the Youth Camp where they will promote advocacy and develop relationships with delegates from all over the world. In addition, after the Youth Camp concludes, all four delegates will attend the XVI World Congress of the World Federation of the Deaf from July 18-24.

The U.S. delegates to WFDYS will collect and share ideas and resources related to youth leadership, technology, and cross-cultural relations. After the Camp, the delegates will bring back what they will have learned to the U.S. by sharing their experiences at designated NAD, DYUSA, and youth-related events. These four delegates will also actively promote advocacy among deaf and hard of hearing youth in the U.S.

"DYUSA is proud to work closely with NAD to send four delegates who all have invested their time and energy into deaf youth advocacy in the United States of America. We are positive that these four delegates will represent us well on the international stage and bring back their experiences to share it with the deaf youth in America, as DYUSA transitions into the important role of Youth Ordinary Member to the World Federation of Deaf Youth Section this year. We congratulate them and wish them good luck in South Africa!" said DYUSA Executive Director Leah Katz-Hernandez.

"The NAD and DYUSA are truly privileged to have these four delegates represent and serve the United States. We look forward to watching them establish stronger relationships among deaf and hard of hearing youth on national and international levels," said NAD President Bobbie Beth Scoggins.