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] The 14th World Congress of the World Federation of the Deaf was held from 18-26 July 2003 at the Montreal Convention Centre, Canada. Representatives from 75 countries gathered and shared information on the progress made to improve the lives of deaf people. Chris Kenopic, President of the Canadian Association of the Deaf and the Congress, welcomed hundreds of participants to take stock of the global deaf community's situation. In addition to recurring themes, such as education, health, technology, the situation of deaf people in developing countries, the human rights and the deaf, community relations, etc. were also included in the agenda. Special interest groups dealt with more specific subjects such as the deaf/blind situation, women's role in the deaf community, and use of the media. Forums also looked into such issues as adult literacy and performing arts.
High technologies were one of the main concerns. It is believed that high technologies help bridge the gap with the hearing world and can play a genuine role in integrating deaf persons. Challenges that some high technology companies have decided to address include how to inform, communicate and educate. The speech recognition team from the Center de Recherché Informatique de Montreal (CRIM) is working on the conception of equipment able to instantly convert into subtitles. This should be operational by February, 2004. One of the technological innovations presented during the Congress is revolutionary software for the Deaf. The Oralys Company developed speaking software capable of translating pictures into audible sentences and to interpret the answers in Quebec sign language. It took 7 years and significant investments to design this software. Marblemedia launched its deafplanet.com project, a television series coupled with a unique interactive educational website that will allow deaf and hearing children to learn together for the first time.
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