Pan-African Deaf Women’s Network Convening

The Brief

What happens when Deaf women from different African countries come together to shape a shared advocacy agenda?

In September 2026, FEDWEN brought together Deaf women leaders, disability rights advocates, women’s rights organisations and development partners for a Pan-African convening.

Taking place during the International Week of Deaf People, the gathering created space for participants to exchange experiences, examine regional and international disability rights frameworks, and identify priorities for collective advocacy.

FEDWEN needed visual content that would capture more than the activities taking place in the room. The stories needed to communicate why the convening mattered, amplify the perspectives of Deaf women themselves, and help partners and wider audiences understand the importance of investing in Deaf women’s leadership.

Our Approach

We approached the convening as a story about leadership, representation and collective action.

Rather than simply documenting speakers and sessions, we focused on the people at the centre of the gathering: Deaf women from across Africa, their experiences, the challenges they shared and the changes they wanted to see.

Our interviews explored why coming together mattered, what participants were learning from one another, and which advocacy commitments they would take back to their countries and organisations.

We also brought development partners and women’s rights advocates into the narrative, connecting the experiences of participants with the wider question of how institutions can support Deaf women’s leadership.

Accessibility was an important consideration throughout production. Working with sign language interpretation and subtitles allowed us to preserve participants’ contributions while making the finished stories accessible to wider audiences.

The creative direction was intentional: show Deaf women as the leaders of their own stories, not simply the subjects of an inclusion campaign.

The Work

Emerge Lens provided photography, videography, interviews and same-day content production during the convening, with a focus on International Day of Sign Languages on 23 September 2026.

We produced:

• Event photography: Approximately 50 edited photographs capturing participants, discussions, interactions and key moments.
• Same-day highlight reel: A short vertical video developed for immediate digital communication.
• Five interview films: Individual stories featuring perspectives from participants and partners, with titles, branding and subtitles.
• Convening film: A 3–5-minute film bringing together event footage and selected interviews to communicate the significance of the gathering and the advocacy conversations it generated.

Together, these assets gave FEDWEN content for immediate event communication and continued storytelling about Deaf women’s rights, leadership and advocacy beyond the convening.