Sorenson, a major provider of video relay services in the United States, has partnered with Zoom Video Communications to create the first app that facilitates Zoom conference hosts in incorporating ASL interpreters during a Zoom meeting. The Sorenson for Zoom app can be downloaded from the Zoom App Marketplace. The app allows meeting hosts to request an ASL interpreter on-demand without having to make arrangements in advance. Both hosts and participants can invite the ASL interpreter to the zoom meeting. With this app, Deaf parents can conference with teachers, and Deaf individuals in two different locations can participate in video conference with other family members.

The Khamovnichesky Court of Moscow has sentenced Valery Rukhledev, former president of the All-Russian Society of the Deaf (VOG), to seven years in prison. The sentence was made on March 22, 2023 and Rukhledev, who is 78 years old was found guilty of embezzling VOG’s funds during renovations and sale of the VOG building in the center of Moscow. In a civil ruling, the court ruled in favor of VOG and ordered recovery from Rukhledev of 106 million rubles (around $1.3 million USD). He is one of several past VOG employees to get jail sentence.

Around 30 children at the Adelaide’s Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Australia had their cochlear implants programmed incorrectly. It was discovered more than four years later. The families of those children are demanding the state government investigate the cause of the problems as their children could not hear sounds properly for more than four years. This issue was first discovered when an audiologist noticed the same problem in nine of her patients and alerted the hospital and health regulators. The South Australia government has apologized for the error and agreed that an independent review by experts outside of the hospital should be done and that the report would be made public.

Grupo Destino wotj the Department of Electronics and Computer Sciences of the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana de Cali who is partnering with the Institute for Blind and Deaf Children have been working on a project called SATReLO for several years. The goal of this project is to improve the therapy process for children with partial hearing loss who are beginning to develop spoken language. They have created video game apps to motivate children to accept therapy in a positive way, increasing the time they spend with it, especially at home. They say “The results of the preliminary tests on the impact of video games on the therapeutic process have been very positive and that it is valuable for families because children can use video games from home and continue online therapy the rest of the week.

The Green Squad of the Peruvian National Police (PNP), General Corps of Volunteer Firefighters of Peru (CGBVP), and Cultural Association for Deaf People have beem traomomg the night watchmen of Miraflores in Lima on various topics that will allow more quality and care. The night watchmen learned in depth regulations that govern their work, including the laws of the municipal Serenazgo service and its regulations. Different classes of fire extinguishers, their uses, maintenance and proper handling were also demonstrated, and they also participated in a workshop on the basic use of sign language to allow better assistance to people with hearing disabilities.