efsli Day 2025: Advocacy for NASLIs Across Europe
September 19, 2025
On 12 September, efsli Day brought together interpreters and partners from across Europe in Lisbon, hosted with the warm support of the Portuguese organising committee and the Associação Portuguesa de Surdos. The focus this year was on strengthening National Associations of Sign Language Interpreters (NASLIs) as advocates for quality, recognition, and professional standards.
In the morning, Dr. Maya de Wit presented key findings from the 6th edition of Sign Language Interpreting in Europe. Her research shed light on how NASLIs operate, their advocacy roles, and the challenges they face in ensuring quality assurance. This was followed by an interactive exchange where representatives shared successes, difficulties, and good practices.
In the afternoon, Frankie Picron, Executive Director of the European Union of the Deaf (EUD), led workshops on allyship and advocacy. Drawing on the CRPD and EU legislation, he underlined how stronger partnerships between Deaf organisations and NASLIs can reinforce the profession and support accessibility rights.
The day concluded with a collective reflection led by the efsli Board. Using roadmap posters and group discussions, participants contributed their visions and priorities for 2026–2029. These contributions will serve as the foundation for efsli’s next action plan. The Board will now reflect on the input and prepare a proposal to be presented to full members for validation and adoption.
efsli Day 2025 was not only a day of learning and exchange but also a step towards a stronger collective voice for interpreters across Europe.
See the video: A glimpse of efsli Day 2025