World Association of Sign Language Interpreters

What World Association of Sign Language Interpreters does

The World Association of Sign Language Interpreters (WASLI) is an international non-profit membership association founded on 23 July 2003 during the 14th World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) Congress in Montreal. It was formally constituted in Switzerland under Swiss Civil Code articles 60-79 on 23 January 2019 and is headquartered in Geneva. WASLI is governed by a volunteer Executive Board elected for the 2023-2027 term and supported by a small staff of six employees operating under a 2023-2026 Strategic Plan. Its membership comprises 50+ national sign language interpreter associations spanning 50+ countries, making it the only globally federated body for the profession.

WASLI's core service is the joint administration with WFD of the WFD-WASLI International Sign Interpreter Accreditation (ISAAB), alongside maintenance of a Code of Ethics repository, Minimum Standards for Sign Language Interpreter Education, mentoring guidelines, and translated foundational documents such as "Role of the Interpreter." The association holds a quadrennial World Conference (Jeju 2023; Abu Dhabi scheduled for 2027) and maintains cooperation agreements with WFD, the World Federation of the Deafblind (WFDB), and other regional/international interpreter and deaf organizations. There is no proprietary technology platform; deliverables are standards, accreditation credentials, and convening.

The business model is membership-dues-driven, with a six-tier GDP-based fee schedule ranging from $10 to $500 per national association member, supplemented by donations and conference-related revenue. WASLI does not publish financial statements, has no external funding rounds, and operates with a lean cost base consistent with sub-$1M annual revenue.

Name

World Association of Sign Language Interpreters

Legal name

World Association of Sign Language Interpreters

Website

https://wasli.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Short description

The World Association of Sign Language Interpreters (WASLI) is a Geneva-based international non-profit that federates 50+ national sign language interpreter associations across 50+ countries, delivering the joint WFD-WASLI International Sign Interpreter Accreditation, ethics and education standards, and quadrennial world conferences.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Association Services for Sign Language Interpreters

NAICS

Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations (8139), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Interpretation, Translation & Language Access Training (Community Interpreting) (EDAAADAJ)

Keywords

• Sign language interpreting
• Interpreter accreditation
• Professional association services
• Membership organization
• Interpreter professional standards

Headquarters

HQ city

Geneva

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership fees: WASLI's primary revenue stream is membership fees paid by national sign language interpreter associations, individual interpreters, and sponsoring organizations. Fees are structured by GDP tier of the member's country, ranging from $20–500 per year for national associations and $10–50 per year for individuals and organizations.
2. Donations: WASLI accepts charitable donations from individuals and organizations to support its mission and sponsorship programmes that assist interpreters from lower-income countries to attend conferences and training events.

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

WASLI is a global nonprofit membership association that advances the profession of sign language interpreting worldwide. Its core offerings include tiered national association and individual/organization memberships, the WFD-WASLI International Sign Interpreter Accreditation (ISAAB) system, a directory of accredited International Sign interpreters, interpreter education and Deafblind interpreting guidelines, a global code of ethics repository, quadrennial international conferences, and mentorship/regional representative programs for the global interpreter community.

Product overview

WASLI is a membership organization, not a technology product company. It does not offer a software platform, application, or API-based product. Instead, WASLI provides professional association services including the WFD-WASLI International Sign Interpreter Accreditation System for credentialing interpreters, a directory of accredited interpreters, testing and assessment resources for various countries, Deafblind interpreting committee services, code of ethics resources from global associations, governance through ISAAB, and publishes annual reports and conference proceedings. These services are delivered through its website, PDF documents, and the accreditation application process rather than through a software product or platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• WFD-WASLI International Sign Interpreter Accreditation (ISAAB)

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

18 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• World Federation of Deafblind (WFDB)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2013WASLI and WFDB signed an MOU in October 2013 during the WFDB conference in Manila, Philippines, to collaborate on ensuring Deafblind consumers are represented in sign language interpreting work. They produce joint guidelines and conduct collaborative webinars on Deafblind interpreting.
• World Federation of the Deaf (WFD)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 July 2007WFD is WASLI's most significant strategic partner. The two organisations signed a Joint Agreement on 13 July 2007 in Segovia, Spain, with an updated cooperation agreement signed on 8 November 2017 in Budapest. They collaborate on International Sign accreditation (ISAAB), interpreter guidelines for UN events, advocacy at the UN, and joint statements on Deaf rights, COVID-19, and Avatar technology. WFD represents approximately 70 million Deaf people worldwide.
• Red TminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRed T is a partner organisation working on interpreter rights and recognition. The specific nature of the collaboration is not detailed in the available source material.
• International Federation of Translators and Interpreters (FIT)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFIT and WASLI have an MOU covering areas of mutual interest in the interpreting and translation profession. FIT represents spoken language translators and interpreters globally.
• International Association of Professional Translators and Interpreters (IAPTI)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIAPTI is listed as a WASLI partner. The specific collaboration details are not detailed in the available source material.
• Critical Link International (CLI)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCritical Link International is a global network of interpreter educators and practitioners that collaborates with WASLI on interpreter education and professional development.
• European Forum of Sign Language Interpreters (EFSLI)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWASLI and EFSLI have a joint MOU and collaborate on sign language interpreting issues in Europe. They work together on conferences, training, and professional standards.
• European Legal Interpreters and Translators Association (EULITA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEULITA is a European partner organisation focused on legal interpreting and translation. Collaboration with WASLI is focused on shared professional interests in interpreter standards and ethics.
• Association internationale des interprètes de conférence (AIIC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAIIC is the international association of conference interpreters. It is listed as a WASLI partner, with collaboration likely focused on shared interests in conference interpreting standards.
• Conférence Internationale Permanente d'Instituts Universitaires de Traducteurs et Interprètes (CIUTI)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCIUTI is an international association of university interpreter and translator training institutions. Collaboration with WASLI supports interpreter education and training quality.
• Global VoicesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal Voices is a partner organisation. The specific collaboration details are not detailed in the available source material.
• Sign Language Linguistics SocietyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Sign Language Linguistics Society is listed as a WASLI partner. Collaboration relates to the linguistic foundations of sign languages that underpin interpreter training.
• Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID) – United StatesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRID and WASLI have a joint agreement covering collaboration on sign language interpreting standards, professional development, and mentoring programmes in the United States.
• Association of Visual Language Interpreters of Canada (AVLIC), Canadian Association of the Deaf (CAD), Canadian Society for the Deaf (CSD)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAVLIC, CAD, and CSD have a joint agreement with WASLI covering collaboration on sign language interpreting in Canada, including standards and professional development.
• ASLIA Deaf – AustraliaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerASLIA (Australian Sign Language Interpreter Association) and Deaf Australia have a joint MOU with WASLI covering interpreter standards, training, and professional development in Australia.
• FIT-WASLIminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFIT (International Federation of Translators and Interpreters) and WASLI have a joint MOU covering collaboration in the interpreting and translation field.
• ASLIA – Association of Sign Language Interpreters for England, Wales & Northern IrelandminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerASLI (England, Wales & Northern Ireland) is a national member of WASLI and collaborates on mentoring programmes, codes of ethics, and professional development resources.
• WFD Regional Secretariat for the Arab RegionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWASLI collaborates with the WFD Regional Secretariat for the Arab Region, including joint work on translating the 'Role of the Interpreter' document into Arabic by Ms. Hend Alshowaier.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• World Federation of the Deaf (WFD): WFD is the global umbrella for Deaf people (~70M), partnered with WASLI since 2007 via a Joint Agreement. It is the most natural comparable — a global federation addressing a related stakeholder community (Deaf users rather than interpreters) — and co-owns the ISAAB accreditation system.
• World Federation of the Deafblind (WFDB): WFDB is a global federation for Deafblind people and a Core strategic partner of WASLI since a 2013 MOU. It is comparable as a similarly structured global mission-driven federation with overlapping advocacy and Deafblind-interpreting initiatives.
• International Association of Conference Interpreters (AIIC): AIIC is the global professional association for spoken-language conference interpreters and a WASLI partner. It is a broad incumbent analog with a comparable mission of interpreter standards, ethics, and accreditation, though it focuses on spoken-language and conference settings.
• International Federation of Translators and Interpreters (FIT): FIT is the global umbrella for translator and interpreter associations, with a joint MOU with WASLI. It is a broad incumbent peer aggregating comparable professional associations at a global level, though it covers all language modalities.

Direct peers

• European Forum of Sign Language Interpreters (EFSLI): EFSLI is WASLI's regional counterpart for Europe, with a joint MOU covering conferences, training, and professional standards. It is the most direct functional peer — a sign language interpreter membership organisation operating at a regional level with comparable mission and governance model.
• Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID): RID is the largest national sign language interpreter association in the US with a joint agreement with WASLI. It shares the same membership-association, accreditation, and standards-setting model, but operates at a national (US) rather than global level.
• Association of Visual Language Interpreters of Canada (AVLIC): AVLIC is the Canadian national sign language interpreter association with a joint agreement with WASLI. It is a direct national peer with comparable mission, accreditation mandate, and member-benefit structure.
• Association of Sign Language Interpreters for England, Wales & Northern Ireland (ASLI): ASLI is a national WASLI member focused on standards, mentoring, and codes of ethics in the UK. It mirrors WASLI's national-association value proposition at a single-country level.
• Australian Sign Language Interpreter Association (ASLIA): ASLIA is the Australian national member with a joint MOU alongside Deaf Australia. It is a direct peer offering interpreter accreditation, professional development, and ethics standards comparable to WASLI's national-level offerings.

Emerging players

• Critical Link International (CLI): CLI is a global network of interpreter educators and practitioners collaborating with WASLI on interpreter education. It is a partial-overlap peer focused on community/public-service interpreting education and training, intersecting with WASLI's training-guidelines programme.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/TheWASLimedia
• Facebookfacebook.com/wasli.official
• Instagraminstagram.com/w.a.s.l.i

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about World Association of Sign Language Interpreters