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Sanja Tarczay is a Croatian Deafblind researcher, sign-language educator, and disability rights activist. Born Deaf into a Deaf family, she later became Deafblind, and in September 2014 she became the first, and to date the only, Deafblind person in Croatia to earn a doctoral degree. She is the founder and president of the Croatian Association of Deafblind Persons "Dodir," and since October 2022 has served as president of the World Federation of the Deafblind.
Quick Facts
Early life
Tarczay was born Deaf into a Deaf family and subsequently became Deafblind. She has described her life as "an art of overcoming challenges"[1].
Education and Doctorate
Tarczay earned her doctorate from the Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation Sciences (Edukacijsko-rehabilitacijski fakultet) at the University of Zagreb. Her doctoral dissertation, titled "Meeting Challenges – Deafblind Interpreting from a User's Perspective," was publicly defended on 12 September 2014[5].The dissertation, written in English, examined the relatively new field of Deafblind interpreting, focusing specifically on interpreting for Deafblind people at international meetings. Using a qualitative research approach centered on a questionnaire with follow-up interviews, the study investigated what Deafblind users consider important and what they expect from interpreting services when participating in international organizations, arguing that such participation—crucial to leading Deafblind people out of social isolation—is impossible without dedicated Deafblind interpreting[5].
Career
Since 2008, Tarczay has headed the practicum on Deafblindness at the Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Zagreb, and has also lectured on sign language at the University of Applied Health Sciences (Zagreb)[3][4]. She is credited as the creator of one of the first Croatian Sign Language courses in Croatia, as well as courses for Deafblind interpreters and for sighted guides/support service providers (SSPs), and she founded the Croatian Sign Language Interpreting Centre[3].Tarczay has published academic research on sign-language interpreting, including a co-authored study titled "Sign language interpreters: how the service users see them," which examined the attitudes of Deaf, hard-of-hearing, and Deafblind people toward Croatian Sign Language interpreters, focusing on interpreters' linguistic competence, professional ethics, and behavior, including in contexts involving interpreting for Deafblind people with dual sensory impairment[6].
Leadership of Dodir and International Advocacy
Tarczay founded the Croatian Association of Deafblind Persons "Dodir" (whose name means "touch" in Croatian) and continues to serve as its president[1][3]. As early as 1998, she published on the association's work, describing Dodir's role in providing information, serving as a reference point on Usher syndrome, and offering training, national mapping, and recreational programs for Deafblind people in Croatia[7]. Under her leadership, Dodir has developed innovative approaches to Deafblind education, Croatian Sign Language instruction, and its adaptation for Deafblind people, and has become one of Europe's and the world's leading organizations in the field of deafblindness[3].Tarczay served as president of the European Deafblind Union (EDbU) from 2013 to 2022[3][4]. Since October 2022, she has been president of the World Federation of the Deafblind (WFDB), succeeding to that role after Dodir and the global Deafblind movement's advocacy efforts[3][4]. She is also First Vice President of the International Disability Alliance (IDA)[4][8].
In her role as WFDB president, Tarczay has represented Deafblind people's interests at international forums. In June 2026, she delivered a presentation titled "Interpreting for People with Deafblindness and Their Rights" at the First International Professional Conference on Deafblind Language Interpreting in Ljubljana, Slovenia, an event that brought together researchers, interpreters, and representatives of Deafblind organizations from twelve countries and culminated in the adoption of the Ljubljana Memorandum 2026 on the Development of Deafblind Language Interpreting[9].
Timeline
2008
Begins university teaching role
Becomes head of the Deafblindness practicum at the Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Zagreb, and begins lecturing on sign language at the University of Applied Health Sciences.
2013
Becomes EDbU President
Becomes president of the European Deafblind Union (EDbU), a role she holds until 2022.
2014
Doctoral dissertation defended
Defends her doctoral dissertation at the Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Zagreb, on 12 September, becoming the first Deafblind person in Croatia to earn a doctorate.
2022
Becomes WFDB president
Becomes president of the World Federation of the Deafblind (WFDB) in October.
Videos
References
- Večernji list. (n.d.). Sanja Tarczay: Prva je i jedina gluhoslijepa doktorica znanosti u Hrvatskoj. "Moj život je umjetnost prevladavanja izazova" [Sanja Tarczay: She is the first and only Deafblind female doctor of science in Croatia. "My life is the art of overcoming challenges"]. vecernji.hr. https://www.vecernji.hr/vijesti/sanja-tarczay-prva-je-i-jedina-gluhoslijepa-doktorica-znanosti-u-hrvatskoj-moj-zivot-je-umjetnost-prevladavanja-izazova-1784310
- in-portal.hr. (n.d.). Intervju: Sanja Tarczay – Život gluhoslijepih osoba u Hrvatskoj ide na bolje [Interview: Sanja Tarczay – The life of Deafblind people in Croatia is getting better]. in-portal.hr. https://in-portal.hr/intervju-dsanja-tarczay-zivot-gluhoslijepih-osoba-u-hrvatskoj-ide-na-bolje/
- Zero Project. (n.d.). Sanja Tarczay [participant profile, ZeroCon25]. zeroproject.org. https://zerocon25.zeroproject.org/participants/2819900
- Food for Transformation / One World – No Hunger. (n.d.). Sanja Tarczay [author profile]. foodfortransformation.org. https://www.foodfortransformation.org/authors_details/sanja-tarczay-2.html
- Tarczay, S. (2014). Meeting Challenges – Deafblind Interpreting from a User's Perspective [Doctoral dissertation, University of Zagreb, Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation Sciences]. CROSBI. https://www.bib.irb.hr/769258?rad=769258
- Tarczay, S., & Pribanić, L. (n.d.). Sign language interpreters: how the service users see them. Hrvatska revija za rehabilitacijska istraživanja. Hrčak. https://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php/clanak/193436
- Tarczay, S. (1998). Big hearts in a small association: Croatian Association of deafblind Persons DODIR. The International Newsletter for Deafblind People, (2), 8–9. https://biblioteca.legadelfilodoro.it/search/detail/big-hearts-in-a-small-association-croatian-association-of-deafblind-persons-dodi/5141
- World Federation of the Deafblind (WFDB). (2026, July 6). WFDB Welcomes the Adoption of the Ljubljana Memorandum 2026. wfdb.eu. https://wfdb.eu/2026/07/06/wfdb-welcomes-the-adoption-of-the-ljubljana-memorandum-2026/
