Our Story

Promoting Sign Language, Deaf Culture, and Inclusion

DEAFest Toronto Inc. is a registered Ontario non-profit organization dedicated to celebrating Deaf culture, accessibility, education, and the arts. We organize accessible cultural, artistic, educational, and social events that bring Deaf, hard-of-hearing, and hearing people together in unity.

Emmanuel Sohou established ASL Coffee Social and ASL BBQ in 2013 with students from George Brown College (GBC) and Deaf community of Toronto. These gatherings created a welcoming space for Deaf people, ASL students and members of the signing community to meet, communicate and build connections.

DEAFest Toronto Founder & Executive Director

Emmanuel Sohou is a Deaf leader and event organizer based in Toronto.

Originally from Côte d’Ivoire, he has supported Deaf communities locally and internationally for more than 30 years. His leadership began in Senegal, where he founded Deaf organizations and supported Deaf arts, sports and community development.

A World Federation of the Deaf member since 2001, he continued his work in Montréal and Toronto.

In Toronto, Emmanuel established ASL Coffee Social and ASL BBQ in 2013 and co-founded Deaf Night Out Toronto (DNO) in 2017.

In 2025, he founded DEAFest Toronto to create accessible, Deaf-led events and opportunities for Deaf artists, businesses and communities.

Former Co-founder of Deaf Night Out Toronto

Anna Phung is a proud Deaf from Toronto. In 2017, she met Emmanuel Sohou, Founder of Deaf Night Out Toronto. Together, they created welcoming social and entertainment events for Deaf, Hard-of-Hearing and signing people.

That same year, Anna co-founded ASL Connect and helped launch the first DNO and ASL Connect Halloween Party. With support from her husband, Robby, Anna helped organize many events, including Halloween, Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, masquerade and New Year’s Eve celebrations.

Anna was involved as Co-founder of Deaf Night Out Toronto from 2017 to 2022. She is now a Director of DEAFest Toronto Inc.