The World Deaf Leadership (WDL) Scholarship Fund is an endowed scholarship funded by the Nippon Foundation. The purpose of the WDL Scholarship Fund is to provide scholarships to Gallaudet University students from different developing nations around the world. Gallaudet, which is located in Washington D.C., selects WDL Scholars who demonstrate the ability to be national leaders and make a significant contribution to their nation and possibly the world. The scholarship covers tuition, room, board, and up to two internships in the recipient's country.

Recipients of this scholarship must be from developing nations and have a strong desire to return home. Those selected to participate in the program must also have a specific goal and project in mind. Applicants are asked to articulate their goals and how they intend to achieve them. A student with specific ideas is more likely to be selected than someone who has only a vague vision of what he or she might do. The WDL scholar engages in a course of studies that coincides with his or her goal and project. To ensure support throughout their studies, students work closely with a mentor of their choice.

The role of the Gallaudet mentor is important. The mentor should be knowledgeable about the student's country and share an interest in the student"s project. The mentor will be involved with one or two internships in the student's home country. The WDL Scholarship Fund covers transportation and living expenses for these internship trips for the scholar and mentor.

Gallaudet University and the Nippon Foundation are committed to preparing deaf individuals from developing nations to serve as leaders within their own countries and around the world. Their work as World Deaf Leadership Scholars has a significant impact on Gallaudet, potentially on their country, and ultimately the world.

Gallaudet is a federally chartered, quasi-governmental university for the education of the deaf and hard-of-hearing, located in Washington, D.C. It was the first school for the advanced education of the deaf and hard-of-hearing in the world, and is still the world's only university in which all programs and services are specifically designed to accommodate deaf and hard of hearing students.

The university was originally founded in 1857 as the Columbia Institution for the Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb and the Blind. In 1864, it became a national university for the deaf and mute and in 1954 was renamed Gallaudet University, after Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, a notable figure in the advancement of deaf education. One focus of this institution has been the education of overseas students who will then return home to work in the deaf and hearing-impaired field.

Gallaudet is a bilingual community in which American Sign Language (ASL) and English exist side-by-side. While there are no specific ASL requirements for undergraduate admission, many graduate programs have sign language proficiency requirements.

Dr. Robert R. Davila, the president of Gallaudet University, visited the Nippon Foundation last year and met with Chairman Yohei Sasakawa. Dr. Davila said the purpose of his visit was "to strengthen ties to the Nippon Foundation as part of efforts to improve the quality of life for the deaf." Chairman Sasakawa promised a stronger partnership with the university, commenting, "We want to make issues involving the deaf a core part of future Nippon Foundation activities."

Dr Davila graduated from Gallaudet in 1953 and earned a doctorate in education technologies, He became the second deaf president of the university in 2007.

During his visit to the Foundation he said: "Gallaudet has relatively few students, but they make significant progress and achieve substantial growth. We'd like to strengthen cooperative ties in the future to improve the quality of life for the deaf." He added: "Education is the key to solving the problems faced by people with disabilities."