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Deaf equality and human rights: Sign language documentation and the power of deaf-led research (Nick Palfreyman, iSLanDS Institute, University of Central Lancashire) Deaf people in the Global South continue to face significant barriers to basic human rights, and many are vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. Meanwhile, lack of access to education is a persistent problem, and it remains difficult for deaf people to challenge the stigma and negative attitudes that they face. How can linguistic activism make a difference? In this presentation I reflect critically on my experiences as a deaf (socio)linguist in the Global North trying to leverage my power and influence to establish research hubs with deaf people in Indonesia and the Caribbean. In particular, I focus on the contributions that sign language documentation can make to the struggles outlined above, and share what I have learned about enabling South-South collaboration. Dr. Nick Palfreyman is a deaf researcher, and Director of the International Institute for Sign Languages and Deaf Studies (iSLanDS), which works with over 20 deaf leaders in the Global South. He has been working with deaf communities in the Global South since 2007, and since 2010 he has been working with deaf people in Indonesia, the Caribbean and elsewhere to harness the power of research to transform the lives of deaf people. He is currently leading an ELDP-funded project to document endangered sign languages in Indonesia, and an AHRC-DFG project comparing creoles and sign languages. He also works with early-career deaf researchers in Jamaica, Puerto Rico and Trinidad & Tobago to establish the AHRC-funded Deaf Caribbean Academic Network.