Miss & Mister Deaf International

Miss & Mister Deaf International (MMDI) is an international beauty pageant which crowns young Deaf women to "Miss Deaf International" and young Deaf men to "Mister Deaf International" every year.

Miss & Mister Deaf International
MMDI
Awarded forInternational Beauty pageant
LocationLas Vegas
Country United States
Hosted byBonita Ann Leek
Formerly calledMiss Deaf International (MDI)
Preshow host(s)Lorraine D'arcy
First awarded2010
Winners♀ Kemmonye Mamatsits (2019)
♂ Ajith Kumar (2019)
Highlights
Miss Deaf International 2010♀ Julie Abbou (2010)
Websitemissmisterdeafinternational.org

History

MMDI is a Nonprofit organization which was created in February 2010.[1] The Chief executive officer of pageant is Bonita Ann Leek,[2][3] and the language in the contest is International Sign Language.[4]

In 2005, Leek founded the Miss Deaf USA (MDU) contest[5] in Las Vegas, Nevada. In the early 2005, she was told about the Miss Deaf World pageant, which was held in Prague, the Czech Republic. The Miss Deaf USA 2005 winner was the first USA participant in this competition. As MDU's CEO, Leek attended the event and met pageant directors from other countries, who expressed their will to initiate a similar pageant in the USA as well as in other countries.[6] In the spring of 2009, Deaf Nation,[7] granted Miss Deaf International (MDI) a permission to host its international event in conjunction with the Deaf World Expo in July 2010.[6] On July 31, 2010, Julie Abbou from France won Miss Deaf International 2010 in Las Vegas.[8] On June 18, 2012, Abbou won again the second vice Miss Ile de France 2012.[9]

From the experience in 2010, Miss Deaf International added three continental pageants: Miss Deaf Europe, Miss Deaf South America, and Miss Deaf Asia.[6] MDI international coordinator, Kasia Galasiewicz,[10] recruited Deaf ladies from all over the world to participate in Orlando, Florida in July 2011. During the meeting in Orlando, MDI agreed to include a Mister Deaf International pageant, and its name was changed into Miss & Mister Deaf International Inc. In July 2012, MMDI 2012 was held in Ankara, Turkey, and the Ankara Deaf Club volunteers made the pageant possible.[6]

The contestants from the world advanced their personal, educational, career, and humanitarian goals, as well as the lives and goals of others.[6] Following this policy, Mister Deaf Spain 2012 was disqualified of his title "Mister Deaf Europe 2012", after being disrespectful to the MMDI staff as well as displaying unacceptable sexual behavior.[11] Miss Deaf Germany 2012 was disqualified of her title "Miss Deaf Congeniality 2012", after she had broken the arranged expectations of MMDI.[12]

Titleholders
Date and PlaceMiss Deaf InternationalMister Deaf InternationalMiss Deaf Queen InternationalMrs Deaf International
July 13, 2019
Saint Petersburg,
Russia		Kemmonye Mamatsits[13][14]
 Botswana		Ajith Kumar[15]
 India		Not awardedNot awarded
July 14, 2018
Taipei, Taiwan		Natalia Colombo[16][17]
 Italy		Mergim Noshaj[16][18]
 Kosovo		Somporn Kaewkeod[16]
 Thailand		Bussara Sangkrut Okada[16]
 Thailand
July 15, 2017
Paris, France		Céline Cornia[19]
 Belgium		Mateusz Borowski[20]
 Poland		Not awardedNot awarded
July 2016
Las Vegas,
United States		Iwona Cichosz[21][22]
 Poland		Calvin Vogefu Musalia[23]
 Kenya		Somsakul Thongfaung
 Thailand
August 5, 2014
London,
United Kingdom		YeJin Kim[24][25]
 South Korea		Aarron Loggins[26]
 United States		Not awarded
July 31, 2013
Sofia, Bulgaria		Laís Gonçalves[27][28]
 Brazil		Rafael Grombelka[27]
 Germany
July 27, 2012
Ankara, Turkey		Natalia Ryabova[29]
 Belarus		Cevat Şimşek
 Turkey
July 16, 2011
Orlando, Florida		Cassandra Whyte[30][31]
 Jamaica		Not awarded
July 31, 2010
Las Vegas,
United States		Julie Abbou[8]
 France

See also

References
  1. "Miss Deaf International in Las Vegas, Nevada", Nonprofitfacts.com/NV/Miss-Deaf-International, Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  2. "Bonita Ann Leek". FNL Network. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  3. "Bonita Leek". IMDb. 2012. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  4. "Ms Deaf International MMDI Taiwan 2018". Google. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  5. "Miss & Mister Deaf United States frequently asked questions". MMDU. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  6. "Miss & Mister Deaf International History". MMDI. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  7. "Deaf Nation". DeafNation. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  8. "Miss Deaf International in Las Vegas". Sourds net, Le Portail D'Information sur les Sourds (in French). video length 3:11 minutes. August 13, 2010. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  9. Un monde de miss (October 24, 2012). "Election régionale – Miss Ile de France 2012" [Regional Election – Miss Ile de France 2012]. Skyrock (in French). Retrieved September 11, 2019. La jeune femme de 18 ans, qui prépare un DUT technique de commercialisation, a devancé Amélie Perez et Julie Abbou, candidate malentendante (The 18 years old, who is preparing a technical degree in marketing, has beaten Amélie Perez and Julie Abbou, a hearing impaired candidate).
  10. Kasia Galasiewicz's channel on YouTube
  11. The disqualifying notice of Mister Deaf Spain on Facebook, November 21, 2012. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  12. The disqualifying notice of Miss Deaf Germany on Facebook, November 21, 2012. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  13. K24Tv Team (July 18, 2019). "Just concluded Miss and Mister Deaf International beauty contest shines". K24 TV. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  14. Musembi Nzengu (July 19, 2019). "Beauty duo gets hero's reception after Russia trip". The Star (Kenya). Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  15. Ajith Kumar on Facebook
  16. The Pageant Crown Expert (December 1, 2018). "Mister & Miss Deaf International 2018". The Pageant Crown. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  17. Natalia Colombo on Instagram
  18. Mergim Noshaj on Facebook
  19. Céline Cornia – Miss Deaf International 2017 on Facebook
  20. The Pageant Crown Expert (July 16, 2017). "Poland's Mateusz Borowski wins Mister Deaf International 2017". Misterology. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
  21. Onet Rano, Miss Świata Głuchych Iwona Cichosz on YouTube, November 16, 2016, 48:02 minutes (in Polish)
  22. Iwona Cichosz on Instagram
  23. Collins Omulo (July 20, 2016). "City man makes history by winning Mr Deaf 2016 title". Nairobi News. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  24. Pakman (September 11, 2014). "Miss Deaf International winner Kim Ye Jin is ambitious and wants to help the deaf community". Allkpop. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  25. Joel Barish. "Miss Deaf International 2014, YeJin Kim". DeafNation. Retrieved September 9, 2019. 8:00 minutes (captioned)
  26. Aarron Loggins on Facebook
  27. Planet DeaFantastic (February 10, 2014). "Terra is bringing the Miss and Mister Deaf International pageant (MMDI) UK, London 25th July to 4th August 2014". Planet Deafantastic. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  28. Rede Super de Televisão, DE TUDO UM POUCO – Jovem mineira vence concurso Miss Surda Internacional em primeiro lugar on YouTube, August 21, 2013, 8:36 minutes (in Portuguese)
  29. Новости онлайн (News online) (July 31, 2012). "18-летняя белоруска Наталья Рябова победила на международном конкурсе красоты Miss Deaf International-2012" [18 year old Natalia Ryabova the Belarusian won the international beauty contest Miss Deaf International 2012]. STV (Capital TV) (in Belarusian). Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  30. "Jamaican Wins Miss Deaf International 2011". Jamaica-Gleaner. July 20, 2011. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  31. Webmin (July 21, 2011). "Jamaican wins Miss Deaf International Contest". Yardflex.com. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
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