This is a guest blog post from the leaders of the Acting4DHH II project.
The Acting4DHH logo. Credit: Web2Learn
Underrepresented groups, like the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community, face social biases, prejudices, and misconceptions within our societies. Awareness of our own biases prompted us to co-design a citizen social science project — Acting4DHH — to bring together European Deaf and Hearing individuals in a social science action, where collaboration helps imagine a better quality of life for all.
The origins
At Web2Learn, an R&D company based in Greece, we have been doing citizen science with Deaf communities for over 3 years in our own country, moving from environmental citizen science (including the iNaturalist app) and the climate emergency to social actions, such as the video series created by Deaf youth on health-related awareness (check our trajectory here).
Inspired by our past group sessions and co-creation workshops with Deaf citizens, we ideated the Acting4DHH project in 2024. We embarked on a 6-month action in Thessaloniki, Greece, to bring Deaf and Hearing individuals together to brainstorm about ways they could work together!
Thus, the Acting4DHH video series was born in which art (video creation) became a bridge of communication and awareness raising between the two citizen groups!
Deaf youth in action in Thessaloniki!, Credit: Web2Learn
After that small but empowering grant by the IMPETUS Accelerator, we were determined to scale this up from Greece to a European level into the Acting4DHH II project.
About the project
Launched early in 2025, the Acting4DHH II project (Citizen Social Science for the benefit of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing communities) aims to advance inclusion, accessibility, and collaboration between Deaf and Hearing citizens across Europe.
The project involves Deaf communities and Hearing citizens from 3 European countries, namely: Poland, Slovakia and Ukraine.
We began our process with a series of art-based co-creation sessions! For almost 2 months, Deaf and hearing citizens worked together to produce short videos showcasing both the barriers and the opportunities that emerge in their everyday interactions. These videos serve as real examples of inclusive communication and creative collaboration.
You can access the Acting4DHH II videos here.
As project co-initiators, we wouldn’t have achieved this result without the commitment and ongoing collaboration of our project partners: the Polish Association of the Deaf (PAD), the Slovakian Association of the Deaf “ANEPS”, and the Ukrainian NGO “Vidchui”!
Moreover, we couldn’t help but publish our project on SciStarter thanks to which the project gained further visibility and support by researchers and citizens beyond the involved countries!
How citizen social science enabled our project vision
The experience of the Acting4DHH II tells the story of how citizen social science can be an inclusive and empowering means in collective efforts to awareness raising and action taking. By involving citizens directly in the co-creation of social knowledge — in other words, ways Deaf and Hearing people can strengthen their relationships — the project aimed to challenge also the underrepresentation of Deaf individuals in research and policy spaces that affect their daily lives.
As researchers on citizen science, we also wanted to highlight the need for accessible formats, sign language interpretation, and participatory practices that make science open to everyone.
Within this spirit, the participation of the Ukrainian partner and its deaf community in the project nurtured an open space where more insights into the daily struggles and solidarity for Deaf citizens in war-affected areas could emerge. Through these insights, we aim to bring valuable reflections and advocate for more action to serve the needs of the Deaf communities in emergencies!s
What’s next?
We love doing citizen science with Deaf communities and so, we are now happy to implement the EU-funded “SIGNS” project as a continuation of our work, in collaboration with the same 3 Deaf communities of the Acting4DHH II project, plus the Greek Deaf community!
We encourage you to subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here and stay tuned on our SciStarter profile and social media channels (LinkedIn, Instagram) so you don’t miss our forthcoming events and results!
And remember, as a young Greek Deaf citizen scientist told us during one of our workshops: “Social biases are constructed by people and so, only people can bring them down!”
Acknowledgement
We would like to warmly thank our colleague, Claire Fragkiadaki, for her work on editing the Acting4DHH II videos, as well as a true thank you to all Deaf and hearing citizen scientists who took active part in this exciting journey!
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About the authors:
Stefania Oikonomou (f), MA: Stefania is a research collaborator at Web2Learn, exploring forms of disabled youth engagement for social empowerment. Stefania specialises in community engagement and social participation in citizen science projects. Together with Katerina, she is responsible for the initiatives and projects carried out with Deaf communities.
Katerina Zourou (f), PhD: Katerina is the managing director of Web2Learn and a recognised researcher in the area of technology-enhanced education, with a special focus on open and social learning in education. Katerina is the ideator and designer of the citizen science workshops and projects carried out with Deaf citizens within and beyond Greece (projects: CitSci4All, ECS, Acting4DHH).
