Hearing Access Week 2026 – Right To Connect
Hearing Access Week 2026 will take place on the 9-15 March 2026 and will focus on the theme “Right To Connect”.
Right To Connect means more than being heard.
It means having access to hearing aids or cochlear implants, assistive technologies, accessible communication, inclusive education and employment, live captioning, accurate subtitles, accessible digital and public spaces, and opportunities driven by positive attitudes.
To connect is to be included.
This year’s edition will feature:
- Contributions and stories from our members
- Carousels reflecting on the importance of hearing access from the viewpoint of people from different backgrounds and with unique experiences
- Curiosities and facts about hearing access and the Right To Connect
- A social media toolkit and interactive Right To Connect frame to engage and express yourself
How to support our campaign?
- Please check our social media toolkit and discover five ways to contribute. The campaign kit was developed to allow everyone to take part in Hearing Access Week.
Feel free to use it, share it with your network and don’t forget to tag us! Consider using the following campaign hashtags: #HearingAccessWeek, #HAW26 and #RightToConnect. - Follow EFHOH and keep track of our posts! Throughout the Hearing Access Week, we will produce engaging and insightful content on our social media. Make sure you follow us and support the initiative by interacting with us.
- Click here to access your own frame on Canva! The link to the frame is also available within the toolkit.
Raising awareness and promoting inclusion for people with hearing loss
Hearing Access Week is an initiative of the European Federation of Hard of Hearing People (EFHOH) taking place on the 2nd week of March annually with the goal of increasing awareness of accessibility needs for hard of hearing people and supporting accessible spaces that enable hard of hearing and deafened people to fully participate. The Hearing Access Week builds on the WHO World Hearing Day proceeding advocacy campaign held on 3rd March every year.
What is Hearing Access?
Hearing access is the availability of services, technologies or accommodations that make it possible for hard of hearing people to access information, communicate and participate in various activities.
Hearing access is essential for ensuring equality, diversity and inclusion.
Hearing access is crucial for ensuring equality, diversity, and inclusion at all levels of the society especially in crisis and emergencies. It should be considered and must be an essential mean for accessibility in all areas of life within the European Union to create a more accessible and stronger union where people with hearing loss can fully participate.
Objectives:
The objectives of the campaign are:
- To raise awareness of the barriers and challenges that hard of hearing people face in accessing public spaces and services, and the impact that this has on their lives.
- To inform and educate the public, service providers, policy makers and stakeholders about the access needs and rights of hard of hearing people, and the benefits of hearing accessibility for everyone.
- To empower and mobilise hard of hearing people and their organisations to advocate for their access rights and support the campaign.
- To empower representatives of people with hearing loss to be directly involved in policies at local and national levels.
