Project Activities as a Mechanism for Social Integration of the Hearing Impaired in the Belgorod Region in the 2000s – Early 2020s

Автор признателен председателю Белгородского регионального отделения ВОГ Ю.Г. Шашнину и его заместителю Т.И. Бессоновой за содействие в сборе материалов и консультационную поддержку при подготовке статьи

Abstract

Drawing on the case of the Belgorod region, this article traces the evolution of project-based work undertaken by the regional branch of the All-Russian Society of the Deaf from the 2000s to the early 2020s. The author examines 11 grant-funded initiatives carried out between 2020 and 2022 with support from federal bodies (the Presidential Grants Fund and the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives) and regional authorities. The total funding raised exceeded five million rubles. The findings show that grant activity functioned not merely as a funding source, but as an effective tool for the socio-cultural adaptation of hearing-impaired persons and as a driver of internal institutional transformation. Particular attention is paid to the development of infrastructural solutions – dispatch services for sign language interpretation, adapted museum environments, and educational programmes. The author concludes that the shift to a project-based model allowed the Belgorod Regional Branch of the All-Russian Society of the Deaf to consolidate its position as a fully-fledged participant in regional social policy.