The goal of implementing the project was to develop content and materials in the sign languages of 16 partner countries, making them accessible to deaf pupils and other beginners through a mobile app and a website. The project aimed to promote literacy for the deaf, enhance communication between the hearing and the deaf, foster inclusivity, and provide an educational platform where deaf pupils can learn about different national traditions, geography, and culture in their own national sign language. Additionally, the project seeked to expand vocabulary through an e-learning quiz, aiding cognitive development and academic success. A key milestone was incorporating Serbian Sign Language, with 10,168 words/signs, making it accessible online for the first time. The partnership of 16 organizations aimed to make sign language knowledge more widespread while promoting digital education and awareness of the European context.
The desire to continue a long-time project – Spreadthesign – and the drive to provide a more innovative approach to make sign language (SL) content available and accessible in different European countries, was what led us to the idea for this project. On one hand, we aimed to keep addressing the target group needs – deaf pupils, their teachers, and families – namely through the production of new content in SL for beginners, which was an area to be explored since many of those teachers and families were hearing and lacked knowledge and vocabulary in SL. That way, through the products we produced, we intended to contribute to expanding their skills and competencies in SL and, therefore, to establish better communication processes with their deaf pupils and children. This was an undeniable right of the deaf, to have access to education, culture, information, and other aspects of social life, in their own language, the sign language. In this way, a new sign language – Serbian SL – was also added to the Spreadthesign dictionary, increasing the number of partners and sign languages represented, and also providing more opportunities for the Serbian deaf and hearing to develop their SL skills and promote accessibility.