World Hearing Day at Grafton: Visible Science and Great Conversations About Hearing Health & Research
World Hearing Day at Grafton: Visible Science and Great Conversations About Hearing Health & Research
For World Hearing Day on 3 March, the TRIP team was pleased to be part of the University of Auckland Grafton Campus Student Expo in Auckland, New Zealand. The Expo was coordinated by the Grafton Campus Student Centre. Members of the TRIP team organised World Hearing Day outreach activities to be part of a bigger festive atmosphere on campus.
World Hearing Day is an annual day for raising awareness of hearing loss, hearing health and the importance of ear care. It is an international initiative. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has an official page for World Hearing Day to help provide more coordinated advocacy. World Hearing Day is always on the 3rd of March each year. In New Zealand, this often falls in the first week of semester 1.
This year, our TRIP team members Song, Jodi, Steven, Srdjan, Haruna, and Peter helped organise and participated in our outreach event . Together, we ran a World Hearing Day information stand and also supported the New Zealand Sign Language and Deaf culture workshop as part of the day’s activities. This gave us a valuable opportunity to raise awareness of hearing health, promote World Hearing Day, and engage students in a lively and welcoming setting.
The Grafton Campus is the University of Auckland’s Medical and Health Sciences campus, so it is full of students who may become future doctors, audiologists, health professionals, and ear researchers. That made it a particularly meaningful place to have conversations about hearing, hearing loss, and why awareness matters. It was also a good opportunity to introduce students to the wider world of hearing-related research, outreach, and accessibility.
At our stand, we displayed official World Hearing Day posters alongside TRIP e-outreach material and information about other hearing-related initiatives happening around New Zealand. It was fantastic to be able to showcase these resources together. The turnout across the atrium was excellent, with a steady stream of students passing by throughout the event. Many stopped to ask questions, take part in the activities, and learn more. Some students also asked about study pathways and how they could be involved in hearing-related research or initiatives at the University.
Our interactive material was especially popular and proved to be a real hit with students. The visual photo activity drew people in, helped start conversations, and created a fun entry point into ear and hearing topics. We will certainly be taking these materials with us to future community engagement opportunities.
Alongside the information stand, the team also organised and took part in the New Zealand Sign Language and Deaf culture workshop, delivered with SignWest. This added an important accessibility and inclusion dimension to the day, and it was great to see hearing health awareness sitting alongside conversations about communication, Deaf culture, and inclusive practice.
Overall, it was a successful and enjoyable World Hearing Day event, and a great example of how outreach, accessibility, and community engagement can come together on campus. Huge well done to the TRIP team, and many thanks to support from the University of Auckland & Sign West.
We believe in having visibility, sharing scientific knowledge and contributing to raising awareness of hearing health in public. If you are interested in us supporting sharing of hearing health knowledge with your community, please get in touch.