european union of the deaf

What european union of the deaf does

The European Union of the Deaf (EUD), legally EUD Europa N.V., is a Brussels-headquartered, non-profit advocacy federation founded in 1985 that represents 31 independent national associations of deaf people across Europe, plus Ukraine as an affiliated member. Its mission is to advance the recognition of deaf communities as cultural and linguistic minorities, secure legal recognition of national sign languages within EU frameworks, and improve accessibility across EU institutions, legislation, and member states. EUD engages directly with the European Parliament, Commission, and Council on disability and accessibility policy, and holds Special Consultative Status with the United Nations.

EUD operates a community-led model with no commercial technology products or software platforms. Its core activities comprise policy advocacy, publication of position papers, impact reports, books and newsletters, and the delivery of EU-funded projects (current initiatives include SkillAIbility, SWING CAMPUS, IDE, DEIMAN4FINANCE, and AccesS). The organization runs seminars, workshops, webinars, and General Assemblies to coordinate its national membership and convenes a Board elected every four years. EUD does not sell products or services and has no disclosed pricing model; distribution of its advocacy work flows through direct EU institutional engagement, its website (eud.eu), social channels, and its national association network.

EUD's revenue model is grant-driven rather than commercial: publications and activities are co-funded by the European Commission's Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) Programme across multi-year cycles (2022-2026 and 2026-2028). Its customer base in a non-commercial sense comprises its 31 national member associations (constituting its governing constituency), EU institutions (its policy counterparties), and partner organizations in the broader European disability movement, including the European Disability Forum, the World Federation of the Deaf, EFHOH, Inclusion Europe, and the European Blind Union.

Name

european union of the deaf

Legal name

EUD Europa N.V.

Website

https://eud.eu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Short description

The European Union of the Deaf is a Brussels-based non-profit federation, founded in 1985, that represents 31 national associations of deaf people across Europe (plus Ukraine). It advocates for sign language rights and accessibility in EU policy, holding UN Special Consultative Status.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Disability rights advocacy

NAICS

Human Rights Organizations (813311)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Note-Taking, Interpreting & Communication Access Services (EDALAGAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Sign Language Learning Programs (ASL/BSL, etc.) (EDAMAFAM)

Keywords

• Deaf rights advocacy
• Sign language policy
• Disability advocacy organization
• EU accessibility legislation
• Nonprofit member association

Headquarters

HQ city

Brussels

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. European Commission CERV Programme Funding: EUD publications and activities are co-funded by the European Commission's Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) Programme. The organization operates as a non-profit membership organization.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The European Union of the Deaf (EUD) is a non-profit membership organization representing 31 national associations of deaf people across Europe. EUD advocates for the recognition of national sign languages, engages with EU institutions on accessibility and disability rights legislation, conducts seminars, workshops, webinars and General Assemblies, and publishes position papers, reports, books and newsletters. Activities and publications are co-funded by the European Commission's Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) Programme.

Product overview

The European Union of the Deaf (EUD) is a non-profit advocacy organization representing deaf communities across Europe. EUD does not offer commercial software products or technology services. Instead, EUD engages in policy advocacy, publishes research reports and position papers, facilitates EU-funded projects related to deaf education and accessibility, produces publications including books and newsletters, and provides toolkits and resources for member national associations of the deaf. EUD's activities focus on advancing the rights of deaf people through engagement with EU institutions, rather than developing or selling technology products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• European Federation of Hard of Hearing (EFHOH)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 May 2026Joint letter led by EDF with EFHOH, Inclusion Europe, and European Blind Union (EBU) calling on European Commission to strengthen audiovisual accessibility obligations under AVMSD.
• Inclusion EuropeminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 May 2026Co-signed joint letter with EDF, EFHOH, and EBU calling for stronger audiovisual accessibility in Europe on Global Accessibility Awareness Day.
• European Blind Union (EBU)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 May 2026Co-signed joint letter with EDF, EFHOH, and Inclusion Europe calling for stronger audiovisual accessibility in Europe.
• European Disability Forum (EDF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEUD is a member of the European Disability Forum, collaborating on disability rights advocacy across Europe. Joint activities include responses to EU disability strategies, consultations, and policy positions.
• World Federation of the Deaf (WFD)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational organization representing deaf communities globally. EUD collaborates on international deaf rights issues and participates in joint advocacy at UN level.
• European CommissioncoreOthersEUD receives co-funding from European Commission's Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) Programme for publications and activities (2022-2026 and 2026-2028). Engages in policy consultations and dialogues with Commission.
• European ParliamentcoreOthersEUD engages with MEPs on disability rights, submits amendments to draft reports, and participates in Parliament events and hearings. Hosted 40th anniversary event with MEP Pál Szekeres.
• 31 National Associations of the DeafcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEUD consists of 31 independent national member associations of deaf people. These include associations from Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and UK.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• World Federation of the Deaf (WFD): Global umbrella organization for deaf communities. WFD is the international counterpart to EUD with overlapping mandate on sign language rights, UN CRPD advocacy, and capacity-building for national deaf associations; structurally identical non-profit advocacy model.
• European Disability Forum (EDF): Brussels-based umbrella representing 100+ million disabled Europeans. EDF is EUD's main coalition partner and operates the same EU-institutional advocacy model on broader disability rights; both engage EU Parliament, Commission, and Council through CERV funding.
• European Federation of Hard of Hearing People (EFHOH): Brussels-based federation for hard of hearing and deafened people across Europe. EFHOH mirrors EUD's advocacy model on hearing-loss accessibility and co-signs joint letters with EUD under EDF coordination.
• Inclusion Europe: Brussels-based federation advocating for people with intellectual disabilities and their families. Inclusion Europe operates the same pan-European advocacy, EU funding, and policy engagement model on disability rights.
• European Blind Union (EBU): Pan-European advocacy organization for blind and partially sighted people. EBU co-signs joint accessibility letters with EUD and shares the same EU-institutional lobbying, CERV funding, and cross-disability coalition model.
• International Federation of Hard of Hearing People (IFHOH): Global parent body for hard-of-hearing advocacy. IFHOH parallels EUD's mission internationally, addressing hearing accessibility and assistive technology rights through UN engagement.
• European Network on Independent Living (ENIL): Brussels-based network promoting independent living for disabled people. ENIL operates the same EU-focused advocacy and project funding model on disability rights, with overlapping CERV/rights-based funding streams.
• AGE Platform Europe: European network of older people's organizations advocating on age-related policy including accessibility. Shares EUD's Brussels-based EU institutional advocacy structure and CERV-style funding model.
• European Association of Service Providers for Persons with Disabilities (EASPD): Brussels-based network of disability service providers. EASPD operates parallel EU advocacy on disability policy with similar funding sources and engagement with European Commission on accessibility legislation.
• Mental Health Europe: Brussels-based NGO advocating for mental health rights in EU policy. MHE shares the same CERV-funded EU institutional advocacy model and participates in EDF cross-disability coalitions alongside EUD.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/EUD_Brussels
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@EUDTV
• Facebookfacebook.com/eudeaf
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/european-union-of-the-deaf
• Instagraminstagram.com/eudeaf1985

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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