Cov_enable: Re-Imagining vulnerabilities in times of crises

Since March 2020, the Corona pandemic has led to severe restrictions in Austria and around the world. People who are considered particularly vulnerable need special protection. Vulnerability or being vulnerable means that someone is particularly susceptible to risks. Thus, without protective measures, certain groups in society would be particularly affected by the health effects of coronavirus. Often, the elderly or people with disabilities are classified as vulnerable. However, how and whether someone is vulnerable depends on a variety of factors. In addition to health aspects, other influences can increase or create vulnerability, e.g. isolation, disadvantage or discrimination. In and after crisis situations, it is therefore particularly important to closely monitor the impact of policy measures on those groups that are considered vulnerable. In doing so, it is important to hear the subjective perspectives of the individuals themselves. These perspectives have not yet been taken into account in the crisis. This also makes it difficult to draw conclusions about what reinforces social disadvantage, exclusion, and discrimination. In their research project, the educational scientist Oliver Koenig from the Bertha von Suttner Private University St. Pölten together with Michelle Proyer from the Center for Teacher Education at the University of Vienna take a look at the effects of the crisis on the educational, living and support situation of children, young people and adults with disabilities. The aim is to trace the past and future developments of the pandemic. To this end, two participatory survey phases are planned over the next three years (2021 - 2024), in schools and in various residential facilities and forms of housing for people with disabilities. One research phase is to be implemented while the crisis is still ongoing, and the second phase is to be implemented when the imminent crisis has ended. In both phases, children, young people and adults with disabilities themselves will have their voices heard. The research team will support them in documenting the changes in their living environment with the help of digital cameras and in reflecting when and how they feel particularly vulnerable. In addition, it is planned to interview teachers and professionals about how new rules and measures have affected their working conditions. The data collected will be both analyzed and used to develop a model for inclusive crisis management to monitor the consequences of the crisis. In collaboration with self-advocacy organizations as well as civil society, human rights and public administration organizations, the aftermath and future challenges of the crisis will be made visible and solutions will be sought.

The COVID-19 pandemic brought new attention to the term "vulnerability." Across Europe, people with disabilities were frequently labeled as "particularly vulnerable," often without their involvement in shaping crisis responses. The Cov_enable project investigated what such labeling actually does-and what it obscures. Instead of accepting vulnerability as a personal trait or medical condition, the project introduced the concept of vulnerability effects. This perspective shifts the focus to how institutional decisions, political discourses, and societal responses can actively produce and intensify vulnerability. By following the lived realities of children, young people, and adults with disabilities in Austria during and after the pandemic, Cov_enable explored how vulnerability was experienced and shaped across different systems-such as education, supported housing, and personal assistance. Through interviews, focus groups, and participatory workshops, the research team documented both the barriers people faced and the forms of micro-solidarity and resistance they enacted in response. One key finding was that vulnerability is not simply "there." Rather, it emerges in specific contexts: when support systems break down, when communication is not accessible, or when pandemic policies disregard individual and group needs. These vulnerability effects were often not the result of the virus itself, but of how institutions interpreted and responded to the crisis. At the same time, the project showed that vulnerability is not the opposite of agency. Many participants engaged critically with their situations, voiced concerns, and challenged exclusions-sometimes collectively, sometimes through everyday acts of refusal or care. In addition to academic outputs, Cov_enable contributed to public debate through accessible workshops and collaborations with self-advocacy groups, care organizations, and disability-led initiatives. Artistic and performative formats were used to share insights and create new spaces for dialogue on inclusive crisis governance. The project was also part of the FWF-funded "C_all" initiative, where arts-based engagement activities were used to explore how crisis experiences differed based on social position, access to support, and systemic inequalities. Looking ahead, the project laid important groundwork for follow-up studies. Several academic papers have been submitted or are in preparation, including on intersectional constructions of vulnerability, support systems for disabled people during the pandemic, disentangling the effects of vulnerability in crisis response, on crisis learning and the contributions of people with disabilities, affective media discourses, micro-practices of solidarity as well as pandemic-induced inequalities in educational contexts, including deaf students' experiences and shifting temporalities in learning. Ultimately, Cov_enable calls for a rethinking of how vulnerability is framed in public and policy contexts. Instead of using it as a fixed label, the project shows that vulnerability must be understood relationally-as something shaped by societal structures, institutional responses, and the ways in which people are included or excluded from decisions that affect their lives.