Conference Program

In a context marked by widening inequalities in access to scientific knowledge, ensuring equitable participation becomes a matter of democratic relevance. This contribution presents Cosmic Roots, a science communication project developed for people with mild intellectual disabilities and diverse cognitive profiles, exploring how astronomy-based non-formal learning can foster equitable and neurodiversity-informed practices that promote social justice. Rather than approaching disability through deficit-based or medicalized frameworks, the project adopts a neurodiversity perspective that recognizes variability in perception, cognition and expression not as a limitation but as an epistemic and relational resource.

Developed through a collaboration between the University of Bologna and Associazione Volhand, an organization supporting people with disabilities, the project engages participants as co-creators of meaning within multisensory and dialogical activities. Central to this approach is the physical and symbolic connection between Cosmos and Earth, so that astronomy becomes a narrative bridge linking stellar processes to ecological cycles. This process is mediated through personal reinterpretations of scientific concepts, including artistic and musical practices. Within this framework, cognitive and neurological variability becomes a collective resource that enriches interpretation, and expands the range of meanings.

The project is grounded in the principles of Universal Design for Learning [1], which provide guidelines for designing educational experiences that accommodate diverse perceptual, cognitive and expressive needs. It also dialogues with inclusive outreach experiences such as “Stelle per Tutti” of the Unione Astrofili Italiani, and responds to recent reviews that call for broadening inclusive practices towards cognitive diversity [2].

Over more than three years of activity, the project addressed the following research questions: (1) How can astronomy-based initiatives be designed to value neurocognitive diversity as a resource? (2) What forms of agency and collective identity emerge when participants are positioned as knowledge-makers? (3) In which ways can science act as a mediator of social cohesion and democratic participation?

Methodologically, the project combines: in-person discussion meetings; participatory workshops integrating science, ecology, music and the arts; public outreach events; and educational visits to observatories and cultural institutions. A distinctive feature is the creation of an experimental garden, where cultivating wheat varieties becomes an embodied exploration of solar energy transformation on Earth. This dimension reinforces the conceptual link between neurodiversity and biodiversity, situating human variability within a broader ecological framework.

Impact has been periodically assessed through questionnaires, focus groups and semi-structured interviews. Findings indicate increased perceived scientific competence, strengthened self-confidence, reinforced group cohesion, and a deepened sense of belonging [3, 4, 5]. Participants report feeling recognized and valued for their unique ways of thinking and expressing themselves. The project has recently expanded through the publication of an illustrated book [6], and new music laboratories that explore alternative narrative languages.

Overall, Cosmic Roots illustrates how astronomy-based non-formal learning can move from compensatory to transformative inclusion. The project demonstrates how neurodiversity can enrich the ways in which scientific phenomena are interpreted and understood, functioning as both an epistemic and democratic resource.