Johanna Hiebl

Johanna Hiebl is a doctoral student at the European New School for Digital Studies, part of the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder)/Słubice, and serves as a Research Associate for subprojects P06 and MGK within the Collaborative Research Center "Media of Cooperation" (SFB 1187) at the University of Siegen, funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG).

Her educational background includes:

• Bachelor's degree in Slavic and German Studies from the University of Heidelberg
• German-Polish Master's degree in Multicultural Communication from the European University Viadrina and Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań

Hiebl's research examines historical self-organization of Ukrainian society through analog and digital resilience frameworks, specifically analyzing civilian "war sensing" media/data practices to challenge conventional military and journalistic narratives. Her work emphasizes digital platforms as historical repositories during conflicts, infrastructures enabling digital solidarity/resistance, qualitative methodologies in crisis communication, and civil society dynamics in Central/Eastern Europe.

As a key contributor to the DFG-funded "War Sensing" project led by Prof. Dr. Miglė Bareikytė, she investigates community-driven digital resilience tools. Following Russia's 2022 invasion, she coordinated digital support initiatives for Ukrainian higher education institutions and co-developed mental health networks for civil society activists.

Hiebl maintains extensive field experience with grassroots organizations across Central/Eastern Europe, including co-founding campaigns for Belarusian political prisoners and leading the Ukraine Calling initiative (2018–2021) at the European University Viadrina.