A guide to
creating accessible events
Introduction
Introduction As an event organiser, naturally, you’ll want your event to be enjoyed by as many people as possible. That being said, sometimes we overlook certain aspects or simply aren’t aware how to create an accessible event. In order to help you adhere to moral and legal obligations, we’ve created this short guide to make you aware of some accessibility needs and how you can accommodate them. We’ve broken it down into steps so that you can make sure you’re covered at every stage: from initial planning and promotion, to the day of the event itself. Please be aware that this isn’t an extensive guide so we recommend you do your own research too and think proactively about how to make your event an experience that can be enjoyed equally by all.
Section 1: Page 1-2 Physical Space
Contents
Page 3-4 Advance Notice Page 5-6 Event Details Section 2: Page 7-8 Written Materials & Dyslexia Page 9-10 Promotional Materials Section 3: Page 11 During Your Event Page 12 Staffing, Signage, Trigger Warnings Page 13 Additional Resources Page 14 Contacts
Section 1: Physical Space
Section 1: Initial planning To create an accessible and inclusive event you’ll need to start from the initial eventplanning stage. Reactionary measures won’t cut it – you need to be proactive in how you plan and make sure that accessibility is embedded in every aspect. Physical Space • Is the venue/site appropriate? Have you visited it and explored all your options? There’s a big difference between making sure a venue complies with legal regulations and visiting a venue yourself to check that it would be comfortable for everyone. • Legal requirements are still very important: speak to venues about what plans and procedures they have in place for accommodating attendees. This could include finding out which venue staff are first aid trained, if they have an accessible evacuation plan in the event of a fire, and what extra support they offer to guests with visual or hearing impairments. 1
Section 1: Physical Space
• Think about the site layout. Would inaccessible pathways or areas lead to segregation? Most people stay with their friends throughout an event and wouldn’t like being forced to sit away from them, for example. • There are some elements of an event that are more in your control, such as furniture and room layout. Is there room for everyone to manoeuvre comfortably? There’s usually a want to fit in as many people to an event as possible but you shouldn’t sacrifice peoples’ comfort in order to get a higher head count. Have you considered the space that a mobility scooter could take up and how this would affect your room capacity? • Think outside your actual site too – where’s the nearest parking? How easy is it for people to get to by public transport?
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Section 1: Advance Notice
Advance Notice If your event is ticketed, you’ll usually have a very clear opportunity to ask people if they have any requirements. Open text responses are best for this to allow attendees to detail their needs in their own words. Consider the language you use for this and be inclusive to everyone, not just visible disabilities.
“What do you need to fully participate?”
“Do you have any additional requirements?”
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Section 1: Advance Notice
Be sure to provide a point of contact too, in case attendees have questions rather than declarations. This could be a contact number or email, the inbox of a social media page for the event, or a form to fill out via a website. Ensure that someone is responsible for checking and responding to any messages received. For public events, collecting requirement info in advance is harder but not impossible! Include contact information on Facebook events or posters and encourage responses where you can. Remember, this question shouldn’t just be asked to attendees. Find out what your stakeholders and staff require too, including guest speakers or collaborators.
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Section 1: Event Details
Event Details When planning your event, we recommend dedicating time to considering all aspects of accessibility and how details of your event could impact people. For example, would any part of your event be a potential sensory overload? Strong smells, bright lights and loud noises could be difficult for some people to manage. Consider what is necessary and what could be made more accommodating. Obviously, with more creative events, certain aspects will be fundamental to the experience. In cases such as these, consider a special performance or timeslot. For example, lots of performances have an autism-friendly performance, with a more relaxed atmosphere and any triggering aspects removed. This won’t always be appropriate for your event but you should always consider whether you could do something similar.
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Section 1: Event Details
Here are some other details to consider: • Do you offer discounts or free access for carers? • Is there disabled parking onsite? • Have you asked for food allergies or intolerances? • Do you require additional staffing? For example, should you have an extra member of catering staff to serve someone at their table during a buffet meal? • Do films, videos or presentations have subtitles or audio descriptors? Quiet Spaces Depending on your event, you may want to consider having a designated quiet area. Quiet areas are featuring more in conferences and exhibition events as a place for attendees to take some time to relax away from the busy atmosphere of the event. Quiet spaces have generally had positive responses and are particularly helpful for those managing anxiety or who are easily overwhelmed. 6
Section 2
Section 2: Promotional & written materials It’s estimated up to 1 in every 10 people in the UK has some degree of dyslexia. We understand that compromising design and aesthetics for readability can be hard. It’s up to you where you draw this line but at the least it’s a good idea to make body text and essential information as clear as possible.
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Section 2: Written Materials
Here are some key ti ps to help make your written materials more accessible: • Use a plain, evenly spaced sans serif font. Arial, Verdana, Tahoma, Century Gothic, Trebuchet are all good fonts. • Font size should be 12-14 point. • Use dark coloured text on a light (not white) background. People tend to have their own colour preferences so there isn’t a ‘best’ colour to use. • Avoid green and red/pink as these are difficult for colour-blind individuals. • Avoid underlining and italics: these tend to make the text appear to run together. Use bold instead. • Avoid text in BLOCK CAPITALS, as this is much harder to read. • Use left-justified with ragged right edge • Line spacing of 1.5 is preferable. Read the full style guide by the British Dyslexia Association
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Section 2: Promotion
Helping attendees prepare for your event For some, the prospect of an event can be anxiety-inducing, especially when the attendee doesn’t know what to expect. By giving more details about your event, you can lessen the unknown and help people feel more comfortable going into it.
Tip: We’d advise posting photos of the space or previous events that were similar. These photos can also double as teaser photos and show your ‘behind-the-scenes’ process, which makes your audience feel included from start to finish!
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Section 2: Promotion
Generally people do understand their own limitations but they need to know certain event details to decide if an event is suitable for them. We would advise publishing key pieces of information, such as: • When your event is expected to end, • Performance/film running times, • Event schedules, • A description of what to expect at the event, • What facilities are onsite (toilets, cafés, parking, public transport, nearby shops, quiet spaces), • Whether the event is seating or standing (or if there is seating available), • If there is an intermission or designated break times, • Clear information about what people are expected to bring to the event and what is provided. 10
Section 3
Section 3: During your event In the run up to your event, hopefully you’ve considered any situations that could arise and made reasonable adjustments in response to requests or attendee information. However, there are always issues that could arise on the day – such is the nature of events! Therefore, it’s a good idea to make sure everyone attending and working on your event is aware of important information.
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Event Staff
Section 3
You should establish a clear mode of authority – if staff are unsure of how to respond to on-the-day requests, is it clear who has the authority to make those decisions? Are they easy to contact throughout the event? This could include making sure all event staff know who to contact if first aid is required, or having a lead staff member who handles questions about accessibility. Signage Preparing signs ahead of your event is one of the things that often gets overlooked. Clear signage throughout your event will be appreciated by everyone; whether it’s signs pointing to the nearest restroom or alerting people to an upcoming narrow corridor. Make sure that signs are clear and easy to read. Trigger Warnings It is good practice to include warnings for any triggering material/actions before that content is seen/discussed/live. This isn’t just essential for people with physical triggers, such as strobe lighting, but is also pertinent for people with anxiety, depression or PTSD. A trigger warning can be given in many formats, including a verbal warning, written warnings, in pre-event info and signage. 12
Further Resources
Further Resources • AUBSU’s Students With Disabilities Committee • Full style guide by the British Dyslexia Association • Goverment Accessibility Requirements • National Autistic Society • Invisible Disabilities UK • Gov.uk - Advice for making events and presentations accessible • AUBSU - Volunteering opportunities in the local area
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Contacts
Contacts If you have any questions or issues, you can get in touch with the AUBSU team: AUBSU (Students’ Union)
studentunion@aub.ac.uk
SU Activities & Communities Coordinator
Nuala: nclarke@aub.ac.uk
SU Democracy Coordinator
Beth: bdovey@aub.ac.uk
SU Sports Assistant
Joss: jagne@aub.ac.uk
SU Events Assistant
Bert: bburnell@aub.ac.uk
SU Digitial Media Assistant
Emma: eswanson@aub.ac.uk
SU President
Gio: ggarancini@aub.ac.uk
SU Vice-President
Chloe: charty@aub.ac.uk
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