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Description
Each year there are more and more events that are accessible to people with sight and hearing impairments, provided by museums, theatres, television, and film producers. However, there is a shortage of media informing about them. This led us to create the first online database in Poland of events for people who do not have access to culture. The need for a website of this kind is confirmed by the results of a poll we conducted, which shows that as much as 66% of people with sight and hearing impairments find out about accessible events from friends, while at the same time these people have huge potential as an audience for culture: as many as 49% of poll respondents said they would like to visit museums and galleries, 79% would like to go to the theatre, and 98% to the cinema! Our activities include creation of a website called be accessible, and a public campaign to encourage people with disabilities to take advantage of culture, and cultural institutions to promote their accessibility. The website will consist of a search engine for accessible events, such as films and exhibitions, a search engine for works with audio description, subtitles, and Polish sign language; a database for cultural institutions with information about accessibility and which will be an aid in organizing accessible events; a blog with articles and reviews by persons with disabilities. The project will be created jointly by people with sensory disabilities from various parts of Poland. The project will increase the number of people with disabilities that take advantage of culture: cinema, theatre, and museums. 300 cultural institutions will improve access to their events. Six people with vision and hearing impairments will be involved in advocacy activities. Partnership with entities that work to provide accessibility in Poland will mean that our activities truly spread information about accessibility and make attendance easier for those who are excluded.
Summary of project results
The project responds to the need of people with sensory disabilities to benefit from the cultural offer. Every year, the number of cultural events accessible to people who are blind or partially sighted, deaf or hard of hearing offered by museums, theatres, cinemas or galleries increases. Recently, the law on digital accessibility of public bodies'' websites and applications came into force. As a result, many institutions are not only adapting their media to the needs of people with disabilities, but also enriching their offer with accessible events. As many as 49% of blind, partially sighted, deaf or hard of hearing people want to visit museums and galleries, 79% are interested in going to the theatre and as many as 98% in going to the cinema. Meanwhile, most of them find out about events from friends, as there is a lack of promotional activities aimed directly at people with sensory disabilities. As part of the project, a nationwide portal www.udostępnijsie.org was created with information on cultural events accessible to people with sensory disabilities. The portal includes an event search engine and a compendium of knowledge on the accessibility of culture and the arts. A campaign to promote the initiative was also carried out. A group of several ambassadors - people with disabilities - actively worked on the preparation of the portal, searching for events and contacting cultural institutions. Several hundred cultural institutions from all over Poland were invited to use the portal. An online conference and two webinars on the accessibility of cultural events were organised, as well as a gala to summarise the project with the participation of people with disabilities, activists and representatives of cultural institutions. The project has mainly benefited deaf, hard of hearing, blind and visually impaired people, who are now more knowledgeable about access to culture and the cultural events they can take part in. Several people with disabilities have engaged in self-advocacy activities. The attention of cultural institutions was drawn not only to the need to organise accessible events, but above all to the importance of promoting the offer to deaf, hard of hearing, blind and visually impaired people. 17 institutions have established cooperation with the portal and regularly provide content for publication and promotion.
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