11 & 13 March, 2021 | 4:00 PM onwards __________________________________________________________________________________ FESTIVAL CONNECTIONS
An Annual Programme of Expertise, Knowledge, and Networking between India and the UK. Thinking access: Building inclusive festivals __________________________________________________________________________________
Access is increasingly being thrown around as a buzzword, but opportunities to understand practical and practicable solutions to improving it are few. Through Festival Connections, we were fortunate to learn about practical solutions which can be implemented and how simple actions can change the experience of differently-abled people attending, performing, and working within the events and festival industry. The webinar and workshop was facilitated by Gideon Feldman across two days. Gideon is the Head of Programmes with Attitude is Everything, a UK based charity supporting the music and events industries to be inclusive and accessible for deaf and disabled.
With a comprehensive list of 10 key concepts for how any event practitioner from across the events industries can think about, develop and implement an accessible opportunity for those with a physical disability, the seminar paved the way for questions and the set the pace for the workshop to come. Divided into 2 segments, the workshop gave the attendees an opportunity to discuss a case study of a festival of their choosing and deliberate on the challenges and way forward. We also had Siddhant Shah from Access for All who provided feedback and solutions based off his expertise and experience in the Indian context.
With participants from both India and the UK, very interesting conversations cropped up about acknowledging the lack of access facilities, the difference between access and inclusion, the importance of making necessary information easily available and marketing the availability to gain audience traction.The two-day programme will look at what steps can be embraced, what practical solutions can be implemented, and how simple actions can change the experience of differently-abled people attending, performing, and working within the events industries.