Access Lab: working on inclusion in the cultural sector

Promoting accessibility at cultural events for people with a disability is a matter of equity, respect for diversity and inclusion. Although there is now increasing openness and awareness in the approach to this issue, some resistance and stereotypes created by ableism (discrimination against the disabled) remind us that there is still a long way to go.

With Rock in Rio Lisbon on the agenda, this was the topic of a conversation held with Jwana Godinho from Access Lab, a startup founded and led by this events production specialist who has already worked on social impact projects, and by Tiago Fortuna, a fan of music and festivals who used to work as a press officer and has been using a wheelchair to get around all his life.

In 2022, they both discovered that they had a common mission and decided to pool their efforts to improve accessibility for people with a disability at all types of live events, in addition to striving to create cultural, sporting and social consumption habits for these people, explaining the importance of available resources and the promotion of inclusion.

360 plans and other inclusion initiatives

“We understand the importance of empowering people with a disability and teams and deconstructing the idea of ​​what disability is. Knowledge is of paramount importance and we also started by carrying out training activities”, Jwana underlines, while explaining the main areas in which the startup operates. One of them is the 360 ​​Plans involving people travelling from home to events, covering the purchase of tickets, transport, accessibility at the venue, among others, as well as the return journey.

Other focuses include the development of resources for different types of disabilities, including motor disability, the deaf community, visual impairment and neurodivergence, such as autism spectrum disorders, as well as the development of an academy with training sessions and workshops on how to deal with people with a disability, promoting representation and the deconstruction of stereotypes. Another area is advocacy, through which she works on public policies, fighting for issues such as the inclusion of Zero VAT in the state budget on companions´ tickets. This almost two-year journey working towards an inclusive culture still sees a considerable number of obstacles arising every day, such as the resistance of the events market, the high cost per contact and the permanent need to educate and deconstruct prejudices regarding disability.

Challenges that Access Lab seeks to overcome with the support of brands, examples of success and good practices from other countries, continuous team training and effective communication. “Communication is crucial to showing that people with a disability are an economic force. We need to deconstruct, to demonstrate and to disseminate. Access Lab uses newsletters and social networks to inform both the community of people with a disability and the general public about accessible spaces, for example”, says Jwana Godinho.

Challenges and opportunities for accessibility

Around 15% of the population in Europe has some kind of disability, 80% of which are invisible. Due to demographic ageing, this number will tend to increase in the next few years, especially in terms of physical and visual disabilities. “In reality, there is an opportunity in the market that is being missed, as we are not including these people. There is a need for courage, funds and motivated teams, however the truth is that a large percentage of the population has no access to events due to the fact that sufficient conditions are not being created, and events means employment and global consumption. We can add companions to these people, who are also consumers, and everyone contributes to boosting the economy”, adds the co-founder of Access Lab, who believes that there is a need for investment to demonstrate that people with a disability also make sense from an economic point of view.

Representativeness, or in other words, the direct participation of people with a disability in all spheres of society, is another point that Jwana considers crucial when addressing disability issues as part of diversity and not solidarity and combating ableism. “Representativeness is key”, she emphasises, and must go “beyond quotas; people with a disability need to hold decision-making and visible positions, promoting true inclusion. This helps to demystify prejudices and to normalise diversity as an integral part of society”.

“People with disabilities need to hold decision-making and visible positions, promoting true inclusion”

A society that, although not yet fully receptive to the desired total inclusion, has undergone positive developments in this regard, which makes Jwana optimistic: “Society will have to be receptive and I believe above all in the new generation to demand from the workplace, from their teachers, their parents, their families that this engagement is created, particularly due to the fact that almost all of us will have someone, a friend or a family member, with some type of disability or impairment”.

The role of companies

To help promote this receptivity and inclusion itself, organisations play a major role when adopting proactive daily practices and policies such as understanding the various types of disabilities and their behaviour, adapting interviews, for example, with an interpreter for deaf candidates, understanding the areas in which each candidate feels most comfortable, thereby allowing for an increase in the number of people with a disability hired, while not forgetting to invest in personnel training on a regular basis.

Regarding the main sponsorship of Rock in Rio Lisbon and the involvement of Galp with the festival, training has been promoted in partnership with Access Lab, which provides basic concepts on how to welcome people with a disability, especially in terms of attitudes towards them. A citizenship initiative designed to promote an inclusive approach to welcoming the public visiting the Galp stand, and which provides yet another opportunity for conveying the message.

These trainings sessions, as Jwana Godinho highlights, “play an absolutely essential role, it´s an investment with a snowball effect. People with a disability go to the festival, where they will feel more welcome than at other events and will say ‘it’s good to be here’, with an effect that inspires the rest of the community. I believe in the multiplying power of these small steps”.

There is still a lot to be done

To combat ableism and promote the inclusion of people with a disability, the co-head of Access Lab is in no doubt that there is still a lot to be done in this area. From increasing the representation of these people both in politics and in business, not only in lower positions but also in leadership and decision-making positions, to the continuation and expansion of public policies, such as the implementation of personal assistants to enable people with a disability to live independently and to make independent decisions. In the field of education and culture, the executive highlights the investment in consultancy and accessible resources, such as Braille books, audiobooks and e-books, promoting literacy for people with visual disabilities, in addition to the importance of communicating and disseminating these policies in order to contribute to a better informed and more inclusive society. Furthermore, more accessible cultural events need to be held, including in Portuguese sign language or with an audio description, in addition to greater investment in the adaptation of physical spaces, such as municipal and historic theatres, as a means of guaranteeing accessibility. Part of the investments from programmes such as PRR (Recovery and Resilience Plan) needs to be channeled to adapt these spaces and make them inclusive. Finally, the promotion of knowledge and empathy. “We need to encourage a culture of understanding and respect for the needs of people with a disability through awareness campaigns and ongoing training activities. These measures are essential with regard to combatting ableism and promoting true inclusion in society”, concludes Jwana Godinho.

The experience at Rock in Rio Lisbon shows that courage and resources enable the creation of accessible events.