Lab of Fun #2: Does Everyone Feel Welcome? (Making your event accessible and inclusive)

This workshop is Part 2 of our 9-part Laboratory of Fun Summer School series for community event makers. You can attend just this session, pick and choose a few, or register for the entire two-month series.

Want to join the full summer school? Click here to choose multiple sessions and 'add to cart' so you only need to register once.

Does everyone feel welcome? (Making your event accessible and inclusive) 

A great community event is one where everyone in your community can actually take part.

Putting "everyone's welcome" on a poster isn't as meaningful if your venue has no step-free access, your signage is impossible to read, or there's nowhere for someone to take a breather when it all gets a bit much. In this session, our brilliant Accessibility Consultant Faith shares practical, thoughtful ways to make your Fun Palace genuinely welcoming - starting with the Social Model of Disability, which helps us think differently about barriers. There will be space for your questions, and no judgement if you're still learning. We all are. 🤗

What we'll cover: 

• why access matters, and how the Social Model of Disability helps us think differently about barriers
• physical access: step-free routes, seating, lighting, toilets, table heights and quiet spaces
• sensory and communication access: clear signage, large print, good contrast, plain language, captions, reducing noise and overwhelm
  
• welcoming support workers, carers, PAs, family members and assistance animals
  
• travel and arrival: clear directions, transport info, parking and helping people know they're in the right place
• the "curb cut effect" - how improving access for one group often benefits everyone
  
• thinking about access before, during and after someone attends
• time for any questions you might have

Access:
Zoom closed captions are available for every session. This session has a BSL interpreter live in the session. If you have any additional access needs, email hello@funpalaces.co.uk and we'll do our best to make it accessible for you to attend.

Joining a session:
You never have to speak, be on camera, or share anything you don't want to. Cameras on or off, microphone on or off - it's entirely your call throughout. Taking part by listening and reading along is taking part and it's always enough. We won't put anyone on the spot and when we invite people to contribute, it's always an invitation, never an expectation. We don't record any of the sessions. This is a space to think out loud, ask questions and change your mind - which people find easier when not being recorded.

Who is this for?

Everyone. Seriously! Whether you’ve never thought about accessibility before or you want to make sure you’re not missing something, this session will open up ideas for you and support you in equal measure.

About the Laboratory of Fun

The Laboratory of Fun is a free workshop series from Fun Palaces, open to anyone who wants to bring their community together. Whether you're putting on your first event or building on years of experience, each session is designed to be practical, honest, jargon-free and full of our top tips gathered from Fun Palace Makers across the UK and beyond over the last 12 years. You don't need permission, qualifications, experience, a big budget. You just need to care about your community and the people around you.

Take one session or take them all! 

Why 'Laboratory of Fun'? The name is a nod to Joan Littlewood, the radical theatre director who dreamed up the original Fun Palace in the 1960s. She called it a 'laboratory of fun' and a 'university of the streets'... a space where anyone could experiment, learn and create. The building was never built, but the idea never went away. These workshops are our version of that same spirit: a place to experiment, mess about with ideas and figure things out together.

About Fun Palaces

Fun Palaces is a national movement that supports local people to create their own free community events: sharing skills, passions and interests, and celebrating the genius that already exists in every community. As we continue to be concerned by division sown amongst our communities, there has never been a stronger case to bring people together, to find joy and fun and to celebrate the unique skills and talents we each possess. Fun Palaces are about taking some time out for an hour, a day, a weekend to dream something better, collectively, for the places we live in. And to put that dreaming into action.

You can find out more about Fun Palaces at funpalaces.co.uk