We Shall Not Be Removed worked in partnership with Ramps on the Moon, Attitude is Everything,Paraorchestra, and What Next? to create a new guide for the arts and entertainment sectors to support disability inclusion. Their Seven Inclusive Principles for Arts & Cultural Organisations working safely through COVID-19 was designed to complement the suite of guidance documents already issued by UK Governments and sector support organisations.
The focus of this unique initiative, which builds from the #InclusiveRecovery campaign, was to ensure D/deaf, neurodiverse and disabled people were not discriminated against as creative work begun again and as venues re-opened following closure during the Covid pandemic. The Seven Principles offer practical guidance to arts and cultural organisations to support disabled artists, audiences, visitors, participants and employees.
The Seven Principles are applicable across all art forms and across all 4 UK nations and come with endorsement from a wide range of leading sector bodies including: Arts Council England, Creative Scotland, The Arts Council of Wales, The Arts Council of Northern Ireland, British Film Institute, The Museum Association, Theatres Trust, Royal Philharmonic Society and the British Council.
Read the full document for details and examples here at WeShallNotBeRemoved.com
You can also find out more through this video.
The ability of arts and dementia to help families stay together in the face of dementia has been recognised by our specialist dementia nurses. Our list of film recommendations is focussed around films which have music, interactivity and simple plotlines at their heart.
Cinemas have an important part to play in tackling the social and economic impact of dementia, by allowing people living with dementia to continue to see films. Coronavirus (COVID-19): Advice and guidance for arts, heritage and cultural organisations We need organisations to take action and support people affected by dementia at this difficult time to … More
Keeping active and purposeful when staying at home will help fight off boredom and frustration. Here are some activities you can try at home during the coronavirus pandemic.
This World Alzheimer’s Month, we are highlighting the importance of talking about dementia. We want to raise awareness of how it impacts the daily lives of people affected by the condition and challenge the stigma that surrounds it.
September is World Alzheimer’s Month, with World Alzheimer’s Day on 21 September. It’s a chance to start conversations, raise awareness, and break the silence around dementia.
Nearly 50 million people worldwide live with dementia. It affects daily life in countless ways, and stigma remains a barrier. This month is about understanding those challenges and showing how we can support people to live well. Learn more and get involved via the Alzheimer’s Society.
We can all play a role—by sharing information, joining the Dementia Friends movement, or simply talking openly with friends and family.
Film has the power to connect, inspire, and include. Dementia-friendly cinema screenings create a welcoming space for people living with dementia and their families. Screenings are adapted for comfort and accessibility, offering the joy of cinema in a relaxed setting.
The UK Cinema Association, Alzheimer’s Society, and FAN have worked with venues nationwide to support these screenings.
Looking to run your own? Explore our training and resources to help you plan. Many of the ideas also work for making your wider film events more inclusive—through staff awareness, relaxed screenings, quiet spaces, or better signage.
Cinemas and cultural organisations can also reach people at home. The Alzheimer’s Society suggests:
Do you run dementia-friendly film events? We’d love to hear from you. Download our Inclusive screening case study template and send it to includeme[at]filmhubwales.org so we can showcase your work.
Bring older and younger generations together in your community. Our free guide to intergenerational activity is packed full of key information, inspiring success stories and top tips for your own projects.
Testing Situations was awarded a Wellcome Public Engagement Grant to tour around the UK throughout 2019. Through a range of events – from exhibitions and one off screenings to interactive workshops, live experiments and public discussions – the tour has been drawing on the knowledge of experts and communities and learning how testing can affect people’s lives and society at … More
Project Overview At the back end of 2016, we signed up to ‘A Life More Ordinary’ (ALMO) project, based at The Dukes in Lancaster and now being rolled out across the UK. This pioneering scheme gives people living with dementia, their friends, family and carers the opportunities to enjoy regular cultural and arts events, such … More
FAN supported BFI Musicals in autumn 2019. This was a nationwide cinema season celebrating the spectacle and craft of Musicals on film. This major season was led by BFI, Independent Cinema Office and Film Audience Network (FAN).
FAN member cinemas could access screening support to present films, mini seasons or events as part of the season. With screening support, they received help to fund their own independent programming and events plus support to do wrap around activity related to the seasons core titles.
For exhibitors who wanted to include Captioned Subtitles on their screenings, Sweet Charity was bookable from the ICO touring programme. Tommy and Singin’ in the Rain was available from the BFI.
Exhibitors who wanted to run a Dementia-Friendly screening, could take a look at our downloads section. Screenings are adapted to make the environment more suitable for people living with dementia. You can find more about running dementia-friendly screenings here. Dementia-friendly screenings are also sometimes called Relaxed Screenings, though these can also be suitable for people with multi sensory sensitivities or different conditions such as autism or learning disabilities.
Exhibitors who were interested in running a relaxed screening, could find out more in our quick tips for running relaxed screenings. There is also some transferable advice in our autism-friendly screenings guide, though bear in mind much of this advice is specific to people living with autism, not necessarily those who are Learning Disabled. Ideally, consult with Learning Disabled groups in your area for advice and expertise.
