Changing The Way We Talk About Disability | Amy Oulton | TEDxBrighton

You can take a wheelchair just about anywhere. Amy addresses societal perceptions of disability and her vision for how we all change the way we approach disability. Amy has been a wheelchair user for the past ten years; she has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a rare genetic condition that causes weak tissues, joint dislocation, chronic pain and … More

UK Disability History Month takes place from November until December.

The UK Disability Month website offers a wide range of resources to understand the importance of the struggles of Disabled People.

Cinemas and film exhibitors can use this time to promote stories which explore the history and struggles of disabled people.

It is important that accessibility is addressed in all its complexity, encompassing the physical environment, transportation, information and communication, and services.

Cinemas across the country offer access for people who may have visible or hidden disabilities, as well as offering specific accessible screenings, such as subtitled, audio described, BSL interpreted, relaxed environment, autism-friendly, and/or dementia-friendly screenings.

Find screenings…
Your Local Cinema lists many subtitled and audio-described screenings
Accessible Screenings UK also list autism-friendly, subtitled and audio-described screenings

7 Principles to Ensure an Inclusive Recovery

We Shall Not Be Removed has 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. Our Seven Inclusive Principles for Arts & Cultural Organisations working safely through COVID-19 is designed to complement the suite of … More

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.

The Seven Inclusive Principles are: 

  1. All organisational activities must comply with the requirements of The Equality Act (2010) and make reasonable adjustments to operating practice that ensure disabled people are not unlawfully  discriminated against
  2. All actions relating to disabled people should be undertaken in accordance with the Social Model of Disability and aim to combat and eliminate ableism
  3. Co-production with disabled people: disabled people should be consulted when organisations develop bespoke operating or re-opening plans, and undertake Equality Impact Assessments before making decisions
  4. Organisations need to provide clear, accurate and comprehensive information about Covid-19 measures to enable disabled artists, practitioners, employees, visitors, audiences and participants to assess their own levels of risk, and be prepared to adapt to specific enquiries or requests
  5. The customer journey for disabled audiences and visitors should be thoroughly mapped, ensuring it is equality impact assessed, clearly communicated in multiple formats to the public, and prioritises free companion tickets to maintain essential access
  6. Disabled artists are an important cultural asset in the UK and their engagement in all new creative projects should be prioritised
  7. Organisations should ensure they celebrate diversity, embed anti-ableist principles to support and protect disabled people, and should demonstrate due care for the disabled workforce when making decisions about redundancy, restructuring and new ways of working

Read the full document for details and examples here at WeShallNotBeRemoved.com

You can also find out more through this video.

RNIB – Audio Description

If you are finding it difficult to watch your favourite television programmes or films, you can enable audio description (AD). Audio description (AD) is additional commentary that explains what’s happening on screen. AD describes body language, expressions and movements, making the programme clear through sound.

World Sight Day in October draws attention to the experience of millions of people dealing with sight loss across the world. Over 3 out of 4 of the world’s vision impaired are avoidably so, therefore the IAPB (International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness) are running their #LoveYourEyes campaign to raise awareness about global eye health. Find out how you can support through their website resources.

Cinemas UK-wide make films available with audio description so customers with sight loss can experience the latest films. Audio description is only made available on some titles, but we look to a time when audio description is available on all titles.

Accessible Screenings UK lists audio-described screenings, as well as other accessible screenings.

BFI Player: FREE archive film “On the Level”

How much of the built environment was accessible in 1980s Britain? This government-sponsored film aimed to raise awareness about the importance of inclusive design to give disabled people independence. Ten years before the first UK disability discrimination legislation came into force, we can see a lot more needs to be done.