Our experience in planning activities to accommodate disabled artists is quite unique, as we had to make sure that we are inclusive.
It took a lot of our time, effort and budget to be inclusive, because unfortunately being inclusive is yet to be a common day-to-day practice in Indonesia.
What do we mean when we say inclusive?
You might more commonly have heard the word Exclusive. Although these words have opposite meanings, but both describe how we see diversity.
According to the Indonesian Dictionary, inclusive means termasuk. So when we plan our collaborative work we must ensure that we include in our thinking a variety of needs.
How to plan your inclusive programme
As there are many things to consider in your planning, we came up with these quick guide or checklist of things you need to consider:
In the beginning consider:
- Who are the individual or community you are working with?
- What steps are you going to take to consult with them?
- What are their creative ideas?
- What is the main focus of the collaboration/programme?
- Have you got any other partners that you can work with? If so who are they?
- What skills and experience do you need to run the programme of activities?
When you are further along in your planning:
- How you can ensure the entire process is inclusive?
- What are the roles you need to run the programme?
- How much budget, and what tools and other equiptment you need ?
- Are there any accessibility requirement that you need to look at, at the location of the programme?
- When you have decided the programme and the process, how are you going to communicate this to everyone involve?
- Is there anyone else you think you can ask for more information or advice?
In summary the three key consideration when you are planning an activity is:
- The programme
- The working environment/location
- Communications
In this article we are going to talk more about the programme planning. There are other articles on the working environment and communications.
People with a disability still miss out on opportunities to access skills development workshops, adequate studio practice time and exhibition opportunities
That is why we need to make more inclusive programme.
Disabled people are the people who knows what they need, more than us. So, make sure that you involve them in planning the programme. Quite often the barrier they come across are not necessarily obvious or visible to us, for example the length of time they need to have a rest or diet restrictions.
Besides, they have different need. Therefore the more people you consult during the planning the better for your programme.
Ask, listen and act accordingly are the four key things we can do to increase the quality and inclusivity of our programmes.
Other things you might want to consider:
- Cultural aspects – for example, the program timeline does not coincide with religious holidays and national holidays, as well as certain hours such as Friday prayer times for Muslims.
- People’s routines – some disabled people need more time to be involved in activities. In addition, some of them need more rest, for example a 30 minute break for every 2 hour activity session.
- Accessibility – some accessibility needs to be prepared before the event, such as ramps, toilet seats, Sign Language Interpreters, and video transcripts to be displayed in the program.
- Transportation – vehicles (if needed) and mobility of participants with disabilities need more attention. Allocate additional time for these mobility needs, including paying attention to road access such as distance, pavement conditions, and road surface.
More on inclusive spaces in the next article.
Of course, these tips are what we have learnt and noticed so far, we are still learning. We might missed some key information, if you have anything to add or anything that you disagree with please do not hesitate to send us an email or DM us on our Instagram account.
This article was written originally in Indonesian as a part of Inklusivitas Kolaborasi seni dan Kreatif, a result of our Project Gerakan Kreabilitas, which is a project funded by British Council’s Developing Inclusive Creative Economy (DICE).
The complete toolkit in Indonesian is available to be downloaded here.