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First published in Polish by Agata Etmanowicz, Rafał Lis

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Good preparation is of key importance in providing a valuable and comfortable experience to all those concerned - be it the organisers of an event or its participants. Many people find that knowing what will happen, what to expect and how to prepare is instrumental in deciding to participate in an event.

Advice on how to prepare a workshop is provided in the texts: Dostępny warsztat zaczyna się na długo przed wejściem do sali!, Wszystkie te małe rzeczy – o dostępności w sali warsztatowej. The latter text also contains tips on preparing the room and running the workshop itself. Here we are going to focus on how to provide information about the accessibility of an event and how to do it straightforwardly. 

Do you want to get prepared? Just ask! 

Do not leave event accessibility issues to the last minute. As early as inviting people, tell them you are open to their needs and just ask what they are. You can ask an open question and encourage direct requests relating to accessibility. You can also add a separate point to your event registration form. Below is a suggestion which can be freely modified depending on your event.

To participate fully in the event, I will need: 

• Nothing 
• An induction loop 
• A PSL (Polish sign language) interpreter/ (SLS) Sign Language System/ Deaf-blind Communication System
• Speech to text 
• Audio description 
• A booked seat with specific features
• Large print 
• A copy of slides/material to be presented - in advance 
• A copy of slides/material to be presented - in advance and in an easy-to-read version (ETR) 
• Support provided to assistants of: 
  • A blind person 
  • A deaf-blind person 
  • A motorically disabled person
  •  Other support...
• Wheelchair access to all rooms and spaces 
• Spaces without bright light/odour 
• Quiet spaces 
• Spaces for baby feeding and nappy changing  
• An adjusted diet - which one? / Allergen questions 
• Other: which?

Remember your contact details! 

Remember to include the contact person's details and suggest other ways of contact in your invitation. Ask about the preferred form of contact in the event registration form. 

For example, like this: I prefer to be contacted by: 

• phone 
• text message 
• email 
• other: which?

Plain language 

Plain language is a way of creating messages. It facilitates reading and understanding as well as acting on the information provided. A plain language message is good for mass and anonymous recipients. Therefore, it is very useful for external communication, especially online.

Simplifying messages is about:

1. Using natural grammar (best word order: subject, verb, object).
2. Using widely understood words and terms (or translating technical and potentially difficult ones).
3. Using simple sentences, possibly two- or three-clause compound sentences.
4. Avoiding polysyllabic words.
5. Directly addressing the recipient.
6. Communicating from the recipient's perspective - providing them with essential information about their actions, etc.
7. Consistent use of the same terms (to get a clear structure - no synonyms).

The readability of a text or a message is mostly estimated using the FOG index (readability index), which can range from 1 to 18 or 21. This index estimates the years of education a person needs to understand the message. Public entities are expected to produce messages whose FOG index is 8-9, which means that it has to be readable by primary school leavers (FOG index 10-12 is a value that is more rarely accepted).

The FOG index can be estimated using the Logios service: www.dozabawy.logios.dev. 

For more information about simple language, go to the web page of the Civil Service: https://www.gov.pl/web/sluzbacywilna/prosty-jezyk.

And how about writing an ETR version? 

Documents or messages can be produced as texts that are easy to read and understand, called ETR, meaning: easy-to-read. 

ETR text will be simplified (more simple than simple language messages). Its format is also important: we use sans-serif fonts (e.g. Arial) whose size is at least 14. The text is printed on a relatively small number of pages (about 25) and divided into sections (ideally on one page), whose different aspects are discussed in separate paragraphs.

ETR charts offer visual support, frequently in the form of pictures or communication symbols (PCS). Using them requires knowledge of augmentative and alternative communication. 

Fortunately, the EPALE platform offers ETR text. You can find it here: Tekst łatwy do czytania = tekst dostępny dla wszystkich.

Before the event: a prep guide. 

A prep guide - as suggested by the name - is a kind of material prepared before an event, a kind of guide to the event. It can be prepared for workshops/training organised in a physical space or online. 

Stationary event prep guides should contain all information which participants might find useful, so tell them how to get there, how to move around the building, what the workshop room looks like, where the toilet/cloakroom/cafeteria is, who the workshop will be provided by and what will be happening during the workshop (including information about communication during the event and planned breaks) as well as what will happen afterwards. Moreover, almost all bits of information should receive visual support, mostly in the form of photographs (of the very room, of the very door) etc.

For online events, their prep guides should offer clear step-by-step instructions on using the communication platform and all other applications and tools used during the workshop/training session. Add information about the training schedule, how to take the floor, make a comment, etc. 

Prep guides allow you to talk about anything you see as potentially non-user friendly from the substantive, sensorial or accessibility perspective during your workshop.

This material may be prepared in a text (with accompanying photographs or graphics), video or audio form or some of them together - they can supplement each other or be separate entities targeting various groups of your recipients. Prep guides can be prepared in the ETR version.

Alternative texts

Alternative texts are probably the most neglected accessibility element in Poland. Hardly anyone produces them; everyone fears them. However, this is a description (text) relating to non-text parts (photos, promotional graphics or even GIFs), composed of 100 (the most rigorous recommendation) to 160-250 characters. Alternative texts can be used on webpages, multimedia presentations or text files. It is basically accessible to assistive technology users (screen readers). However, they can be seen using the most popular browsers (the code view option).

Alternative texts succinctly present key information, for example, from graphics. However, it is worth remembering that they function in the context of the whole text, meaning they cannot refer to the text message contents (they should not repeat them).

Therefore, the most important information given in the graphic form (that relates to the event) should be also given in the text form (accessible to all users). Only then can the alternative text editor focus on the visual qualities of the poster.

The principles of writing alternative texts can be found on the page of the Kultura Wrażliwa, Małopolski Instytut Kultury: https://kulturawrazliwa.pl/wiedza/jak-stworzyc-tekst-alternatywny-krotki-poradnik/. 

Note that some graphic contents - infographics or schedules on a poster - will require you to prepare descriptions. There will simply be too much information to write it as an alternative text.

In such cases as this, you can simply write in a text file whatever you communicate in a graphic file. And you can add such files with a description (it must be digitally accessible) to your webpage. You add a link to the file under your infographics. That's it - it's accessible.

 Pay attention to the detail 

Regardless of what you want to do - add text to graphics in social media, add text to a slide or to a printable file - there are a few finer points that can improve your message's readability.

Hashtags

It is best to place hashtags at the end of your text content. Avoid replacing any part of your sentence with a hashtag. This improves readability. Moreover, just look at the examples below #tojestbardzonieczytelnyhasztag

#ThisIsMuchEasierToRead 

Emojis

They are OK. Assistive technologies have given them a voice; however, they mainly use English words. "P" may suddenly change to "Tongue sticking out". Furthermore, regardless of whether or not your recipient is fluent in English, an emoji in the middle of a sentence may make understanding much harder.

Moreover, avoid using sequences of three or more emojis and do not replace important phrases with their emoji version.

Links

There are several contradictory opinions on how to embed links in texts or posts. Regardless of whether you want them at the beginning or the end of your message, announcing a link and indicating the web page/service to which it will take your reader is always good.

Tagging

We like to tag our partner organisations and fund bodies on social media. This is a good practice but let's not forget that a tag in the middle of a sentence may hinder the reading or understanding of your message. Any tags are to be placed at the end of the message.

Please note

This is the third text that we have written for you. Needless to say, the issue of accessibility in non-formal education or workshops and meetings is very complex. Our texts, therefore, only discuss the most important threads.

There is a lot that can be written about accessibility in this context. More so that this is a field undergoing dynamic development in Poland and in the world.

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Agata Etmanowicz – professionally active in the culture sector, in various roles and from various perspectives. For over a decade, together with the Impact Foundation, she has been raising awareness of everyday work in the area of culture by placing people at the heart of all activities of the organisation. The Impact Foundation works all over Europe in line with the audience development strategic approach, however, basing it on the principles of audience engagement. Together with the Art Factory in Łódź, Agata Etmanowicz is co-creating the ART INCUBATOR, which is a place supporting the development of young and creative entrepreneurs, both at local and international level. She is the co-founder of the Polska bez Barier Foundation via which she coordinated accessibility of the Orange Warsaw Festival. She has been the producer, implementer, coordinator and curator of smaller and local projects and those quite large on an international scale. She is sometimes active in cultural policy - both at the local and EU level - and some years ago, she was Poland's negotiator at the Council of the European Union. She is the author and co-author of books and articles. agata@art-impact.pl

Rafał Lis – an art historian, trainer and social activist. He is an activist in the field of accessible culture and art. He is a trainer and coordinator of projects for the Polska bez Barier Foundation. He also cooperates with the Impact Foundation. He is an accessibility consultant at the Old Theatre in Lublin. He was one of the first accessibility coordinators in Poland. He has implemented processes aimed at accessibility to cultural institutions and to those supporting business. He started those activities by cooperation with the deaf and hard hearing-when implementing public space art projects. He is the author of the audio description of works of art and architecture. He creates publications using texts easy to read and understand, including guides to cultural institutions and public spaces. He is an educator specialising in cooperation with mentally disabled people or those with autism spectrum disorders. He is a member of The Leaders' Network at the Kultura bez Barier Foundation. He is the winner of the First Edition of the Bogna Olszewska Grant. He has cooperated with the European Foundation for Urban Culture, Labyrinth Gallery in Lublin, Museum of Modern Arts in Warsaw, Łaźnia Exhibition Centre in Gdańsk, Museum Emigracji in Gdynia and the STARTER Entrepreneurship Incubator in Gdańsk. lis@art-impact.pl

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Further reading:

EPALE interview: The potential embedded in accessible culture. The challenges for educators