In May, Europe Beyond Access is presenting two major events for those in the arts and culture sector, as well as policymakers and funders.
Wednesday 24 May at 10:30-12:30 CEST (Paris / Berlin) marks the official launch of the report, Time To Act: Two Years On. This seminal piece of research comes two years after the original Time to Act study which investigated the specific areas that cultural organisations and funders were lacking in knowledge which adversely affected accessibility in the sector. The new research reflects on what has changed over the past few years, some of the successes but also some of the remaining challenges.
The event will be moderated by Sonja Parmentier (Dutch dance artist, teacher, and activist), and Betina Panagiotara (Greek dance researcher and theorist).
Responding to the report will be:
- Massimiliano Smeriglio: Member of the European Parliament, and Rapporteur to the Parliament’s Culture + Education Committee (Italy)
- Judith Videcoq: Head of Unit, Creative Europe European Commission
- Stéphane Segreto-Aguilar: Network Coordinator Circostrada (France)
- Mickaella Dantas: Artist, Teacher, Consultant (Portugal)
Featuring additional contributions from:
- Kaja Tvedten Jorem: Senior Adviser, Infrastructure and Diversity, Arts & Culture Norway (Norway)
- Filip Pawlak: Artist, Producer, Activist (Poland)
- Mira Helenius: Artistic Director, Skånes Dansteater (Sweden)
- Marie le Sourd: Director, On The Move (report authors)
- Christos Papamichael, Founder and Director of Liminal (Greece)
On Friday 26 May at 10:00-13:00 CEST (Paris / Berlin) is the symposium ‘Europe Beyond Access: Disability and Transforming the Cultural Ecosystem‘, livestreaming direct from Brussels as part of Kunstenfestivaldesarts. The symposium will feature a stellar line-up of international speakers to discuss the nexus between policy, political actions, and cultural accessibility for disabled artists and audiences. There will also be two provocations from independent producer Nadja Dias and independent artist and consultant Noa Winter, plus short screenings of films about allyship in the arts and the Italian collective Al. Di. Qua.
The panel discussion ‘How Policymakers in Europe can lead the way in Cultural Accessibility’ will be moderated by Maria Vlachou, Director of Portugal’s Acesso Cultura Association, and feature contributions from:
- Georg Häusler: Director Culture, Creativity And Sport, European Commission
- Kim Simpson: Head of Equalities, Diversity & Inclusion, Creative Scotland (UK)
- Aristide Rontini: Dancemaker, Choreographer, and co-founder of Al.Di.Qua Association (IT)
- Magnus Jörgel: Head of Unit, Skåne Region Cultural Administration (SWE)
- Marie le Sourd: Director, On The Move
Both events will have captioning. The Time to Act: Two Years On report launch will have International Sign and British Sign Language. The symposium will have International Sign.