What is an accessible event to you?

Is it the features available at the event like ramps, captioning, and interpreters?

Is it seeing people with disabilities in attendance (or even as speakers)?

Is it the experience that the event provides?

An accessible event contains all of the elements in the questions plus more. Some elements can be identified easily with services, features, and people with disabilities in attendance to the event. Some elements are working behind the scenes to create the experience. However, all of the elements require a level of planning and preparation to execute well.

What is commonly done is that the “accessible” pieces are done in checkboxes. Do we have ramps? Do we have captioning? Do we have interpreters? Sometimes, it is not even considered. If it was considered, it may have been so late in the process that the execution would not work well.

This is where planning helps inform what accessibility options can be done for the event. It can be looked at in three areas.

Services

Services are a big component of creating an accessible event. Whether the services are specifically for accessibility or if the service needs information to aid in creating an accessible experience. Services need to be booked in a timely manner and have their busy times through the year. Important elements of planning is looking for this key information below

• When services need to be booked? 
• What services are you waiting for a request on?
• What information is needed in order to book the service?
• What guidance about the event that needs to be provided to the service to help make the experience better for everyone?

Environment

Environment can be in-person or online and likely one of the first decisions of the event. Remember the features of the event? This is usually when people just look for the features and check off that it is accessible. Unfortunately, accessibility is not that simple. The thought process should be less of checking a box and more asking questions to determine what are the gaps and barriers. Then the planning is to solve the problems due to the gaps and barriers.

Communications

Communication is for all aspects of the event. From the planning and working groups to the services to the speakers and attendees, everyone needs to have the correct information to help make the event great and help you out. This can be

• Accessibility Guidelines
• Accessibility Frequently Ask Questions to “get ahead” of questions and concerns from attendees (and for people to reach out to you for any concerns that may be missed)
• Accessibility Information to know what is already available as part of event information

In order to consider every area, planning is needed to remove barriers and not add more barriers to the process. While the end goal is to create an accessible event, planning is to allow you to create a map to reach the goal easier.