DIY - How can we organize an inclusive cultural event? - a workshop facilitated by the association Superheroes Among Us

Accessibility starts with an inclusive attitude that adapts a cultural event space for all categories of people.

We invite you to a two-day workshop where we will learn how we can attract audiences with different types of disabilities, permanent or temporary, to cultural events: we will go step-by-step through the necessary elements to call an event "accessible" and experience first-hand what an accessible exhibition and a visit by a group of people with disabilities looks like.

In a world where the lives of people with special access needs are increasingly alienated and narrowed by a public space that is unresponsive to their needs, we learn simple tips for increasing accessibility, from communication to adapting cultural productions, in a workshop led by Ruxandra Mateescu. 

Workshop programme:

Ruxandra Mateescu is the founder and president of the association Superheroes among us. For the past seven years she has been trained in the accessibility of cultural events and spaces and in the rights of persons with disabilities, as described under Article 30 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: Participation in Cultural Life (NUI, Galaway, Centre of Disability Law & Policy).

Her experience is both on a personal level, as the mother of a teenage daughter with severe disabilities, and professionally: she has organised numerous inclusive projects, such as " I Don't Stay Home" - a series of six concerts (so far), "Olga's Movies" - film screenings adapted to neurodiverse audiences (six years running, monthly), children's theatre, public readings, etc. She collaborates with the National Museum of Natural History "Grigore Antipa" and the National Museum of Maps, Bucharest, in the "Quiet Hours at the Museum" programme. 

In 2022 she received the LEAD Award for Emerging Leader from The Kennedy Center, "for work in the field of cultural inclusion and accessibility for people with disabilities and seniors."

About Superheroes Among Us: 

Superheroes among us is an association based in Bucharest, founded in 2015, which promotes the social inclusion of people with disabilities through accessible and inclusive cultural events.

All our events are held in public spaces, at a place with people without disabilities. Each event is adapted keeping in mind the principles of Universal Design and using easy to understand language in every communication we make.

We work for and with people with intellectual, neurodiverse or physical disabilities. Personalising each event, we have several volunteer counsellors, representing different disabilities and different types of diagnosis.

The overall mission of the Superheroes Among Us association is to create awareness and social inclusion for people with severe disabilities using personal stories and accessible cultural events. We promote the cultural rights of people with disabilities as written in national laws and in Article 30 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

This event is part of the British Council's Circular Catalysts programme to engage the community and increase access to culture.