Statement of Commitment

ACCESS Tampere Next Generation Culture Festival is committed to ensuring equal access and participation as possible for everyone. We are committed to treating people in a way that allows them to be themselves. We welcome everyone as they are.

Policy

ACCESS Tampere Next Generation Culture Festival accessibility policy outlines our commitments to people facing any environmental disability. We aim to make our services available for all people respecting their individual characteristics and needs, dignity and independence.

Accessibility is about attitudes, equality and non-discrimination. ACCESS Tampere Festival accessibility principles are an essential prerequisites for everyone to be able to participate. For us, accessibility is a way of thinking, not a specific arrangement, and we work in a way that involves a wide range of people from the very beginning of the event planning.

This policy applies to all future or current employees of the organisation, contractors, collaborators, visitors and partners of the festival and artist as well.

In all of our activities, we prioritise engagement with relevant internal and external stakeholders and target groups and work towards furthering all aspects of inclusion, diversity, equity and access.

Actions

Physical Accessibility

Accessibility concerning the space’s functionality will be considered for the venue’s selection, such as access to it, moving around, washrooms facilities and signage for participants and performers.

An appointed person will perform an accessibility audit of the different venues used throughout the festival. All the compiled accessibility information will be used to train the volunteers that will be present at the event to provide assistance.

The venue’s accessibility information will be pushed on the event website in conjunction with the programme.

Linguistic Accessibility 

Festival communication will be aimed at our target audience. Relative information will be as clear and straightforward as possible.

The main languages of the festival are Finnish and English. The website, social media and newsletter will communicate in English and Finnish. The language of the workshops will be Finnish or English. More information on the language of each workshop can be found in the website programme. The music hall’s programme and presentations will be in English with international sign language.

The exhibition will be accompanied by guided tours in Finnish.

The website will provide service in Plain Finnish and Plain English.

Braille large-print versions of the printed programme will also be available.

ACCESS Tampere Festival staff will provide service in Finnish, English and simple/basic Finnish Sign Language.

Accessibility Information Dissemination

The Festival event contents and conditions will be communicated openly through our communications and partner channels in the disability sector. We will provide a detailed description of the event conditions in advance to allow the participants to decide whether they can participate comfortably.

Creation of the Safe Space Principles

The ACCESS Tampere Festival has been organised and planned in close cooperation with an inclusive team of young people for over a year, including creating the principles of a safer event. ACCESS Tampere Festival Principles for a Safer Event workshop was carried out in collaboration with the City of Tampere’s Youth Services. Young people were an essential part of the creation process. The principles were created in a safe environment, everyone was treated as equal, and the points listed on the final document were brought out by the youngsters present during the process.
ACCESS TAMPERE FESTIVAL SAFER EVENT PRINCIPLES will be available in Finnish English and Brailer and will be posted in all our festival venues.