Making your activism accessible

"Universal accessibility is the character of a product, process, service, information or environment which, with a view to fairness and an inclusive approach, allows anyone to carry out activities independently and to obtain equivalent results." - Groupe DÉFI Accessibilité (GDA) & Ex Aequo

Ex Aequo distinguishes accessibility from adaptation:

Adaptation would consist of changes made in order to accommodate people in relation to “an environment, a communication, a program, or an already existing service ”.

We adapt when we build a subway with only stairs, then add elevators several years later.

We make it universally accessible when we provide access ramps to the buses. 

The Universal Accessibility Collective presents 4 forms of universal accessibility.

1. Accessibility in places

2. Accessibility in programs, services and jobs

3. Accessibility in communications

4. Accessibility in training

Accessibility in places

Choice of location

In a universally accessible place, a person in a wheelchair can move around in all the rooms and access a toilet . Doors must be 800mm minimum The dimensions of a toilet cubicle must be 1500 x 1500mm minimum Concerning the detailed criteria for infrastructures to be universally accessible, consult Kéroul's technical sheets (parking, signage and displays, accessible entrance, reception desk, hall, outdoor event, etc.) In a universally accessible place, there is a place to leave strollers .

Access to the place

The entrance to the place must be a single storey or equipped with an access ramp and must be at least 800 mm wide . All paths that the person must take must be obstacle-free and must have a clear width of at least 920 mm . Check if the place is not under construction or renovation, which could make the space temporarily inaccessible.

Offered services

Provide babysitting service . Offer an interpreter service . Provide a space with low sensory stimulation . In buses, provide space for children's pushchairs . In case of food offered... Plan meals that do not need to be cut out and that respect the dietary restrictions of the participants. Display its ingredients and specificities in advance. If on sale, provide free or low-cost options. Provide people ready to help in the service if needed.

Good practices

Have support staff available when needed. Choose a place (departure and arrival) that is accessible by public transport including adapted transport that is close to toilets and shelter (from the sun or the rain). Having people waiting at these places allows people with reduced mobility to be accompanied while waiting for transport, for example. If necessary, hire a beneficiary attendant two weeks in advance to provide services to people who need their assistance. “If the event cannot be universally accessible, offer activists other ways to participate, such as actions that can be done remotely.” Planning an activity with several components promotes the involvement of people with reduced mobility. Example: I want to organize a demonstration in front of the Sheraton hotel, place of a gathering between members with power concerning the issue for which I am campaigning. I look at paratransit services (ex: SIRTA (STM), EXO (South Shore or North Shore of Montreal). I walk between the transport stop and the hotel (or the route to the event, if my action intends to be mobile) If there are hills, it will be necessary to provide people to help people in manual wheelchairs.

It takes double or triple the travel time to make a trip in a wheelchair than it takes to do it on foot.

Remember that events taking place in winter are naturally much more difficult to access for people with reduced mobility. The quality of the current snow removal service (even in Montreal) does not allow people in wheelchairs to move around in winter).

Choosing to make the route or course of an event available helps people with disabilities plan their journey.

A motorized mobility aid has a range of 25 km on a flat surface.

References:Slides from the workshop given by Ex Aequo

UK Mutual Aid Accessibility Checklist

Tools and guides - Altergo

Keroul

Creating a safe space

So that people experiencing racism (racialized) can feel most comfortable coming to an event and expressing their concerns in the context of it...

Publicize the organization's anti- racism position and how to deal with a situation of racism. Have PANDC (Indigenous, Black and People of Colour) - or BIPOC ( Black, Indigenous and people of colour ) - staff available in case of a person's concern, insecurity or distress. Do not publicize the event with images of BIPOC people unless they occupy an important place within the event itself (in terms of resources allocated, people invited, partner groups, staff, ... ). Create single-sex spaces as needed.

In order for people living with misogyny, sexism and transphobia to feel most comfortable coming to an event and voicing their concerns within the framework of it...

Have staff from this group available in case of a person's concern, insecurity or distress. Ask people who participate to write their pronoun (s) next to their name. Have toilets identified by the infrastructure they contain rather than illustrations or gendered vocabulary. Create single-sex spaces as needed.

Resources

Action Canada for Sexual Health & Rights

In order for people living in poverty to feel most comfortable coming to an event and voicing their concerns within the framework of it...

Have support staff available when needed. Provide free tickets or a contribution based on income. Consider whether internet access is necessary for participation. Make the event accessible to people with different academic levels and needs (e.g. dyslexic people) in particular thanks to an adapted vocabulary and accompanying documents . Check the needs of the people invited (speakers, facilitators, presenters, etc.).

Take the necessary precautions according to the space in order to avoid accidents and prevent unfortunate situations in the event of an emergency.

Examples: remember to cover electrical wires, identify or cover slippery surfaces, ensure that outdoor spaces are well lit and that the identified emergency exits are functional.

Accessibility in Communications

This point comes in response to a question posed by a participant in the webinar on structures given by the HUB regarding accessibility in the media communications of activist groups . Targets knowledge (knowing something), understanding and accessibility of information.

General

Think about the accessibility of communications even before they are published. Learn about the types of disabilities that may affect the accessibility of communications. When a document is published online, make an HTML version available (the only universal format currently) Include visual illustrations and descriptions of them.

Text form

Avoid fonts with serifs or italics Choose contrasting colors Check the contrast of the chosen colors with Contrast Finder At face-to-face events, have hard copies to hand out to people who don't have access to a computer Cut content Use short sentences Use short paragraphs Use lists instead of paragraphs Use narrower columns Use sufficient text size Use line spacing enlarged to 1.5 Illustrate text with images or videos

Contents

Use simple language Promote gender-neutral writing and speech If topics concerning BIPOC people are on the agenda, it is important that these be brought forward specifically by people from these groups. Make a content warning before mentioning potentially emotional content Example: the student community (to be recommended) See the HUB's Inclusive Writing Guide Periods and midpoints should be avoided as they can interfere with the task of screen readers. The feminization of speech does not include non-binary people [8] . Tips for maximizing accessibility according to the specific type of online document (Word texts, Word forms, Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations, PDF documents) available  here It is possible to test accessibility for people with visual impairments with screen readers such as NVDA, JAWS, Window-Eye and Voice Over.

Specific to websites

To test the accessibility of a website, it is possible to use the WAVE tool . Ensure that the options displayed with the mouse can also be displayed (elsewhere if necessary) using only a keyboard. Make text highlighting possible

Specific to videos

Offer subtitling Offer a text transcript

Resources

Web Accessibility Promotion Lab

Slides from the Ex Aequo workshop

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1)