Conferences

It is good to follow the same Listen Include Respect guidelines for meetings when you are planning a conference.

However, there are some extra things to think about when planning larger meetings.

A tickbox next to a man with an intellectual disability sharing his ideas

Make your planning committee inclusive.

The best way to make sure that your meeting or conference will be accessible is to include someone with an intellectual disability on your planning committee.

When planning conferences and large meetings, organisations should ask people with intellectual disabilities about the barriers they face and listen to their recommendations.

An arrow point from money to a woman, more arrows pointing from the woman to a ticket, bed and a bus

Attending conferences can be expensive. This is a barrier for people with intellectual disabilities.

Plan to pay for costs such as registration fees, data for online meetings or travel and hotel costs for in-person meetings for participants who need it.

Support people should also always take part in conferences for free.

A tick next to a sandwich and a cup of coffee

Conference invitations with arrows pointing to the map, food, ramp and signpost pictures

A tick next to a woman in a wheelchair using a ramp and a building with a sign

Check the conference invitation is accessible.

Make sure it is short and easy to understand. It should include:

the purpose of the event and the key topics that will be discussed
the registration information
any costs that participants will need to pay for themselves
if refreshments or meals are included
venue and location
accessibility information, for example does the building have ramp, or clear signs to follow?
travel and accommodation information

A cross next to an email, a tick next to a phone

Communicate well.

Make sure any communication about the event is clear, short and accessible.

Think about other ways to share the meeting invitation, for example through other organisations.

A cross next to a credit card, a tick next to cash

Keep registration simple

Provide alternatives to online registration in case people can’t access technology.

For example, phone call registration.

Provide alternatives to online payment, for example paying cash on arrival.

A group of people talking together, another group sitting together

A clock next to a sandwich and a cup of coffee

Plan an inclusive agenda.

Allow time for each agenda item or session. Build-in breaks and time to speak with other participants.

Make sure there are:

short sessions, no longer than 2 hours
regular breaks
if sessions are in different rooms, enough time to move between sessions
small group discussions and other interesting activities
opportunities for people to get to know each other

A person explaining to someone about the meeting participants

A person running training about disability discrimination

At large conferences, people with intellectual disabilities can experience discrimination from other participants or venue staff.

Make sure all other participants understand that your conference is inclusive of people with intellectual disabilities.

You can plan an accessible event but if other participants exclude people with intellectual disabilities during the conference it is not inclusive.

Role modelling inclusion and accessibility will help other people taking part in the conference understand they must respect the participation of people with intellectual disabilities.

An agenda with an arrow pointing to two weeks before a meeting on a calendar

Share information in advance to help people plan their time and understand what will happen.

Provide information in an accessible format, at least two weeks in advance. This should include:

an agenda,
information about public transport to the conference venue
speaker information,
an easy to understand map of the venue
some guiding questions that people should think about before different sessions.

Involve support people or personal assistants.

Check during the registration process if anyone attending needs a support person.

Support people should receive all the same information as the participant.

Support people should not have to pay to attend a conference.

A man handing tickets to a person with a disability and her support person

A tick next to laptops with search and read aloud functions

Think about accessibility and technology needs if your conference is happening online.

Take a look at our online meetings section for more guidance.

A person with a disability sat in a meeting, remembering someone explaining the agenda to her

Offer a pre-meeting before the conference to help people to go through the agenda and understand what the meeting is about.

Have a contact person available if people have questions before the meeting.

A bus, a train and a map next to a sign pointing to a building

Consider transport to the conference venue, including public transport.

Share easy-to-follow maps, put up temporary signs that point to the venue or share videos showing routes.

A tickbox next to a woman in a wheelchair using a ramp

Check physical accessibility of your venue.

People with intellectual disabilities may also have physical accessibility requirements.

A woman pointing at flipchart with CRPD written on it

Train the conference venue staff to make sure they are respectful of people with intellectual disabilities.

Awareness training led by people with intellectual disabilities works best, and training should always be based on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).

Organizations of persons with disabilities (OPDs) representing people with intellectual disabilities and their families can help with training.

Include speakers or facilitators with intellectual disabilities to model inclusion at the event.

Make sure they have good support and enough time to prepare - ask speakers at least one month in advance.

A cross next to a man speaking very fast, a tick next to a man speaking slowly

A confused woman next to a man speaking, a happy woman next to a man sharing examples

Guide speakers and facilitators on being inclusive.

Often during conferences, speakers do not use accessible language and information can be presented in complicated ways

You can offer to train speakers or share a speaker brief. This should be done well in advance - if you wait until close to the conference to brief speakers, they may have already made their presentations in a non-inclusive way.

The brief or training should be making sure presenters are:

using clear, everyday language and avoiding jargon and acronyms
speaking slowly and sticking to time, including not running into break time
making information like PowerPoint slides clear and easy to understand
explaining difficult information with stories and examples
including small group discussions or activities to give people space to ask questions and share their ideas. Activities involving stories, art or role-plays can be helpful.
checking in with the audience to make sure they understand
leaving time for questions and for support people to explain ideas or discuss difficult information.