What are tips for planning disability awareness events?

At some point in your life, whether at school, work, or your community, you may have been exposed to the idea of an “awareness” event, day, week, or even month. Whatever the length of time, these events are meant to focus on a single issue within society. Disability awareness events, if done right, provide opportunities to make a significant impact in your community. The following steps can guide you in creating an effective disability awareness event.

• Assemble an event planning team with various perspectives. Brainstorm possible individuals and organizations in your community who can help (e.g., non-profits, leaders, activists, students, clubs, and educators). Involve in the planning process people with a variety of disabilities and others with diverse characteristics with respect to, for example, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and culture.
• Decide on a format. Use your planning team to ask people with disabilities and other stakeholders what they would like to see. Ideas may include a panel, round table, petition, movie viewing followed by a discussion, a speaker that talks about accessibility, a resource fair, and more. Prioritize the voice of people with disabilities and other marginalized communities. It is important to think critically about “inspirational speakers.” Comedian and activist Stella Young warns against objectifying people with disabilities through “inspiration porn” in her TED talk called “I’m not your inspiration, thank you very much.” Establish the takeaway you want your audience to have. Ask yourself if your event is perpetuating ableism (the systemic oppression of disabled persons) or dismantling it.
• Evaluate. Develop an evaluation instrument for attendees to fill out after an event to learn about the success of your event and suggestions for improving future events.
• Address funding issues. Consider what it will cost to fund the venue, captioning, interpreters, food, printed materials, and technology. To help mitigate these costs, seek volunteers and in-kind contributions. Then approach administrators and other sources for funding assistance.
• Promote your event – and make it accessible! To share the event as widely as possible, create an email announcement to forward that includes a summary, date and time, location, RSVP instructions, and contact information. Include information about requesting accommodations, and be sure to make your announcement accessible. For more information about accessible documents, visit our website. Promote your event through members of your planning team, on campus, on social media, and in your networks through posters and flyers.

Be prepared to provide accommodations that include accessible documents, sign language interpreters, and captions on videos. Consider the tips suggested in the documents Equal Access: Universal Design of Student Organizations​ and Tips for Delivering an Accessible Presentation