The Donetsk Regional Museum of Local History held another online workshop as part of the ‘Culture Without Borders’ series, bringing together cultural workers from the region and colleagues from other parts of Ukraine to enhance their expertise in creating an inclusive cultural space for different social groups.
The event combined a theoretical section with a practical session. The speakers for the theoretical section were: Olena Havrysh – accessibility expert and director of the ‘Rodina LG’ Charitable Foundation, Lyudmyla Mazur – cultural activist, artist, mentor, and author of research on barrier-free and inclusive arts education supported by the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine and the All-Ukrainian communication campaign for social change ‘Barrier-free – it’s when you can’; and Hanna Klymenko – head of the educational programmes department at the Art Arsenal. The focus of the meeting was on issues of ethics, support and the creation of barrier-free cultural spaces and events, the needs of museum professionals and visitors in the context of a culture without boundaries, and the practical significance of festival platforms as spaces for integrating inclusive museum projects.
During the practical session, participants worked on creating alternative texts using artificial intelligence, and were provided with practical tools for securing grants, partnerships and non-financial support for the development of barrier-free cultural projects.
The workshop will help to enhance the professional competence of its participants in creating an accessible cultural space and expanding partnership cooperation.
The organisers express their gratitude to the speakers for their openness to professional dialogue and for their practical recommendations in addressing important contemporary issues.