In this very special podcast episode, the EAD team reflects on the DARCI conference they organised at the University of York from 10‑12 September, sharing the challenges and triumphs of creating a truly inclusive, accessible event.
Transcript
Mariana: Hi everyone, welcome to the DARCI Podcast, the podcast on disability, accessibility, and representation in the creative industries. My name is Mariana López, and I’m a professor in sound production and post-production at the University of York. And today we have a very, very special episode because we have part of the Enhancing Audio Description team here online, and the focus will be on discussing the DARCI Conference, which took place in York from the 10th to the 12th of September.
Mariana: And what we’re going to do is to start by getting everyone to introduce themselves, and then we’ll just move on and talk about everyone’s reflections on the event. So, Krisztián, do you want to get started?
Krisztián: Hi, this is Krisztián. I am one of the postdocs on the project, and I work closely with Mariana. I think, let’s say, the main task I have, the main thing I’m working on is a research question, which sounds more or less like this. How can two of the EAD methods, and these are the Enhancing Audio Description methods, help us convey cinematographic and picture editing choices? And I run an experiment with Mariana. We had 43 participants. The results are looking absolutely amazing. I just need to find time to get the paper together and then we publish it.
Mariana: I mean, “absolutely amazing”. Sounds good. And can you tell us just very briefly what your role in the conference was?
Krisztián: My role in the conference, I don’t know whether I had actually a specific role. [Mariana laughing] I think I was… well, let’s start from the beginning when we advertised the conference. I think there were a few tasks when we sent out the call for papers. Then I was reviewing some of the papers, as did many other people in the group. Then every now and then I had to update some files on the website. And then when we actually got closer to the conference, then I was with Monika organizing or maintaining the workshops in the pre-conference day or on the pre-conference day. And what else did I do? Well, I was chair in one of the panel sessions. And most of the time I was [laughs] to make sure that the Zoom sessions are working properly and everything is set up in the rooms when it comes to the technology that made the conference as accessible as possible.
Mariana: Cool, thank you so much. Chaimae, what about you?
Chaimae: Hello, thank you, Mariana. So, my name is Chaimae Alouan and I’m a third year PhD student at the University of York looking into audio description in Morocco. And as part of the Enhancing Audio Description project, I am the project officer and I also managed the DARCI conference, taking care of the planning and coordination side of things. I also presented at the conference, which was a really great opportunity to share my research with a broader audience and connect with others working on accessibility and media. And I also chaired one of the sessions as well.
Mariana: Oh, thank you. Thank you very much. And it was indeed a great presentation. Gavin, what about you?
Gavin: Hi, so my name is Gavin Kearney. I’m a professor of audio engineering at the University of York. And I was co-chair of the conference with Marianna. And I’m also Co-I on the Enhancing Audio Description Project where I look at immersive audio and how it can help visually impaired audiences in terms of conveyance of the narrative. So that they understand better what’s happening around them, rather than just being limited to a predetermined viewpoint of what the narrative should be. So looking at spatial audio as a tool to really kind of bring forward the best in immersive soundtracks for the benefit of accessibility.
Mariana: Great, thank you so much everyone for the introductions. So let’s get started with talking about the conference more specifically. And I was wondering for each of you, as you were preparing for the event, what was the main focus? Something that you felt, okay, we need to achieve this. Feel free, anyone to jump in.
Gavin: I guess I’ll start. So I think my main focus, more than anything, with yourself, Mariana, was really helping to kind of think of the overall narrative of the conference. So, you know, we wanted to have it be something that felt cohesive across research papers and, you know, the keynotes and the performances that it really represented that full breadth of accessibility that’s happening, not just within the UK, but globally. So, it really, we wanted that conference to be a space that showcased academic excellence, but also the creative practice and lived experience of the different participants. So I think that that was for me the main thing. But then also, of course, getting stuck in with the paper reviews and the planning and setting up and chairing sessions and zoom monitoring. [laughing] So, yeah.
Mariana: The wonderful zoom monitoring! [both laughing] Who doesn’t love a good zoom monitoring session? Chaimae, what about you?
Chaimae: Yeah, like the Zoom monitoring, one of the really main tasks of maybe all of us. So I think we all enjoyed it. [laughing] So for me, the main focus was making the conference accessible, as much accessible as possible, and make everyone feel welcomed, attended to the conference. So when we started preparing for the conference, which was over a year ago, we had several meetings to discuss all the details and how we wanted the conference to look and feel. So since it was my first time organizing such a big event, I quickly realized how important it is to create a fully accessible space for everyone attending. So my main goal was to make the conference as as possible and it became a really valuable learning experience. I learned a lot a lot through organizing and working on the DARCI. Figuring out how to make that happen and navigating the challenges that came with accessibility planning. Now that the conference is over, I’m really proud of what we achieved in terms of accessibility and of course it wouldn’t have been possible without the support and advice of the whole team and everyone who helped during the event.
Mariana: Thank you very much and I just thought that maybe we should tell the listeners what we mean by Zoom monitoring so that it doesn’t seem like an internal joke. So just for those of you listening and you’re wondering what is Zoom monitoring, it’s basically a person whose job was to check the live stream was working correctly. This did result in some unusual photographs being taken that include people sat on the floor with laptops. So some strange visuals, but a really important part of the accessibility strategy to have that hybrid event. Krisztián, what about you?
Krisztián: Okay, so I think many things were said already that, you know, I was also focusing on. Maybe one thing that I could add to this list. And yeah, definitely I have to underline the zoom monitoring [laugh] focus, that was probably the most important thing in the, you know, in the few days before the conference. But maybe, just after we sent out the call for a paper, I think one of the things I was paying as much attention as possible was to make sure that this call for paper is shared on as many social media platforms and through as many newsletters as possible, just to make sure that you know, we get a wide range of submissions from as many people as possible across, you know, all the fields involved in this interdisciplinary domain.
Mariana: Great, thank you. Thank you so, so much. And I fear that listeners will think that this Zoom monitoring was really traumatic. [laughing] But just to say once it got going, I think it was okay, but but interesting that it came up in all your, your responses. So thank you so much for that. And I think… now thinking about kind of the event itself, rather than just the preparation… what was unique for each of you from the DARCI conference compared to other academic events or other events in the field? What made it unique? Anyone that wants to start, please do.
Gavin: I guess I’ll start. So kind of what I said before in that it’s… I felt it stood out because it really blurred the lines between research, creative practice and lived experience of the participants involved. So you know most conferences that I would attend you know they separate that academic presentation from the artistic expression and it really felt that in this conference it co-existed. So I think the panels, the presentations, the performances, they all had equal weight. So I think that was great. And it was also one of those few events where accessibility was embedded as the creative driver rather than just something thought about as a constraint. And that made it feel, you know, genuinely innovative, I would say.
Mariana: Yes. Thank you so much. Krisztián, Chaimae?
Chaimae: For me, everything felt unique. So maybe because I was seeing it from the organiser’s perspective. So every single detail mattered and needed to be carefully handled. So again, I’m going to talk about the hybrid work. So one of the biggest thing was learning how to deal with the hybrid work because we had like parallel sessions and we wanted the attendees that attended virtually to have the choice to be in every presentation or performance or any other activity. So it was something new for me and as Steve mentioned, it was technically quite challenging. But by the way, big shout out to Steve for all his help during the conference. [Chaimae and Mariana laughing] Yeah, it was really, really, really helpful when it comes to the technical side. But it was something I really wanted to get right along with the accessibility side of things. So, you know, with how it’s with technology, it doesn’t always go as planned, but we really managed to work around it and make hybrid setup successful. And of course, with the help of all of you and yeah, of Kris as well, I think you experienced that as much as everyone else.
Mariana: Oh, thank you so much, Krisztián. That’s a great entrance for you.
Krisztián: [laughing] Yes, yeah, thanks, Chaimae. You know, we all work together really hard to make sure that, you know, there are no major hiccups. And, you know, at the end, it, it was great. You mentioned Steve, yes, Steve is, was, is… probably still absolutely amazing. I think, you know, many things were said already. When it comes to the unique things that maybe, you know, were somehow indirectly mentioned: It was great to see each other. I mean, I work remotely. You are up in York. You might see each other more often. But for me, that was one of the, let’s say one of the best things. One of the most unique things in a conference. To actually be with the team in the same space. And then the other thing was that, again, that the conference was aiming to be as accessible as possible. You know, we said that many times, so I’m not going to repeat that. And then perhaps that everyone, you know, people who were attending, they were, you know, amazing people, very friendly people. So, yeah, I think that’s it.
Mariana: Thank you very much. And thanks for for mentioning us as the unique, [Mariana and Kris laughing] the unique aspect. That’s that’s a very, very nice, nice touch. And yeah, it’s kind of, again, really interesting how accessibility came out as the unique point for many of your statements. And kind of it’s worth highlighting here that what we wanted to do really is provide like a blueprint for what accessibility to an event could be like and should be like. And of course, there’s definitely room for improvement, but it was one of those things that I personally hope that people will look at. We will listen to this podcast, we will read the blog post on it and look at all the accessibility measures we took and think, oh, you know, we should do that. That’s a great idea. Let’s do it. And in this way, you know, as a field of both research and practice, we start seeing more accessibility in events. I have been to many events on accessibility that are intrinsically inaccessible. So it’s something for us to think about. But it’s really nice as well that this idea of kind of blurring the boundaries between research and practice also was mentioned. And I do I do have kind of something that kind of I wanted to highlight, maybe kind of thinking about what you, Gavin, were saying, that what you loved was this idea that there wasn’t any difference between research and kind of creative practice. I do think that it is important that people that work on, for the lack of a better phrase, I’m going to say more traditional research. I do wish they engaged more with disability arts, because I noticed that, for example, not everybody engaged with the performances of the same way. And maybe people from the disability arts sectors were more engaged than people that come from more traditional academic roots. But, you know, to me, that creative work is what gives research meaning. [laughing] Without creative practice, there is no meaning to study creative work. So I hope that in the future people really embrace that interdisciplinarity a little bit more and push the boundaries of their own interests as well. I think that’s really, really important. The next thing is highlights for you. So you would have, you know, the conference had parallel sessions, different types of sessions. And of course, you can’t all be, you know, you can’t be in more than one place at the same time. So you might all have attended different parts of the conference. But I was wondering what were some of the highlights for you? And let’s change the order a little bit. So Krisztián doesn’t always go last. So do you want to go first, Krisztián?
Krisztián: Yeah, sure. Thanks. Well, I had before this meeting or this recording today, I had a look at the programme again. And as you said, I couldn’t attend as many things as I really wanted to. But there were still I mean, I’ve got my list in front of me. There were, you know, many things that I really enjoyed. So for example, on the, what is the first day or the zero day, the pre-conference day, when we had the workshops, I was with Benny and I really liked his workshop and I really learned a lot about the daily difficulties people with disabilities go through. For example, you know, Benny was often focusing on one difficulty. How difficult it is for disabled or people with disabilities to find a job or find some work. And yes, it was insightful. So that was the first day. I’m going to carry on with my list.
Mariana: And that was Benny Shakes, wasn’t it? The Blue Badge Bunch… just for context…
Krisztián: Yes, yes, yes, yes. Thank you, Mariana. Then, same day we had Amble’s film. I loved the screening because many of the projects where often she was involved as an artist as well, were connected to sonic art and I just, you know, I love sonic art. I like the idea of experimenting with computers and computer-aided experimental acoustic sound and perhaps with dancers and signals as well coming from the body. So yes, that was good. Then the third thing on my list was working together with Michael. Once I was a chair in a room where he was the Zoom monitor and then we had the reverse, the opposite task in the same room. And I really like Michael and I just, you know, I hope we could have spent… I wish we could have spent more time together, you know, while the project was running. So that was really special for me to be with him in the same room and spend some time together. The next one on my list was the absolutely amazing or beautiful performance by the company called Stopgap Dance Company. That was Thursday evening. I mean, if people haven’t seen that, people who are listening, I’m sure there are lots of videos online. If you can go to one of the performances, I think…
Mariana: I think they’re actually performing at the moment, so you can go and see them.
Krisztián: Okay! So that was really good. And obviously, the EAD spotlight with Mariana and Gavin, that was really good too. What else?
Mariana: That’s quite a few highlights! [both laughing]
Krisztián: Yeah, sorry. The conference was really good. I was the Zoom monitor for a performance which didn’t really turn out to be a performance and that was by Corbeau, I think that’s how I pronounce their first name, Sandoval. They were coming, I assume, from Canada. The idea was that a whole group is coming to perform, but at the end only Corbeau could come and they were kind of like guiding the screening. But it was really good too, so people can check it out online, I think. And then the last thing I wanted to mention, and then I finished my list, sorry this is too long, I know, was Devon Healey’s presentation or performance, which I thought was super expressive and beautiful as well and super engaging too. So these were my highlights.
Mariana: Great, thank you. Thank you very much. And yes, it’s worth kind of highlighting that kind of under performances, we had loads of different types of kind of proposals by artists. Some of them were actually live performances. Others were kind of screenings of kind of filmed bits of performance of full performances. Some of them were readings to get feedback. So it was very inclusive to people that as well were at different points of their artistic development, the artistic development of a piece. I would also recommend if you’re interested in Stopgap Dance, as Krisztián was mentioning, their Instagram account has loads of information about the next performances you can watch. So, Chaimae, do you want to go next?
Chaimae: Yeah, thank you. And thank you, Krisztián, for like highlighting the some of the programme activities. I totally agree. It was a bit of a shame of not being able to attend everything. But for me, I also attended some of the performances, presentations. So when I was chairing as well, I attended some of the presentations and it was amazing. I learned a lot about many accessibility fields and media as well. So, and I think the variety of many activities like that, changing from not as like the traditional way, which is just presentations and papers, like the including of performances and workshops and other activities, gave attendees lots of options to choose from, which was, I think, great. I would love to attend conferences like that so I can have the option to be attending to different activities and to learn about other aspects. For me, one of the highlights was definitely presenting at the DARCI conference. I have been waiting to present in a conference, so it was my first time presenting in person for an international conference. So as much as I was nervous about it, I really enjoyed it. In the end, it was such a great feeling to see some of the names I have referenced in my research actually listening to my talk and getting the chance to speak with them afterwards was a really special opportunity. I’m not gonna lie, I was more nervous about the conference running smoothly than I was about my presentation. [Mariana and Chaimae laughing] But once it was over, like my presentation, I felt so relieved and could finally enjoy the rest of the activities. Another highlight for me was definitely, as I mentioned, the performances. They were amazing and I really enjoyed attending some of them and one of the ones I attended was a Stopgap performance by Stopgap team and it was it was great, like it was really, really good. And meeting with the artists through the coordination side of things was good as well because I get to know them more and closely by like helping them if they need something or… like it was it was really great to be closely engaging with them.
Mariana: Thank you very much. This is a very good moment to mention that Stopgap Dance is going to be, one of the members is going to be joining us for a DARCI podcast episode very, very soon. So you’ll get to learn more about their work in their own words. So thank you very much. I really loved, Chaimae, that you highlighted the diversity of activities. I don’t know how it is for the rest of you but I find that kind of the traditional kind of conference that has kind of 15 minutes PowerPoints and questions and you do that for like two three days I find that my attention span isn’t that that high and I have to admit I do get a little bit bored. And it’s a lot to ask our presenters to keep audiences entertained and by having the diversity of types of sharing it it kind of maybe keeps attention going maybe, I don’t know what you think.
Chaimae: I totally agree. Like, as I said, if I was, because… I’m not sure if I’m coming from like a creative perspective, because I did filmmaking in my undergrad and masters, but like having visuals or listening to something or like having other activities helped a lot being engaged with the presentations. Because when you listen and see things, when it comes to the papers you get more interested. So, as you said, sometimes… like doing one thing, like the same thing for three days can get a bit sometimes get bored or lose focus.
Mariana: Yeah.
Chaimae: So, doing, have a diversity of activities helps a lot.
Mariana: We loved everyone’s PowerPoints, by the way.
Chaimae: Yes. Oh, yes. Of course!
Mariana: We love that. [all laughing] I mean, we particularly loved the people who sent the PowerPoint on time, of course.
Chaimae: Yeah. [all laughing]
Mariana: Those are, of course, you have a special place in our hearts, just so that you know. They say you don’t have to have favorites, but I definitely have favorites. Gavin, what about your highlights?
Gavin: Oh, I don’t know, is there anything left after Chaimae and Krisztián.
Mariana: Oh, there was quite a lot.
Gavin: Yeah, I mean, that is the thing, actually. One of the things I wish I would be able to do in a conference like this is to create a doppelganger and be able to go to everything because, [Mariana laughing] you know, because we had parallel sessions and there was so much fantastic content, you know, really had to pick and choose. And of course, we were working the conference. So there was only certain things that we could get through to. But there were a few key moments that really stood out for me. I mean, the keynote sessions, what can we say? They were really deeply inspiring. Hannah Thompson’s work… she was talking about creative audio description in museums and art galleries and theaters. And that was really, tying in with the stuff that we do, Mariana, it’s great to see how other modalities can bring museum pieces alive. So that was fantastic. And then Raymond’s keynote on the second day really knocked me sideways, I’ll be honest with you. His poetry is not something that I normally engage with, but it was absolutely amazing. And his poems are absolutely beautiful. It was really fantastic to hear about his background and how his disability helped shape his writing and his life ethos. And, you know, also learning about, you know, him as a man or young boy growing up in East London and the influence his parents had and the support they had for his poetry. And it was just a really transformative keynote. And so I’m really glad that I got to experience that. In terms of the other sessions, so there was a really great panel on telepresence stage for disability performing arts, so that was with CRIPtic Arts. And that’s something that I’m super interested in, is how you can connect performers across networks and how that can transform access. So that was really good. That was about connecting disabled performers in the UK and Singapore in a shared virtual space. So it was really great example of accessibility driving creativity. And…
Mariana: And it’s worth, sorry, just mentioning, they also did a performance, an interactive performance called The Importance of Sleep, that kind of was related to that to that work as well.
Gavin: Yeah and then another standout moment for me, this is again the audio engineer in me, was the presentation from Royal National Institute of Deaf and that was Lauren Ward’s presentation on the collaboration that they did with Sonos. And that was basically about developing a speech enhancement feature for the Sonos, a new Sonos soundbar. But that really, for me, that embodied a lot of what DARCI is about, which is co-designing technology with users rather than for them. And that’s something, again, with Enhancing Audio Description that we really take very seriously. So yeah, lots of fantastic stuff. The other thing I would say is just the breadth of international contributions. You know, Thailand, Brazil, you know, it was just brilliant. And having different, completely different cultural contexts on accessibility was just brilliant to see. So, yeah, that they’re my highlights.
Mariana: Thank you. Thank you very much. And yes, the international aspects is really important to highlight. And and also I kind of I’d like to highlight that it’s so important to be able to welcome so many international colleagues, especially in these times where we see a lot of negative comments. And we are kind of I am really proud that we were able to create a welcoming environment for people from all over the world. So thank you so much, everyone, for joining. And just to to kind of clarify as well that that all the sessions were wonderful. So, these are just some of the examples of what was there on offer. The next thing I wanted to move on to was any main takeaways from the event. So, you had to say, OK, this is what I took from this event. What would that be? Let’s shake it up. Chaimae, let’s go with you first.
Chaimae: Yeah, sure. So, for me, skills were definitely my main takeaway from the event. I learned a lot through the organizing process. Things like managing multiple tasks at once, prioritizing, reacting quickly to unexpected situations. That was a tricky one. [Mariana and Chaimae laughing] And problem solving on the spot. Those last ones make me sometimes nervous, but I learned a lot on how to navigate that and how to deal with it. Communication and professionalism were also big ones for me. And of course, making events accessible was a huge learning experience. I learned how important it is to book BSL interpreters well in advance. [Mariana laughing] It was a very big task to find BSL interpreters. By the way, a big thank you to all the interpreters who worked with us during the conference. They were amazing. But I learned that, even though you want an accessible event, booking things in advance really helps. Just to avoid any last minute changes or last minute…, like when you find out that September is really busy month and you can’t book a BSL interpreter in September. So it was… I learned a lot from that. Honestly, the list of takeaways is quite long, [Mariana and Chaimae laughing] but I can say I feel much more confident about organizing events now than before.
Chaimae: So, I will definitely be happy to do it again anytime soon. If anybody wants to organize an event, I’m really happy to help. [Mariana and Chaimae laughing]
Mariana: It’s starting to sound like a job speech. Yes, and it’s really great that you mentioned the BSL interpreting. And just to give a bit of context to the listeners, BSL interpreting was one of the main things we wanted to have in terms of accessibility. Most events work on a…,you have BSL interpreting if someone asks for it, but then that means that people are constantly having to ask for things in advance, which in terms of making spaces and events accessible is not the best way to work. So we wanted to try to as much as possible. Kind of have BSL interpreters regardless of whether people had asked for them or not. So in an ideal world, we wanted absolutely everything to be interpreted, but there was really, as Chaimae explained, there was a shortage of available BSL interpreters. So we went for one BSL interpreter per time slot. So at least there was always something being interpreted. It’s not perfect, but accompanied with live captioning, we were able to combine those two things. Gavin, do you want to go next?
Gavin: Yeah, I think my main takeaway… and I think actually, it’s my main takeaway, but also was kind of our main message to try to convey in all of this was that accessibility can and should drive creativity. And I say it was the takeaway and the message, because that’s something that we have always been saying in Enhancing Audio Description, in the production pipelines, that you should be thinking from the script writing stage right through to post-production about the accessibility angle. But what I was really heartened with was the fact that everyone there had the same feeling that, you know, when artists and technologists and audiences, when they all collaborate early, accessibility is a source of innovation rather than a retrofit. And that was just brilliant to see the whole community take that angle. It was really nice to see. And I think the other thing, as I mentioned before, was just that growing international momentum for inclusive media practices. So I hope that the conference helped connect, you know, people internationally in a way that they hadn’t before. And so I think we did. And yeah, they’re my main takeaways, I guess.
Mariana: Thank you so much. And it’s really lovely that you mentioned, kind of this idea of accessibility being a driver for creativity. And what I liked was that in many presentations, there was a move away from this idea of accessibility as a translation exercise. A lot of accessibility work still sits in the field of audiovisual translation, which means that we always think of an original that then gets translated into something else, whether maybe we should, rather than thinking about equivalence, we should think about experience a bit more broadly. That’s a really lovely point. Krisztián, what about you?
Krisztián: Here we go back again. What did I think? [Mariana laughing] What were the main takeaways? Well, okay. So I think one of them is that when you’re organizing a conference, you need to over prepare. I mean, and I don’t want to talk too much about the Zoom monitoring thing [Mariana and Krisztián laughing], but that’s just one of those things. I mean, I used to work as a technician at the Anglia Rusking University where Mariana and I met. And there is always something that can go wrong. And it kind of feels like there is always something that goes wrong. And if you are prepared to deal with these issues and, you know, Chaimae mentioned this earlier as well, that you need to do problem solving on the spot, prepare for this and then everything is going to go smoother. It’s common sense, but I think it’s still something I, and probably many people who organize events need to keep in their mind. Second thing was, I really wanted to check or spend more time with Ed’s photo exhibition, and I couldn’t. I probably only spent five minutes with him in the room. So I’m just putting this on my task list, I guess, if I go to another conference and I really want to do something, I’ll have to make sure I find time for it. So yeah, I hope many people went to see his work because from what I saw and I talked to him, you know, outside the room a few times, he’s a very friendly person and I’m sure his work is brilliant too. I hope many people have seen it and talk to him. The third thing…
Mariana: Can we just… Shall we just to allow people to look it up. This is Ed Clews and the exhibition was “Right Here, Right Now. It’s historical, Big, Huge and Beautiful.” So if you’d like to read more about the project, you can find it under that name. Sorry, Krisztián.
Krisztián: No, no, no, thank you so much! That’s very useful. The last thing I wanted to say is that, I just have to carry this thing in my head, this phrase that “I don’t know enough”. While being at the conference and engaging with as many people as possible and sometimes listening to panel sessions and paper sessions, I realized I don’t know enough. I don’t know enough about accessible arts. There was one thing that I was a tiny bit puzzled by and that was that it kind of felt that there are people who are in favor of audio description that is more objective, and there are people who like the idea of having more subjective audio description. And I really need to find out why. So one of the takeaways for me, it’s actually on my list, is to look up literature on why some people prefer objective audio description and why some people prefer subjective audio description and in what context and so on. So, yeah, I’ll finish now. [Marina laughing]
Mariana: Great, thank you. Thank you. I was wondering, I mean, we’ve been receiving some great feedback on the event and I was wondering what was the most meaningful or maybe moving piece of feedback you received about the event. Maybe someone reached out to you just as they were leaving or emailed you afterwards. Does anybody want to share anything they were told?
Gavin: I can’t specifically remember the people who said this because…
Mariana: And we probably shouldn’t mention it. [Mariana and Gavin laughing]
Gavin: Yeah, we wouldn’t, no, I wasn’t going to mention any names. But because several people said this, where they felt that it was the first conference that they felt truly included, not just accommodated. And that’s the culture shift that we’re aiming for. Accessibility isn’t an afterthought, but it’s a shared responsibility and creative opportunity as well. So I was really, really touched by that. And like I said, it wasn’t just one particular person. It was several delegates said that to me at the end. So that was really nice to hear.
Mariana: Oh yes, I love that idea of kind of included rather than accommodated for. That’s a really, really lovely way of putting it. What about the rest?
Chaimae: I totally agree with Gavin. Yeah, I received something like that. And it was like, there’s one moment that really stayed with me was right after closing the closing remarks after the end of the conference, when someone came up to me and said how happy they were to attend such an accessible event. And they honestly hadn’t expected it to be like that. So they mentioned how accessible it is and how included they felt. And even though deciding to attend the event, they weren’t expecting all that. But they were happy that they were there. Hearing that made me so happy and reminded me that all the work we put in was really worth it. There were also a few others who shared similar feedback saying they felt welcomed and that the bursaries helped them attend and take part in the conference which was really really really good to hear.
Mariana: And just for those not familiar with the preparation of the event, we offered bursaries for disabled presenters and presenters from countries underrepresented in the field of of disability, accessibility and representation, but we then also offered bursaries for disabled participants specifically. So that’s really lovely to hear that that came through. Krisztián, what about you?
Krisztián: For me, it was the same. People saying, thank you. I’ll explain it in another way. When I was younger, I went to lots of trance parties and drum and bass parties. And then the DJ, the last DJ played really good music, like an amazing set. Then some people stay till the end, then people pull out the cables and, you know, put out, put the speakers away and say thank you to the DJ and the team who set up the event. And I kind of felt like, you know, being one of the DJs at the DARCI conference. There were some people who maybe just said thank you, maybe say thank you for making this happen or maybe another sentence, but you really felt that they mean it and that, you know, that was great. That meant a lot.
Mariana: Thank you very much. That’s really good. I’m glad you felt like a DJ. [Mariana and Krisztián laughing] Yes, and something that was that someone told me very recently by email and it was particularly important for me because this was something that we thought about a lot and it was what very much inspired the bursaries for presenters, etc. They sent congratulations on how good the representation of disabled researchers and practitioners was. And I know this might, from the outside people might think does this not always happen. And I can assure you that it does not always happen, especially in fields like accessibility. The that we were able to create a welcoming environment where people again felt included rather than accommodated for, and that was reflected in the speakers that presented, but also the speakers that were invited, of course. But also I would like to highlight, for those that haven’t seen it, that the wonderful Jessi Parrott that was one of our bursary awardees, also wrote a sonnet for us, thanking us for the experience. So I am mentioning Jessie by name because they gave me permission to show the sonnet online. So if you haven’t seen it, do check it out. I put it on my Instagram account, it’s @marianajlopez. But it was such a beautiful moment. It arrived in my inbox, well in the shared inbox on a day that wasn’t a very good day for me. And I just saw this, kind of the dedication Jessi had put in thanking us and writing this piece. And it was so, so moving. Thank you so much to Jessi for that. Just to wrap up, if Gavin, Krisztián and Chaimae have been listening to the podcast, they will know that every guest gets asked the same question at the end of each episode. The question is, what are your hopes for the future of accessibility and representation in the creative industries? It’s their turn to answer that question. whoever wants to go first, do go for it.
Gavin: Okay, I’ll go first. I mean, hopes, big hopes, I guess.
Mariana: We should have big hopes.
Gavin: Big hopes, yeah. I mean, I think the future of accessibility really depends on it becoming this, the feeling that it is a shared responsibility across the whole creative ecosystem. So, not just something that’s added on at the end. And by that I mean like at all levels, right? So, so we need to, it needs to be built into how we teach, how we fund, how we design projects from the start. So, you know, disabled voices have to be involved at all levels, particularly in decision making and also in technical development and creative leadership as well. So I think it’s just making sure that it’s part of that full ecosystem at all levels and also to make sure that whatever methods we come up to ensure that happens, they’re sustainable. So that there’s proper infrastructure, that there’s proper skills and and I guess governmental policy to make this happen, not just individual goodwill, right? [Mariana laughing] So that it’s mandated. So if we can get that right, then we’re not only going to make the creative industries more inclusive, but we’ll make them stronger, I feel. Because the work that comes out of these inclusive processes, it’s always in my mind, it’s always more innovative and it’s always more relevant to audiences. So they’re my hopes.
Mariana: Thank you very much. And I really love that you mentioned teaching because many listeners might not be aware that the DARCI podcast led to us naming the conference DARCI as well.. But actually the name comes from a module that is run and that I teach and co-designed with one of our colleagues, Anna Bramwell-Dix, and that is called DARCI. And basically, its aim is to teach students in degrees that relate to different creative industries how to work on accessibility and representation in their own fields and gives them an introduction to this topic and a hands-on experience. So, really, really important to make sure future creative leaders and practitioners are aware of what accessibility and representation can do. Chaimae and Krisztián, who wants to go next?
Chaimae: Yeah, I can go next. I also have a big wish, maybe from another side, but I really, really wish that in the future, all countries around the world become more aware of accessibility and start seeing it as something essential and not optional. I know it might take time and it’s not always easy, but that’s really my hope, which is to see accessibility become a global priority. I’m saying that because there are some countries there that are not aware of audio description as an example or accessibility in general. And even disabled people are not aware of what’s out there as accessibility. So this is my hope. And I really hope that it’s going to be very, like, more global and out there and everyone will know about it. Or maybe in the future, at a DARCI conference we’ll be hearing about how audio description and other forms of accessibility are not only more common, but also central topics in research and creative practice. And other research that rather than finding or exploring those accessibility formats or accessibility in general, we do enhance it, or as the Enhancing Audio Description project is doing, developing them to be more easy to do.
Mariana: Thank you. Thank you very much. Some wonderful wishes and hopes there. What about you, Krisztián?
Krisztián: Okay… What else is there that I can say?
Mariana: Maybe to be a DJ. [both laughing]
Krisztián: Maybe to be… Well, yes! I think it has something to do with… I think what I can say has something to do with listening. And that is linked to obviously accessibility and disability and perhaps also to… I actually don’t know the correct phrase, but perhaps it’s hidden disabilities. So sometimes you see a poster or I don’t know, maybe a meme on social media saying that there are hidden disabilities. Sometimes you don’t see what kind of disabilities people have. I think what I’m trying to say here is that, you know, besides the, what GAvin mentioned, the top-down changes and, you know… Well, let’s say besides the top-down changes from the government and from academic organizations like universities, I think the bottom-up one is really important as well. Like, what can everyone do to actually make a difference. And I think it starts with listening, going back to the DJing and sound. Listening to other people, actually really paying attention what other people say and how other people behave, and then we probably can see those hidden disabilities. But I think there is one thing that comes first, and that is listening to ourselves. Like, are we really good at processing information from the outside? Are we really able to communicate in an effective way that is not causing any kind of misinformation? Yeah, so I think that is my wish, you know, more people doing more bottom-up approaches through listening more mindfully to themselves and each other.
Mariana: Thank you so much. And thanks, the three of you for joining in for today’s episode. It’s been really wonderful to hear your thoughts. It kind of reminds me once more why I love working with you all so much, and your dedication and care really shine through in your responses. So thank you so much for joining in today. For everyone listening or reading the transcript, don’t forget there’s also a blog post that you can access on our website that is enhancingaudiodescription.com, and that will provide you additional insights on the event. We will be back next month with a brand new episode and more insights into disability, accessibility and representation in the creative industries. Thank you so much everyone!