The workshop of universal design organised for workers of cultural institutions located in the city of Novi Sad and municipalities of Irig, Beočin and Sremski Karlovci (Zone 021) was held in the premises of the Historical Archives of the City of Novi Sad on Wednesday, 14 March 2018.
This workshop is part of the series of programmes implemented within the project ‘Outside the Comfort Zone’ with Audience in Focus – the goal is to develop audience, because citizens of Novi Sad are in the focus of the actions of the Foundation and the European Capital of Culture project. The attendees were addressed by Dalibor Rožić, member of the City Council in charge for culture, and Tijana Palkovljević Bugarski, Chairperson of the Managing Board of the Foundation.
Dalibor Rožić stressed that this educational approach implements the Action Plan of the Strategy of Cultural Development which prescribes the cooperation with the team for accessibility of the City of Novi Sad formed in 2013: ‘Concretely, this meets the conditions for achieving this plan according to point 3.6 – adapting places and content in culture for citizens with disabilities.’ Educational activities that the Foundation organises will contribute to the improvement of capacities of the cultural institutions and help them meet conditions for accessibility, and to initiate a city-wide mapping in order to enter the data into GIS and make an interactive map that would enable our citizens dignified and quality life
Tijana Palkovljević Bugarski said that cultural institutions will one day be bound by law to meet the conditions for accessibility: ‘We shouldn’t wait for the day when it is obligatory, but do it before the law makes us – to complete the formalities doesn’t mean anything, but to put function in it means a lot’. Ms Palkovljević Bugarski stressed the fact that people with disabilities are invisible in our society because the society did not do anything to change that. ‘We have to adapt the environment to their needs, like we are adapting it to ours’. Gallery of Martica Srpska made huge progress in this sense by installing ramps and elevators, as well as applications and programme content adapted for people with disabilities.
Marija Vrebalov, consultant for accessibility, explained the notion of accessibility and its wide application through accessible environment, services, products, transport and communication.
Snežana Nikolić, typhlologist, Mirjana Isakov, designer, and Milesa Milinković, director of the ‘Uhvati Film’ International Film Festival, presented their experiences of improving accessibility in three city institutions, accessibility of art in our environment, and examples of global practice, as well as examples of accessibility in the organisation of events.
The ‘Novi Sad 2021’ Foundation would like to thank all participants for coming and hopes that the acquired knowledge and skills can be applied in the future through project and tender activities.
