News

Local cultural venues launch new digital navigation system

24 January 2024

Visitors and service users at 14 of Derry and Strabane’s cultural venues can now avail of a new online navigation system to help plan their experience.

The Social Narrative Videos were launched this week by Derry City and Strabane District Council’s Access and Inclusion team and aim to be particularly helpful for disabled and neurodiverse customers with additional needs to plan their visit.

The initiative is supported with funding from the Department for Communities Access and Inclusion programme and the videos can be accessed on the venue’s and Council’s websites.

Access and Inclusion Coordinator at Council, Caitriona Doherty, said the project will help disabled users to attend the venues with more confidence.

“This project aims to make the activities at our arts and culture venues a more positive experience for all users by allowing them to pre-plan and visualise their visit and make any advance preparations necessary,” she said.

“Service users who need additional support want to feel confident when they attend a venue, we want to give them the reassurance they need with a video they can view in advance to familiarise themselves with the venue.

“The videos include the facilities they may be using, where they are located and information on any additional support they may require.”

The Social Narrative Videos project has been delivered by University of Atypical for Arts and Disability (UofA); a disabled-led group who are a leading sectoral organisation for arts and disability.

UofA takes an empowerment based approach towards deaf, disabled and Neurodiverse people’s involvement in the arts as artists and audience members.

DCSDC has made a number of physical changes to venue infrastructures to improve access for people with disabilities.

The video project is the next stage of this process by providing visual and audio guided tours as well as information and guidance to improve access to arts and culture activities.

It aims to provide a smoother and more enjoyable experience for the disabled service user by showing areas that are important for people with disabilities in using the venue. 

Each digital video and audio tour video will include ISL or BSL with captions and voiceover, a reduced narrative approach and with plain English for accessibility purposes. 

Each venue will have their video available on their website and all videos will be available on Council website @ https://www.derrystrabane.com/subsites/inclusion

Participating venues are: Millennium Forum Theatre and Conference Centre, Centre for Contemporary Art Derry~Londonderry, Blue Coat School Heritage Centre at First Derry Presbyterian Church, North West Cultural Partnership (New Gate Arts and Culture Centre), The Alley Theatre and arts centre, The Guildhall, Bready and District Ulster-Scots Development Association, North West Play Resource Centre (The Playhouse), Museum of Free Derry, Siege Museum, Void Gallery, Echo Echo Dance Theatre Company, Waterside Theatre Company Ltd, Destined Ltd and the Foyle Valley Railway Museum.