Social Sustainability: Equity & Inclusion
Content
The ‘Social Sustainability: Equity & Inclusion’ chapter of Labor Tempelhof 2022 can be found here.
1. Overview and problem statement
Did you know…?
Worldwide more than 1.3 billion people live with a disability. This amounts to about 16% of the world’s population. 37 And then there are many people who struggle with mental health and/or financial worries or are marginalised for various reasons.
Mental health, diversity, barrier-free accessibility and social awareness are not only generally relevant themes but are also important in event planning – not only out of a sense of social responsibility, but as central elements for an inclusive and sustainable culture.
The possibilities for improvement are numerous, whether in the area of social ticketing, workers rights, visibility of marginalized people on the stage, free drinking water for all, observing human rights in the supply chain, or in the social inclusion and equal participation of people with disabilities. Further equity and inclusion initiatives can include: event management that takes responsibility for the safety and comfort of all audience members and implements a corresponding festival safety and awareness concept, and further leverages the opportunity the event creates by involving regional companies and initiatives.
2. Our Benchmark for Labor Tempelhof
In order to ensure social as well as ecological sustainability, various measures were defined as objectives:
- Create a holistic inclusion concept: Can only be developed together with people with disabilities, ideally as part of the core team.
- Awareness concept in public areas for the audience and in the backstage area to an extent appropriate to the event.
- Transparent information about the measures taken and in which areas barriers still need to be removed.
- Free drinking water for everyone.
- Consideration of diversity on stage and backstage.
- Implementation of social tickets to ensure access to concerts for people with limited financial means.
- Establish a comprehensive neighbourhood concept that goes beyond the permit requirements in order to create respectful co-existence between the event and local residents.
- Of course: No room for racism, fascism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia or anti-Semitism. Communicate this openly and provide an infrastructure for dealing with possible incidents on site.
- Involvement of non-profit organisations (NGOs) in the public area to create space for education, raising awareness and promoting social (and ecological) initiatives.
3. What worked well, what can be improved?
At Labor Tempelhof, various measures were taken for social sustainability.
Accessibility
What worked well?
- Expansion and optimisation of cooperation with Initiative Barrierefrei Feiern (IBF) in line with the accessibility concept ‘Hinkommen, Reinkommen, Klarkommen (und Wegkommen)’
- Prior to the event, information about the accessibility of the event was provided as well as a contact for individual assistance through a specially established e-mail address (barrierefrei@loft.de) and a detailed accessibility FAQ.
- Sufficient parking spaces for people with disabilities as well as barrier-free entrances with briefed personnel.
- Contact persons for people with disabilities on site with up to eight employees of the Initiative Barrierefrei Feiern.
- Two additional communication channels managed by IBF during the concerts: a hotline and a WhatsApp group for onsite communication.
- Barrier-free toilets, two raised and two-level platforms as well as separate areas next to the platforms with seats for people with disabilities.
- Low-barrier design of the websites on Labor Tempelhof and the Guidebook, including through the selection of colors and fonts, page structuring and responsiveness.
What can be improved?
- Permanently integrate people with disabilities into the core team in order to make internal processes inclusive in the long term.
- Implement even more comprehensive measures (e.g., barrier-free FAQ in Leichte Sprache).
- Make more service providers aware of the social sustainability initiatives and the issue of accessibility in advance. For example, through training or workshops, especially for security staff.
- ‘Barrier-free’ site inspection by IBF employees during the construction phase
- Better planning for any potential separate procedures for people with disabilities in the event of an emergency
Anti-discrimination and awareness
What worked well?
- Awareness info point on the premises, managed by Initiative Barrierefrei Feiern.
- Comprehensive verbal and written briefing of all contractors and involvement of catering, security staff and production.
- Information about the safety and awareness concept posted for the public throughout the venue, as well as via main video screens.
What can be improved?
- In-depth team training
- Inclusion of a diverse line-up (supporting acts)
- Informing all employees in all fields, especially those in the audience area, that the ‘awareness point’ is also there for them if required
Others
What worked well?
- Free drinking water at six stations for the public and production.
- NGOs onsite: Viva Con Agua, Kein Bock auf Nazis, Music Saves Ukraine, C2C NGO Ehrenamt
- Guest list contribution to NGO: Music Saves Ukraine
- Concept for protection and compensatory measures for the residents of the Tempohomes, refugee accommodation.
- Compliance with legal standards on working hours and break times, including work with a health and safety manager.
- Recyclable, algae-based tampons distributed free of charge onsite.
What can be improved?
- There is always room for improvement, for now we have not yet identified any specific measures for improvement within the benchmark we have set ourselves.
4. Findings and Recommendations
- For disability access, there were more than 500 direct contacts with visitors registered onsite at the Meeting Point and via telephone hotline. Around 0,5 % of the guests were people with disabilities.
- Plan sufficient lead time and staffing for the accessibility team.
- When planning staffing, keep in mind that the majority of inquiries are received shortly before the event.
- Many people cannot afford the ticket prices for cultural events, which is why the social ticket was initiated.
- This is a contingent of reduced-price tickets that cost €19.90 instead of €83.00 for those presenting ‘Berlin Ticket S’ proof of eligibility.
- Culture is a central part of social life and should not become a luxury product. By enabling access to concerts for all, we actively contribute to integration and inclusion, and create a platform for exchange and community.
- The ‘Berlin Ticket S’ served as a criterion for deciding who is entitled to a social ticket. In principle, event organisers could also draw up their own catalogue of criteria, especially in federal states without a comparable entitlement certificate such as the ‘Berlin Ticket S’. However, a nationwide standardised regulation would be ideal.
- In the music industry, accessibility is often defined very narrowly. For example, by enabling the participation of people with a visible disability (wheelchair users).
- Think outside the box. For example, there is already experience with the use of sign language interpreters at events.
- Another approach is to make information on event websites accessible to people with visual impairments.
- Address holistic inclusion through the bands/artists on stage.
- Ensure that awareness and the availability of trained personnel on site are accessible to all employees and service-providing teams by providing appropriate information.
- A well thought-out concept for resident protection and compensatory measures, beyond the requirements for event approval, plays a key role in ensuring to actively engage with the event environment and its needs. This encourages dialogue and communication with local residents and creates respectful cooperation by enabling us to address concerns and potential negative impacts.
- Resident protection concept with resident letters and telephone, as well as a dedicated e-mail address.
- Compensation programme for the residents of the Tempohomes, refugee accommodation.
5. Service Provider Contacts
- Concept Disability, Inclusion & Awareness Info Point: Initiative Barrierefrei Feiern
- NGO on site: Viva Con Agua
- NGO on site: Music Saves Ukraine
- NGO on site: Kein Bock auf Nazis
- NGO on site: C2C NGO Ehrenamt
6. Further inspiration from the industry
PULS Open Air (capacity 12,000) at Schloss Kaltenberg has been focusing on inclusion since its inaugural festival in 2016: The event team receives advanced training courses and, together with experts from IBF, has created and implemented barrier-free and inclusion measures at the festival. They range from ticketing to the website and the detailed information on travel and arrival options and onsite facilities (parking, camping) to personal support onsite. Everything at the festival is designed to be as barrier-free as possible. PULS Open Air also pays attention to a balanced lineup, where recently over 50% of the acts had female participation. 38
The band Kochkraft durch KMA and the label Ladies&Ladys released a sampler album called “Cock Am Ring” (Cock on the Ring) as a creative answer to the male-dominated lineup of big German music festivals. On it, 24 acts (with a large FLINTA* share) cover the songs of the male bands that are or were in the lineup of “Rock Am Ring” (Rock on the Ring) festival. 39
