WisCon is held in a venue that is less than perfectly ideal for access needs. But WisCon's committee (the ENTIRE committee, not just the Access department) goes to extraordinary lengths to embrace access needs and implement changes in every facet of the convention, from registration to con suite to programming to hotel liaison work to publications. And the committee also provides near-continual reminders to the entire community in attendance throughout the con of the importance of respecting access needs, including "how to be a useful ally" information.
At least in my eyes, this is what raises a decently accessible event to an exceptional one. And there was absolutely none of that at WorldCon this year, despite the fact that the known deficiencies of the venue made it even more critical than it is at other events. That is the crux of my dismay (fury) with the WorldCon committee: as bad as their venue was for access, they didn't care enough about the percentage of their members who absolutely required access accommodations in order to fully experience the convention to do any kind of adjustments, or even to remind members to be supportive/helpful until they were reminded that it might be a good idea.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2012-09-10 04:35 pm (UTC)WisCon is held in a venue that is less than perfectly ideal for access needs. But WisCon's committee (the ENTIRE committee, not just the Access department) goes to extraordinary lengths to embrace access needs and implement changes in every facet of the convention, from registration to con suite to programming to hotel liaison work to publications. And the committee also provides near-continual reminders to the entire community in attendance throughout the con of the importance of respecting access needs, including "how to be a useful ally" information.
At least in my eyes, this is what raises a decently accessible event to an exceptional one. And there was absolutely none of that at WorldCon this year, despite the fact that the known deficiencies of the venue made it even more critical than it is at other events. That is the crux of my dismay (fury) with the WorldCon committee: as bad as their venue was for access, they didn't care enough about the percentage of their members who absolutely required access accommodations in order to fully experience the convention to do any kind of adjustments, or even to remind members to be supportive/helpful until they were reminded that it might be a good idea.
And in the year 2012, that is Just Plain Wrong.