Courses

Iris van Heesch (Stichting Onbeperkt Genieten) – training about developing a museum visit with reduced stimuli
The training Prikkelarm & Cultuur is designed especially for cultural institutions that want to take on reduced stimuli programming. The following points are addressed in the span of a half day (ca. 4 hours):

• Awareness: why is it necessary that we offer reduced stimuli cultural experiences?  
• Information about the target group: who needs reduced stimuli cultural experiences? 
• Practical tools for communication around reduced stimuli experiences and organizing them. 
• Inspiration to set up reduced stimuli visits within your cultural organization. 

At the end of the training you will have more insight into the target group and why the experience of cultural institutions today is not very – if at all – accessible. You will also receive concrete tips and ideas so that you can get started on becoming more inclusieve to visitors with autism right away.

More information
Website: www.onbeperkt-genieten.nl  
Telephone number: +316 24536857
Email address: stichting[at]onbeperkt-genieten.nl

Elvera van Leeuwen (Mikxs) – training about tours for and the welcoming of visitors with a visual impairment
Mikxs trrainings create awareness around the experience of art by people with a visual impairment. The experience is central to these trainings, as experiences stick with people. There is also considerable attention for the way in which art can be made accessible to people with a visueal impairment. With examples from the field and individual assignments, we will find out what you can do to give people that are blind or have a visual impairment a warm welcome to your museum. 

Mikxs develops custom trainings. In conversation with the organization, we decide which elements are important to your team and we will consider the way in which art is presented in your museum. The goals of every training are the same: Awareness, Accessibility, Attainability, Usability and Conduct. After these trainings you will have various tools to use so that your museum can offer visitors an inclusive visit.

More information
Website: www.mikxs.nl / www.orenogentekort.nl    
Phone number: +316 15616136
Email address: info[at]mikxs.nl

Unforgettable Training – tours voor and the welcoming of visitors with dementia and their loved ones
In our aging society there is an increasing number of people that live with varying forms of dementia. The Unforgettable-methodology offers these people and their loved ones the possibility to (continue to) enjoy visiting the museum in the company of a trained tour guide. The Unforgettable training teaches museum professionals and/or guides how to give a tour to people with dementie and their loved ones.

Different facets are explored in these trainings: background information about dementia, the development of the tour as well as the roll of the hosts and the practical execution of the tour. It is also possible to take a refresher course after some time has passed since the original training. It is also possible to schedule a return day for the museums from within or outside the same part of the country.

More information
Website: www.muzeaalverhalen.com
Telephone number: +316 53626716
Email address: info[at]muzeaalverhalen.com

Wat Telt! – an accessible and hospitable museum for deaf people and people with a hearing impairment
In Holland there are 1,5 million deaf people and people with a hearing impairment for whom many organizations, services or events are not properly accessible. In 2016, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was ratified in the Netherlands. This treaty states that people with a disability should be able to completely and fully participate in society: in education, at work, art, culture, sports and many more arenas. On October 13th 2020, Dutch Sign Language was recognized as an official language in the Netherlands by the government. This means that deaf people have the right to communicate in this language.

Wat Telt! offers workshops to museums to give them insights into how they can be accessible, inclusive and welcoming to deaf people and people with a hearing impairment. These workshops are aimed at educators, marketing and communication employees as well as front office employees. Besides information about the target group, the workshops also provide insights and tools and participants follow a mini Sign Language lesson. During the workshops, participants collaborate with deaf experts that know all the ins and outs of the target group so that the museum can avoid (common) mistakes in this process.

More information
Website: www.wattelt.org
Telephone number: +316 43040389  
Email address: roos[at]wattelt.org

‘Spraakmakend’-training – tours for visitors with aphasia
Every person uses language. When as a result of a brain injury, one or more aspects of the language spectrum no longer function well, it is called aphasia. Mijke Ulrich, experiential expert and social worker, and Jenneke Lambert, art historian, have developed a tour methodology for this target group. This is meant to bring attention to the fact that museums often focus on the verbalization of (art) experiences. The focus of this methodology is a positive, creative and inspiring experience. In Mijke’s words: open your heart. The tours are combined with a debriefing conversation and a collectively enjoyed cup of coffee or tea.

The training consists of a presentation in which Mijke delves into what kind of impact aphasia can have on a person’s life, including her own. During a tour through the organization, this awareness is further elaborated and so-called blind spots are exposed. With this inventory, we develop an interactive tour for people with aphasia and match this to the ambitions of the organizations. In collaboration with an education department employee (and any other employees such as curators), interested tour guides as well as an experiential expert, we schedule a training. The involvement from across the organization as well as local collaborations will make the developments sustainable and the dual approach of an experiential expert in collaboration with an art historian is guaranteed.

More information
Email address: jenneke.lambert[at]gmail.com

IZI Solutions – trainings and advice to make diversity and inclusion integral parts of business operations
IZI Solutions is a social innovation agency that provides solutions to societal issues. They do this by creating awareness, advising organisations and influencing policy. They specialize in the following themes:

• Diversity and inclusion
• Exclusion and coping mechanisms
• Participation and equal opportunities
• Social cohesion and sustainability
• Community building and organising

It is important that policy, programs, projects, activities and the appearance of an organization tie into the contemporary and future realities and developments in a super diverse and quickly changing world. IZI offers organizations tools to make diversity and inclusion integral parts of business operations. In their approach they get management, staff, executive staff and other stakeholders involved. Depending on the wishes of the organization, IZI will take into consideration different features of diversity such as age, gender, cultural background (ethnicity), sexual orientation, and ability.

IZI offers a diversity and inclusion quickscan, consultancy concerning inclusive marketing and/or communications, trainings and/or coaching for management and professionals concerning diversity and inclusion, the design, implementation and optimalization of diversity and inclusion strategies, policies and processes. Depending on the audience (management, staff, HR advisors, etc), IZI develops custom trainings.

More information
Website: www.izi-solutions.com
Email address: info[at]zi-solutions.com

Training: Queering Museum Access
What is queering? In this context it means we take a different perspective to everyday museum interactions and work together to form a new understanding of how we approach inclusivity. Using a combination of empathy building exercises and applying a queer framework to the dynamics of museum interactions, Claire O’Brien would like to empower museum staff to engage in meaningful discussion about museum access, start creating safe spaces and feel confident in their ability to make anybody feel welcome in your institution.

More information
Email address: queeringcurriculum[at]gmail.com

Training: Constituent approaches
In this training Olle Lundin, Constituent Curator of the Van Abbemuseum, will share insights about the possibilities of the ‘consituent working method’ for museums. Who has power in the institution? A few museums are embarking on a constituent working method in order to change the use of cultural heritage institutions. Who constitutes the museums curatorial, educational or meditational staff? By approaching different constituencies in your local surrounding and investing in platforming their visions and needs, it is possible to change how the museum is used and to what end. Who feels involved in your institution now? Who do you hope to involve? What do you hope this will lead to? What is the readiness inside your institution to do that work?

More information
Email address: info@ollehello.com