A training and co-design programme on accessibility for cultural organisations.
Where we started
The TECLA project aims to protect the right to cultural participation and promote equal opportunities for people with disabilities, while also addressing the need to provide cultural organisations with training on accessibility.
Understanding the important role that direct dialogue between cultural contexts and their target audiences plays in breaking down the barriers to cultural participation, the TECLA project has created a platform to facilitate dialogue. To ensure that Milan’s cultural scene is increasingly ready to welcome a wide and diverse audience, TECLA has conducted training sessions, co-design workshops and pilot projects.
What we did
TECLA has set up a training, discussion and co-design programme, which is open to people with disabilities, as well as relevant bodies, designers and cultural sector operators, with the aim of working together to find ways to make culture more accessible.
The initial training phase was conducted over a period of four days at the Civica Scuola di Teatro Paolo Grassi drama school, in collaboration with AlDiQua Artists. Second-year students from the ‘Organizzazione dello spettacolo’ (Performing arts management) course participated, as did a group of 40 sector professionals who were selected through an open call.
The training programme was designed to raise awareness of the needs of people with disabilities and the barriers that prevent them from participating in cultural activities, providing tools and strategies to make spaces, content and activities more accessible.
The second phase of the project, organised by Fedora in collaboration with the Cooperativa Sociale Codici, comprised a co-design programme that involved three theatre and cultural organisations based in Milan: Centro culturale Magnete, TeCa Teatro Cassanese, ATIR Associazione Teatrale Indipendente per la Ricerca.
As part of the co-design programme, which brought together people with disabilities, relevant bodies, designers, cultural sector operators, and internal teams from the three organisations, several solutions were devised to make the organisations more accessible. Following the needs identified during these sessions, Magnete, ATIR and TeCa were the tasked with developing a pilot project in close collaboration with the participating individuals and organisations.
Moreover, at the end of the project, the accessibility game ‘Tecla – il gioco! A che punto siamo con l’accessibilità?’ (TECLA – the game! Where do we stand on accessibility?) was created, a self-analysis tool designed to encourage cultural organisations to reflect on their own accessibility. It is an open invitation to implement new ways of producing and using resources, ensuring that everyone plays an active role in social and cultural life.
‘Tecla – il gioco!’ is available in digital format for any organisation interested in putting its accessibility to the test!
You will receive it once you have filled in the following form.
The following materials are available for download:
– the rules of the game, to be viewed on screen
– the cards (front and back), to be printed in A4 format
– the dashboard (front and back), to be printed in A3 format
‘Tecla – il gioco’ is released under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence
Result: capacity building and empowerment
Providing training and enabling organisations in the live entertainment and cultural sectors to become more accessible, as well as raising awareness and empowering people with disabilities in their relationship with culture, can help to break down the barriers to cultural participation. This can lead to a renewed sense of awareness and empowerment among the target audience.
The collaboration with Magnete also created the opportunity for a new project: the SiiAcqua project, which received funding through the 2025 Bando Cultura Diffusa call for proposals issued by Fondazione Cariplo. Fedora was a partner in this project, alongside Ecate, Sanpapié and Ditta Gioco Fiaba. The project entailed the creation of an accessible, multidisciplinary cultural programme for people with disabilities, the elderly, and families residing in the Adriano neighbourhood, which incorporates the accessibility strategies developed as part of the TECLA programme.
