Education and Training
Connections Arts Centre envisions a community which supports people living with intellectual disabilities through creative programmes. These programmes aim to empower organisations and professionals, to integrate the disability community fully within their organisations and services.
Accessibility Training Programmes
Our practical programmes educate organisations in how to make their in-house and public-facing communications more accessible, increasing awareness of the needs of people living with disabilities, and assisting in creating a working environment that is more inclusive of people with disabilities.
The programmes equip participants with the skills to develop communications with accessibility in mind from the outset. Creating accessible content allows organisations to embrace diversity, improve usability for everyone, and ensure content is accessible to the widest possible audience. This makes organisations truly inclusive, further supporting staff and customers.
Our training aligns with state funding aims to enhance employability and integration of people with disabilities in the workforce. Creating accessible content allows you to embrace diversity, in turn, improving usability for everyone, and ensuring that your content is available for the widest possible audience. Making your organisation truly inclusive and accessible.
“I attended four days of training with Liz on different aspects of accessibility. Liz was very informed and she offered training tailored specifically to our needs. The training was engaging, informative and practical. We were able to put into practice what we had learned very quickly.”
-Ciara Harrison (Learning and Public Engagement Curator, RHA)
Why Care About Accessibility?
Global Reach: 2.2 billion people worldwide have trouble seeing; 1 in 10 people have some form of dyslexia; 30 million people are colourblind (1 in 12 men and 1 in 200 women); 22% of people in Ireland live with a disability.
Enhanced User Experience: Accessible content can be consumed by everyone, increasing your contents impact and reach.
Innovation: Designing for accessibility encourages creativity and pushes content creators to think outside the box.
Social Responsibility: Demonstrates that your organisation values diversity and cares about reaching all individuals regardless of their abilities.
-
Short, effective training sessions that equip staff with the knowledge and strategies to ensure content promotes inclusivity.
Venue: Online or In-Person
Workshop Modules: 90 min (including Q and A)
What to Expect: Join us for an engaging and interactive lunch and learn workshop focused on what accessibility is, why we should care about it, Alt Text; Creating effective descriptions, and how to create accessible emails.
This session is designed to equip participants with practical skills and insights to promote inclusivity and support diverse audiences. Let's build a more accessible future together!
*Our lunch and learn training session can be facilitated at any time during working hours.
-
Short, effective training sessions that equip staff with the knowledge and strategies to ensure content promotes inclusivity.
Venue: Online or in-person
Workshop Modules: 90 min (including Q and A)
What to Expect: Join us for an engaging and interactive lunch and learn workshop focused on creating accessible word documents, creating accessible PowerPoint presentations, and understanding and value of social stories.
This session is designed to equip participants with practical skills and insights to promote inclusivity and support diverse audiences. Let's build a more accessible future together!
*Our lunch and learn training session can be facilitated at anytime during working hours.
-
Short, effective training sessions that equip staff with the knowledge and strategies to ensure content promotes inclusivity.
Venue: Online
Workshop Modules: 90 min (including Q and A)
What to Expect: Join us for an engaging and interactive lunch and learn workshop focused on Creating accessible social media posts, guidelines for accessible, social media posts, guidelines for accessible website content, and enhancing video content accessibility.
This session is designed to equip participants with practical skills and insights to promote inclusivity and support diverse audiences. Let's build a more accessible future together!
*Our lunch and learn training session can be facilitated at anytime during working hours.
-
Join us for a comprehensive half day or one-day workshop that combines key elements from the all three focused lunch and learn sessions on accessibility. This workshop is designed to equip participants with a complete understanding of accessibility practices and strategies across various platforms and communication outputs.
-
Venue: Online or in person
Workshop Modules: 4 or 5 x 2 hour workshops*
Programme Overview:
Connections Arts Centre begins with a consultation to identify your organisation's specific communication and content accessibility needs. We then tailor our bespoke program to address the areas of need, offering comprehensive training and education. To help you bridge any gaps effectively and ensure your organisation is inclusive, accessible, and able to create content with accessibility in mind from the outset.
This training will provide your employees with the necessary tools to ensure your organisation’s future communication, and content is inclusive and accessible to everyone. The bespoke training programmes also provides an opportunity to identify improvements that can be put into place immediately, supporting the needs of internal employees and strengthening the
What to Expect: Throughout the course, participants will acquire the following skills: Understanding accessibility challenges and common mistakes that cause barriers to accessibility. Understanding Alt text (Alternative text for images) and how to create it. How to create accessible content for: Email PowerPoint Word documents. How to create a Visual story using Word. Social Media platforms - Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter (X) and Instagram. Accessible website content.
In addition to the options available above we also provide in depth bespoke training in the following areas:
Creating accessible printed materials - Flyers, posters, brochures, catalogues.
Accessibility guidelines for phone applications.
Accessible guidelines for signage for physical spaces.
Accessibility guidelines for galleries and museums.
Benefits of the Programme
Social Responsibility: Show commitment to inclusivity and diversity.
Expanded Audience Reach: Accessible content increases reach and impact.
Better User Experience: Improved usability for all content consumers.
*Please note, the weekly programme breakdown is subject to change based on the needs of the group. Modules can be added or removed based on the clients specific needs and consultation.
View Our Programme Offerings Below
Benefits of the Programmes
Being committed to accessibility demonstrates that your organisation is socially responsible, that it values diversity and cares about reaching all individuals regardless of their abilities.
Accessible content can be consumed by everyone, increasing your contents impact and reach.
Accessible content provides a better user experience for everyone who is consuming your content.
Accessibility helps you to comply with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).
Designing for accessibility encourages creativity and pushes content creators to think outside the box to make content usable by a wider audience.
Knowing that your content is accessible and positively impacting the lives of diverse individuals can be rewarding and fulfilling for your organisation.
Outcomes for your Organisation
Participants gain a deeper understanding of diverse disabilities, the barriers to accessibility each one experiences and the importance of inclusive content creation.
They will finish with practical skills in implementing accessibility features, like alt text for images, captions for videos, document layouts, etc.
They will understand how to create content that adheres to the basic standards outlined in WCAG, enhancing their ability to create products and content that prioritise accessibility from the outset.
Participants gain skills to identify accessibility barriers in digital content.
Your organisation will benefit from improved user satisfaction, expanded audience reach and guideline compliance,
By working with Connections Arts Centre, a not for profit social enterprise, you are supporting us to continue on our mission and increase our impact.
What people say about the training…
“Training with Elizabeth Salisbury from Connections Arts Centre was really helpful, insightful and beneficial to our organisation. I felt I had gained a much better understanding of the changes we can make to ensure our way of working and the information we publicise is much more accessible to people with various additional needs. In an encouraging environment, Elizabeth covered a wide area of content creation which enabled us to make immediate improvements.”
-Rebecca Gale (Marketing Manager)
”Liz provided a really informative training session on accessibility as it relates to the gallery environment, and offered such detailed information about the RHA itself. Liz was very approachable and I felt comfortable speaking with her and asking questions as they arose. I have been able to put a number of things I learned into practice since the training session, which has been beneficial both to my role and visitors to the RHA.”
-Sarah McAuliffe (Curator)
Contact us to learn more and get a pricing quotation.
Pricing is determined by the following factors:
Number of participants, number of modules per group, hours per module, programme design and research, post-programme support, and travel costs if required.
For a quotation, please contact:
Phone: +353-86-6478452
Email: elizabeth@connectionsartscentre.ie
www.connectionsartscentre.ie
External Funding Opportunities:
Disability Awareness Support Scheme
The Disability Awareness Support Scheme provides a maximum of €20,000 funding for private sector employers to arrange and pay for disability awareness training for staff. The scheme promotes employability, integration, and the elimination of misconceptions about people with disabilities.
Click button below to learn more. You will be redirected to Gov.ie
About Connections Arts Centre
Connections Arts Centre is a non-profit organisation dedicated to supporting the disability community in Ireland. Our mission is to champion Arts, Lifestyle, and Training programmes that bridge educational gaps, counteract devaluation, and promote inclusivity for people with disabilities.
Guided by the principles of Creativity, Community, and Change, we aim to harness the power of creativity to elevate individuals within the disability community and instigate societal change by dismantling stereotypes. Our focus extends beyond mere representation to actively challenge prevailing misconceptions.
Our Creating Accessible Content training programme empowers organisations and professionals to integrate the disability community fully within their content and services.