Culture without Barriers – EU project
From 2021, till 2023 kubia was a transnational partner of the German-Polish EU project "Culture without Barriers". In a project period of three years, kubia supported the Polish team in the development and testing of an approach model for more accessibility at publicly funded cultural institutions in Poland.
The aim of the model is to support employees of cultural institutions in planning and implementing accessibility measures for cultural users in a structured manner.
The project was supported by PFRON, the state fund for the rehabilitation of people with disabilities in Poland, in cooperation with the Polish Ministry of Culture and the organization “Culture without Barriers”. On the kubia side, Annalena Knors (Corporate Inclusion, Münster) and Lisette Reuter (Un-Label Performing Arts Company, Cologne), under the direction of kubia staff member Annette Ziegert, were involved in developing the model and accompanying its testing.
After kubia invited the Polish team to an online study trip to Germany in June 2021, a return visit to Poland took place. In September 2021, Annalena Knors, Lisette Reuter and Annette Ziegert traveled to Warsaw to gain insights into Polish cultural institutions and their accessibility measures directly on site and in hybrid events. The program was diverse and included presentations of cultural centers, museums, a theater institute, a state umbrella organization for museums and private collections, cultural organizations of the independent scene, a puppet theater and a private company.
Following the development of an initial version of the model framework, 164 cultural institutions from across Poland, including libraries, theaters, concert halls and museums, were selected in an application process in 2022. The funding recipients had the opportunity to test the model framework for a year and implement exemplary accessibility measures in their organizations. The model phase was accompanied by extensive networking and training events. The final phase of the project was dedicated to evaluating the pilot projects, which were incorporated into the final version of the model.
In September, Annalena Knors, Lisette Reuter and Annette Ziegert traveled to Warsaw together with kubia director Almuth Fricke for the final talks. During the final visit, they had the opportunity to get to know three funding recipients from the project’s test phase and gain insights into their work: the Nowy Teatr in Warsaw, the City Museum and one of the municipal cultural centers in Łódź.
In January 2024, the project results were published in three languages – Polish, German and English.