2. Venue

Physical events

• Visit the venue before entering into any agreement and discuss your needs, wishes and requirements in advance.
• Choose a central location near public transport. Provide information about public transport options and encourage participants to use them. Provide information about options for disabled parking or pick-up and drop-off points (up to 25 metres from the entrance), but not about parking in general.
• Prioritise conference facilities/​hotels with environmental certification (Nordic Swan Ecolabel, Green Key or similar) and which use renewable energy. If the venue does not use renewable energy, an option is to  calculate the electricity needed for the event and buy wind certificates (or similar).
• Level access, i.e. without steps or stairs or perhaps with ramps
  • Large elevator (at least 1.1 x 1.4 metres)
  • Alarm systems that are visible, audible and vibrate
  • Good signage, including in Braille
  • Contrast marking of stairs and obstacles
  • Wide automatic doors (at least 90 cm) without doorsteps (or with a slight incline of max. 2 cm)
  • Unscented cleaning and products
  • Accessible and gender-neutral toilets
  • No carpets in the rooms
  • Good light and sound systems with microphone and speakers
  • Opportunities to use assistive devices (see the section “Interpreting and assistive devices”)

• Make sure that every room is accessible to all of the participants, including the audience space, stage, group rooms and dining facilities. Physical access and technical equipment must work equally well throughout the venue so that all of the participants can take part in every part of the programme on equal terms.
• Make sure the sound system, microphone and speakers work well. Think in particular about the acoustics when choosing rooms. Make sure there is no echo or background noise. This is a necessity for people with hearing impairments and is good for everybody involved in the event.
• Make sure the light system is adequate and that the light in the rooms is adjustable. Make sure there is sufficient light on the speakers. If sign language interpreters are working, the light must be adjustable, so they are visible even when videos are shown or the lighting is dimmed.
• Designate a person responsible for safety. Map the emergency exits and assembly points in case of evacuation and fire and find out whether there are other emergency exits for people in wheelchairs. Find out whether it is safe to be on the premises, e.g. for people with impaired vision, and whether contrast marking should be used on stairs, ramps, wiring or other obstacles, e.g., with neon-coloured tape.
• Make sure that the entrance is marked with clear signs and accessible by all. Make sure any information tables are low, so everyone can reach them, and that the cloakroom has staff to hang up things or that people can do it themselves, whether in a wheelchair or standing up.

Online events and livestreaming

• Choose a digital platform that supports the purpose of the event and supports various types of interpreting, including in writing and other assistive devices. Zoom is recommended as one of the most accessible platforms, followed by Teams.
• When purchasing technical support/selecting partners, choose a company that uses renewable energy or focuses on reducing emissions from its servers.
• Make it attractive to participate online by arranging for digital interaction, e.g. chat, breakout rooms, polls and digital bulletin boards. A high level of interaction places higher demands on functionality and the organiser’s management of the event.
• Hold a test meeting or conduct some other test of technical solutions, connections, equipment and presentations in advance of the event. Ask for presentations to be sent in advance and check whether they are visually accessible (see the section “Information and presentations”).
• Think about how best to share material with the participants. It is a good idea to use cloud-based services such as WeTransfer or OneDrive when sharing large files such as videos, audio files and PDFs. The participants can then choose what information to download, and the process is more climate-friendly. Always remember to compress large files and limit the period they are available for download.
• Think about ways of improving the digital skills of organisers, speakers and participants to make the event effective and inclusive. Draw up a guide to digital meeting etiquette and share it with all the participants in advance. Examples of what such a guide might include:
  • Requirements placed on the participants’ equipment, e.g. computers, webcams, headsets with microphones, stable internet connections, mobile phones or tablets with access to specific apps and other physical materials
  • Requirements placed on the physical environment, e.g., a bright room with good acoustics in which the participants are close to any camera and microphone so interpreters and other participants can see and hear them
  • Information about how participants should start the meeting, ask to speak and turn mute on/off
  • Information about how participants will interact, e.g. in chat, breakout rooms, polls and digital bulletin boards
  • Information about interpreting and how it works.

• When, and if it makes sense, encourage participants who are not playing an active role in the meeting to turn off their cameras: 90% of the CO² emissions from online meetings are due to the use of video.

Hybrid events

• Follow the relevant advice for both physical and digital events.
• Clarify your needs.  It can be a physical event where all or just part of the programme needs to be livestreamed to participants who are not active or interacting, or it could be an event at which the physical and digital participants have to be able to participate and interact on equal terms. Plan this carefully.
• Select a technical partner with experience in hybrid solutions and support. If equipment is not available on-site, the supplier may need to set up their own cameras, microphones and other equipment. Make sure the provider offers access to a digital platform that supports interpreting and other tools that work well together.
• Facilitate inclusive hybrid participation. For example, give remote participants the opportunity to interact, remind the moderator and speakers to address  them equally and to stick to the timetable, including for breaks.