According to the data gathered by the Polish government, in Poland there are over 3 million people with disabilities who have legal confirmation of their condition. More specifically, this number ranges from 4 million to 7 million. This means that deaf or blind people, wheelchair users and those with other disabilities, make up more than 10% of the general population. Bearing in mind the demographic trends, the rapidly ageing society and the consequences of accidents, an increasing number of people may lose their full capabilities during their lives. This will significantly limit their freedom of movement, also in the public space.
Despite the Constitution of the Republic of Poland that guarantees the equal access to culture for every citizen and the ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the documents are not being executed accurately and the legislation is not reflected in practice. This situation is influenced, among others, by the low level of awareness of public sector employees (for instance, managers and employees of local cultural institutions) concerning the presence of people with disabilities in public spaces and the barriers they face when they want to visit a cinema, theatre or museum.
The Department of Culture and National Heritage (Marshal Office), in Malopolska region, believes that equipping the personnel of cultural institutions with appropriate knowledge and tools will contribute to the inclusion of people with disabilities in cultural life, and will also reduce the level of their alienation and isolation.
In the Polish legislation, there are provisions referring only to architectural conditions, describing how to adapt the space of the building to the needs of people with mobility disabilities, but there is still lack of clear guidelines on how to make institutions and their offers available for people with visual and hearing disabilities.
The most important challenge is the change of mentality, the improvement of the empathic approach and awareness of those managing cultural institutions.
The main objective of the project ‘Malopolska. Empathetic culture – making culture accessible for everyone’ is to raise the level of openness and accessibility of cultural institutions of the Malopolska Region, in relation to people with disabilities, and to support their participation in cultural activities. This is achieved by working on specific goals such as raising awareness about equality and diversity rights, working closely with people with disabilities to listen to their needs, and organising training and workshops for employees of cultural institutions. The Malopolska Department of Culture also holds meetings to empower networking among public spaces personnel and experts, and supports the non-governmental sector when it comes to working with people with disabilities.