To read more about Being Hybrid, click here. To access it in a range of other formats, click here
Why are you launching Being Hybrid?
I keep having the same conversation over and over in my disabled writers group chats this summer. “Why is this festival not programming online?”. We had a period of time in which far more work was accessible to home-bound people and those who would struggle to reach it physically. Now, instead, everything has gone back to being in person. When people ask events “will this also be available online?” the response is almost always “that’s far too hard to do”. That’s where the conversation ends – and deaf and disabled writers are being shut out of spaces that briefly welcomed us. That’s why launching Being Hybrid is so important for CRIPtic – because events need to return to offering this provision.
Maybe for events organisers, it feels like making your event available as a hybrid event is intimidating. However, isn’t actually difficult, time-consuming, or expensive – unless you want it to be. Many excellent events organised themselves with hybrid provision from the start. This means it can be smooth, sleek, and flashy. At the same time, other events are just now realising that they should offer a hybrid option. Whether the event you’re planning is next week, or next year, it’s not too late for you to provide access to remote audiences, as well as in-person ones.
It’s so disappointing, frustrating, and exhausting for deaf and disabled audiences to continually be shut out of opportunities. Especially at the moment, when many of us are still taking high levels of COVID precautions, it feels like the rest of the world has forgotten about us.
What does it cover?
Being Hybrid talks you through everything you need to know to make your event available both online and offline, including:
- What a hybrid event is
- What it allows you to do
- How to get people to attend it
- Basic technology requirements
- The best online platforms
- Managing hybrid events
- Beyond audiences: hybrid speakers & facilitators
- Access and hybrid events
We are convinced that there is no reason for events not to have a hybrid option this summer. There’s no reason for you to exclude these potential audiences – when there’s such a wide range – and these are just a few:
- Geographically dispersed audiences
- Rural audiences
- Parents and carers
- Disabled people
- People with limited time available
Read the guide
If you want to know more about how to make your event hybrid, check out the guide – and if you found it helpful, please share it with other people and events.
Huge thanks to Spread the Word for partnering with us on this report, and funding the British Sign Language translation, and to all the people who inspired, read, and offered feedback on this.
Other formats of Being Hybrid
There are lots of different ways you can access Being Hybrid. These are linked below:
Plain English summary of the guide
A formatted .pdf file of the Plain English summary of the report
Shorter version of the full guide
- A webpage containing a shorter version of the report
- A formatted .pdf file containing a shorter version of the report
- A word document containing a shorter version of the report
- A video with the shorter version of the report in audio, British Sign Language and captions
Full length guide
- A webpage about the full version of the report
- A formatted .pdf file containing a full version of the report
- A word document containing a full version of the report
Access formats
We apologise that at this time the Full Guide is not available in BSL or audio formats. As the guide was not funded, we were limited in the range of accessible versions we could provide. Many thanks to Spread the Word for funding the British Sign Language translation. If you need an accessible version that is not currently available, please email contact@cripticarts.org and we will do our best to create it.
