You might find accessing the commercial world straightforward. Not everyone does. One in five people in the UK have a disability, so how do we make the marketplace more accessible for them?
Dr Leighanne Higgins and Dr Killian O’Leary are here to talk about their Marketplace & I project, which works with organisations to improve their accessibility for consumers through specialist training.
We find out how they use art and artworks produced by people with a disability and their families at the heart of their project – and which artworks really stand out to the project leaders; and how their work goes beyond shops and cafes to charities, universities, and councils, taking a broad look at issues.
Leighanne and Killian tell us why they are so passionate about ending exclusion from society, and how all of us might face accessibility issues as we enter old age. They show how things have evolved over the last decade when it comes to accessibility attitudes, and how organisations they worked with several years ago are now exemplars of change.
We talk about the difference between visible and invisible disabilities, and how needs differ when entering the marketplace. And we discover how public exhibitions of the artworks led to direct business engagement with key issues.
We look at the importance of creating a welcoming atmosphere, uncover myths surrounding the costs of accessibility, and see how employees can be inspired by training.
Plus, why is Jan not a fan of shopping? And why are we talking about Monsters Inc’s Mike Wazowski?
Find out more about the Marketplace and I project and some of the artworks here: The Marketplace and I
And details of their accessibility training workshops are here: Accessibility training workshops - Lancaster University
This is the website of the Jumbulance Trust, whom we mentioned in the show: Jumbulance Home
And the NeuroChatin podcast can be found here: https://pod.co/neurochatin
Transforming Tomorrow
Sustainability is key for any business that wants to build a lasting legacy. From carbon footprints to biodiversity to modern slavery, seabeds to factory floors, everything matters.
On Transforming Tomorrow, we make the complex understandable, the theory practical, as we guide you through the ever-changing and often exciting world of sustainability in business.
Speaking to internationally renowned experts and business leaders, we uncover how to mainstream environmental, social and economic sustainability into purposeful business strategy and performance.
Whether you are leading transition in your business, want to build a corporation with a green heart or change your individual actions, or just want to know more about how space weather might affect your operations, Transforming Tomorrow is the show for you.
Hosts Jan and Paul bring insight, perspective, and not a little amount of disagreement, to all the subjects, helping you find the message among the madness.
Join us every Monday to uncover new insights and become a little more inspired that you can make a difference.
You can find transcripts for most episodes at: https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/pentland/resources-for-education-and-practice/transforming-tomorrow-podcast/transcripts/
Send your questions on any of the issues we discuss in Transforming Tomorrow to [email protected] or fill in our feedback form here: https://forms.office.com/e/7Bw4rDiRDt
Find out more about the Pentland Centre and its work here: https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/pentland/
Meet the Hosts
Professor Jan Bebbington is the Director of the Pentland Centre for Sustainability in Business at Lancaster University. Jan is an expert on accounting, benchmarking (to her co-host’s annoyance), and how business and sustainability intersect.
Jan loves nature and wants to protect it – and hopes she can change the world (ideally for the better). She is also motivated to address inequality wherever it is found and especially to eliminate forced, bonded or child labour. Transforming Tomorrow is one small step on that quest.
Paul Turner is a former sports journalist who now works promoting the research activities in Lancaster University Management School – a poacher turned gamekeeper as his former colleagues would have it.
Paul has always been interested in nature and the natural environment – it comes from growing up in Cumbria – and has been a vocal proponent of the work of the Pentland Centre since joining Lancaster University. He does not like rankings and benchmarking, and is not afraid to say so.