Inclusive Events Toolkit
Did you know that almost every European Country has a version of Doors Open Days? Each September, 50 countries across Europe throw open their doors to numerous monuments and sites, inviting all to enjoy free visits and learn about our shared spaces and stories.
The strength of European Heritage Days has always been its ability to bring people together to appreciate the rich diversity of European cultures. At Doors Open Days, we’ve always thought the more the merrier!
To help European Heritage Days organisers create events that include and reflect the diversity of European cultures, the Council of Europe and the European Commission supported teams at Scottish Civic Trust and The National Trust to create a toolkit for developing, delivering and evaluating inclusive events.
Download The Toolkit Themes
This toolkit includes case studies and tips based on the experiences of Scotland's Doors Open Days and England's Heritage Open Days. It also has tools you can use or adapt to your local contexts.
The toolkit is for groups, volunteers, venues, national and regional coordinators, and anyone else involved in organising European Heritage Days' events. The toolkit is divided into easy to read sections called ‘themes’. It also has a GLOSSARY of terms.
These stand-alone themes are designed to be downloaded or printed individually to support your own needs and interests.
Working Together With Groups
Theme 1: Working together with groups
1.1 Finding Partners to work with
1.2 Getting in touch with possible Partners
Working With Volunteers
Theme 2: Working with volunteers
2.1 Addressing barriers to volunteering
2.2 Setting goals with new volunteers
Budgeting for Inclusion
Theme 3: Budgeting for inclusion
3.1 Asking about access needs
3.2 Removing financial barriers
Choosing a Venue
Theme 4: Choosing a venue
4.1 Making spaces welcoming and accessible
4.2 Mapping how accessible a site is
Reflecting on Inclusion
Theme 5: Reflecting on inclusion
5.1 Reflecting on inclusion in a group
5.2 Reflecting on your experiences
5.3 Thinking about economic inclusion and exclusion
Addressing Barriers
Theme 6: Addressing barriers
6.1 Inclusive language
6.2 Translation and interpretation
6.3 Disabling barriers
6.4 Sharing accessibility info
6.5 Event checklist: barriers and access
6.6 Addressing barriers and care needs
Co-Creating Events
Theme 7: Co-creating events
7.1 Choosing an event idea
7.2 Planing co-production meetings
Evaluation
Theme 8: Evaluation
8.1 Visitor feedback
8.2 Evaluating your co-production
8.3 Debriefing in depth
This toolkit is the result of a research and development project in 2019/2020 supported by European Heritage Days funding through the Council of Europe and the European Commission.
It was led by a research partnership comprising Scottish Civic Trust’s Doors Open Days National Coordinator Nicola Godsal and Diverse Heritage Officer Jennifer Novotny, and The National Trust’s Heritage Open Days’ Head of Producing Annie Reilly and draws on the experience and input of other European Heritage Days’ National Coordinators and a range of partners and participants.