Wherever possible we try to get out and meet disabled people and those organisations involved with them, to keep abreast of current thinking – and to have a bit of fun.
The Research Institute for Consumer Affairs (RICA) invited me to attend their information exchange where leading research commissioners and members of their consumer research panel, RicaWatch, gave a series of short presentations on best practice regarding communication to older and disabled consumers.
As a (disability magazine) editor, my primary aim is communication so I was certainly primed with plenty of ideas to share but also ‘all ears’ when it came to concepts beyond ‘big print’.
RICA pride themselves on honesty and clarity at their events and when they publish information so it was no surprise that the workshops in particular were a fascinating source of different views and opinions from organisations looking to ‘up their game’ as well as disabled people themselves. The hot topics included the use of new technologies and methods such as automated audible announcements as well as the potential of simple Twitter feeds to get timely and accurate information to as wide a group of consumers as possible. RICA Chair, Phil Friend, summed up saying: “We don’t see progress in these areas unless we examine these things”, adding, “We need serious evidence to put before policy-makers”.
A couple of weeks before that I visited Motability’s biggest event of the year, appropriately called: The Big Event. Held over two days at EventCity, Manchester, it’s an opportunity to look over the largest display of Motability vehicles assembled in the UK.
All of the major motoring manufacturers had their latest models on show and there were plenty of familiar WAV converters present to give advice and provide visitors with specific information – and of course, test drives of the vehicles. Little wonder that the event was utterly packed with visitors aiming to compare the myriad choices next to each other.
Lastly, I’d like to thank ParalympicsGB for their invitations to various team launches ahead of Rio. The cycling team launch at Channel 4’s London HQ a couple of weeks ago was great. There were cyclists with clutches of Paralympic medals as well as newer names that by the end of September, might well be ‘household’. Each was as excited as the others – and to be honest, so was I!
I’m always interested in hearing about your event, so drop me a line or invite me along and I might just see you there.
