Welcome to the Inclusive Engagement Events Toolkit, developed by Warwick Institute of Engagement's (WIE) Inclusive Engagement Learning Circle. This toolkit is designed to be used by anyone planning and/or delivering any kind of engagement event, from a talk to a workshop to a webinar, but we hope it can also be used to promote inclusive practice and thinking in any interactions and activities which you either run or are a part of.
When we talk about inclusion, we are moving beyond ideas of access, of who can physically join a space (though of course those details cannot be overlooked) and focusing on a more holistic idea of belonging, supporting, and caring. There are often barriers to inclusion that we would never think of upon first planning a project as they are not issues that we encounter in our own lives due to our own positionality. For instance, if we don't have kids we might not think that a workshop running 4pm-6pm would cause any issues but for some people that will inhibit them from attending as they can't miss the school run.
Inclusion is an ever-evolving goal that we are working towards. The aim is not perfection and in fact sometimes different people's needs will directly conflict with one another and you may be left with tricky choices. The hope is to make your even as inclusive as possible given the constraints you have and to reflect and understand how to do even better next time.
This toolkit is designed to be a starting point to broaden your awareness of how each choice you make when planning an event can have far-reaching implications for inclusion or exclusion and how to make those decisions in an informed and considered way.
How to Use
This webpage comprises two main sections: the toolkit and further resources. Before you begin to apply them to your event, take some time to think about who your target audience is, what tone and experience you are hoping to cultivate, and what key messages you are hoping people leave the event with. This will help guide your answers to the toolkit questions.
Using The Toolkit
The Toolkit is ordered alphabetically and structured around the different elements of event planning that you will automatically encounter, allowing you to consider inclusivity at every step. It is worth noting that these categories are not mutually exclusive, for instance Religious and Cultural Observances will likely overlap with Catering and Date/Time as you should consider what dietary requirements you are able to cater to and if your event will clash with any religious celebrations or prayer times.
Some elements of the toolkit will not be applicable to your event based on the type of event you are planning, the audience you are inviting, or the space you are using.
The Toolkit is further broken down into the questions and guidance, which are explained below:
Questions
These are questions you can ask yourself and/or your team to ensure you have fully thought out the various possibilities and implications they may lead to.
We encourage you not to view the questions as a checklist but rather a starting point for reflection and investigation. A checklist would imply that the work of inclusion is discrete and finite and can be completed and then ignored for the rest of the event planning process. In actual fact, inclusion is an evolving and living part of the planning and delivery of any event and should be a consideration at every point, and questions provoke more discussion and the ability to return to your answers with updates and improvements.
As part of the process of answering the questions we recommend physically walking through your space, from the carpark/bus stop to the room(s) that facilitators and audiences will be using, and asking yourself the questions along the way. Taking an active approach to inclusion in this way allows you to notice things you may otherwise have overlooked and builds empathy with your audience.
Guidance
The guidance offers some suggestions for additional things to consider regarding each topic, and ways that you might approach tackling certain problems that may arise.
What are the Further Resources?
The further resources are a collection of documents and webpages written by other people who are also invested in developing inclusive events. These have been grouped by certain characteristics as this is often how organisations which focus on inclusion are structured but once again we encourage you to check out a variety of the resources as making events more inclusive for one group of people will likely make it a better event overall.
The Toolkit
Questions
Do you have the ability to provide space and staff for childcare so that people with children can attend/participate?
Can you provide people with name tags with space for them to share their pronouns?
If your event requires a paid ticket, is it possible to offer subsidised rates for those who otherwise would not be able to afford to attend?
Guidance
Provide space for people to share any accessibility requirements they may have when signing up to the event.
Be clear about who is welcome at the event (will a certain experience or level of knowledge be expected or required?)
Questions
Are you able to provide a full menu ahead of time? This is likely to be helpful to neurodivergent attendees.
If you are not providing food and the event lasts longer than a couple of hours are there affordable places to eat nearby?
Are you able to offer halal, vegetarian, vegan, gluten free, and kosher options?
Guidance
Label all food with common allergens.
Ask for dietary requirements ahead of time.
Make it clear ahead of time if there will be alcohol served at your event. Ensure that there are non-alcoholic drinks available.
Check which specific halal and kosher certifications your food has before advertising it as such.
Questions
Does any of the content require content warnings?
How long do people have to focus at once; are there regular breaks?
Have you considered how you might step in to moderate questions or discussions should it be necessary?
Are you able to provide transcripts/recordings of events?
Guidance
Utilise content warnings consistently and ensure you leave enough time between providing the warning and starting the talk so that people actually feel they are able to leave the space if they would like to.
Documentation and presentations should all be colour blind friendly.
Use dyslexia-friendly fonts where possible.
Think about the length of time you're asking people to be in one place and focus - build in breaks and ensure they are honoured.
Allow thinking time before expecting people to respond to questions.
Questions
Does your event take place during school holidays?
Does your event clash with school drop off and/or pick up?
Does your event run through any prayer times?
Guidance
Let people know the timetable for the full event ahead of time
Questions
What key insights are you hoping to learn about how people experienced the event?
If your event is catered towards children and/or young people, how can you ensure that they can contribute meaningful feedback?
Do you have a plan in place for reviewing and implementing feedback for future events?
If a certain demographic of people you were hoping to reach did not engage with the event, do you have a way to reach them and ask why and how to improve for next time?
How are you evaluating the experience of the staff and/or facilitators?
Guidance
If you can, find a way to get insight into why people did not attend (including both those who never signed up and those who did but cancelled or didn't show) using some kind of quick questionnaire or provide a way of contacting you.
Spend some time after the event reflecting on how the process was for you and where you feel you had success and room for improvement in your inclusive practices.
Are you able to offer your materials in multiple languages, including sign language?
Can you offer a way for people to ask questions non-verbally - e.g. using Padlet or Vevox?
Guidance
Use gender neutral language, including in the way you talk about toilets, sanitary products, and caring for children.
The term "marginalised genders" is more inclusive than the term "women and nonbinary people" when those are the demographics you are aiming to reach. This will help to ensure that anyone who may experience misogyny or marginalisation on the basis of their gender identity knows they are welcome (including cis and trans women, nonbinary people, and trans men).
Allow people to put down their preferred name and/or make it clear people don't have to put their legal name if signing up to something. Make title an optional choice and have the gender neutral title 'Mx' as an option.
Use closed captions for any videos you show.
Encourage sharing pronouns but it does not need to be mandatory.
Always ask for preferred names, don't presume people's names from emails or ID.
Questions
What platforms are you using to market your event? Who might you be missing?
Is the sign-up process clear and simple? Does it require people to make an account or log in to anything?
Are you using inclusive images which represent the breadth of the audience you are engaging with?
How are you ensuring that you are reaching a broad range of audiences with your advertising?
Guidance
Be as clear as possible about the key details for the event and send a confirmation email with location, time, date, and access details plainly listed.
Send out a reminder email a day or so before the event to ensure it rises back to the top of peoples' inbox and memories and include reminders of timings and travel information.
Ensure all marketing and materials are screen-reader friendly and any images have alt-text.
Questions
Does your event coincide with any religious festivals, holidays, or fasts?
Do you have spaces where people can perform ablutions and can do their prayers?
Is your dress code inclusive of different religious garments?
Guidance
Clearly signpost the space available for prayers.
Some people cannot attend events that take place at venues which serve alcohol so bear this in mind when deciding a space.
Check which specific halal and kosher certifications your food has before advertising it as such.
Questions
Do you have signage for key areas including toilets and help desk?
Do you have quiet spaces?
Are there accessible and gender neutral toilets? Do people need a Radar key to use them?
Are there Changing Places toilets?
Do you have a space where people can change a baby's nappies?
Do you have a space for infant feeding, including milk expression?
What is the sensory experience like in the space? Is there a path through the space that doesn't overwhelm people with too many sounds, smells, and/or lighting changes?
Is there enough space for people with mobility aids to move around?
Do you have control over sounds, lighting, smells, etc?
Do you have a prayer room or, if not, a quiet place where people could do their prayers undisturbed?
Do you have a designated space for a buggy park?
Are people expected to be standing up for long periods of time? Can you offer chairs as an option?
Guidance
Provide a video walkthrough of the space if possible so people know what to expect and can get in touch if they have any queries. If it is not possible to provide a video for some reason then photos of the entrance, space(s), and accessible toilet facilities will be very useful.
Ensure that the space is wheelchair accessible and that the wheelchair entrance is not different to the entrance for other attendees.
Ensure quiet spaces are clearly labelled and advertised as being open and welcome to all. If you can offer sensory toys or calming activities like colouring in that can also make a nice addition to these spaces.
Some people prefer to feed babies or express milk in a private space. There are some existing infant feeding rooms on campus which may require pre-booking and/or card access.
Consider if people will be able to access the spaces you are using without a keycard or login details and ensure you provide those if necessary.
Questions
Do you need to provide training for additional staff that will be working with you for the event? Can this be delivered asynchronously?
Will staff members have a distinguishing feature on the day (for instance a t-shirt in a certain colour or a specific lanyard) so that attendees can identify them?
How are you compensating staff for their time (especially students)?
Do you have a diverse range of perspectives involved in the design of your event?
Guidance
It's useful to remember that inclusivity goes beyond the audience of your event and incorporates the colleagues you are working alongside to run the event, as well as any partners who are facilitating activities for/with you.
Ensure all staff are on the same page about inclusion and know how to point people in the direction of toilets, quiet spaces, prayer rooms, etc.
Questions
Is it possible to get to the venue via public transport?
Are you able to subsidise the cost of travel for anyone?
Will the day of the week/time of year impact travel for people? (e.g. Will buses be running at normal times or reduced timetables?)
Are there any nearby roadworks/travel disruptions?
Which communities are most easily going to be able to access this location based on proximity and transport type?
Are there places for people to secure bikes?
How many accessible parking spaces are there nearby? Do they need to be reserved?
Guidance
Consider if holidays/large sports events may make travel busier and inform attendees accordingly
Provide maps with drawn directions from the nearest carpark/bus stop/train station to the venue entrance
Further Resources
Please find an array of resources linked below which have been developed by charities, organisations, and individuals that reflect how to best accommodate specific needs or how to be welcoming to groups of people who are often overlooked in events organising.
It's understandable that you may not have the budget or capacity to accommodate for every one of these considerations for every single event that you run, however, you should let people know ahead of time what you are able to account for, and ideally provide a brief explanation for what you can't accommodate at this time, acknowledging that this may impact or limit some people's participation.
For instance, "Unfortunately, this building currently does not have any gender neutral toilets. The nearest ones are in X building, a 5 minute walk away."
Share Your Feedback!
Now that we have developed this toolkit, we are keen for you to try out using it as you prepare your own events and to let us know how how you find it.
We are interested both in the content and the functionality of the toolkit, i.e. did you find the information useful and was it presented in a helpful and accessible way?
If you utilise the toolkit and would like to give specific feedback and possibly contribute a case study to this webpage to demonstrate how you incorporated the toolkit into your planning, please get in touch with the learning circle by emailing Art and Shahnaz at and .
Additionally, if you know of other resources or ideas for information that we could add to this page please do send them to and we would be delighted to add them to this toolkit.
