Sasol Qatar’s ‘Accessible Qatar’ initiative joined forces with Tasmeem Doha’s international biennial art and design conference on the topic of disability with a two-day workshop titled “Taking Down Barriers: The Art of Transforming Public Spaces into Playgrounds for All”.
Developed by Sasol Qatar in 2016, “Accessible Qatar” the platform was the first of its kind platform to encourage the participation of persons with disabilities across community, educational, recreational and sports activities by combining expertly audited data with community insights on locations across Doha that were accessible. Since its launch alongside Sasol Qatar’s Definitely Able initiatives, the platform has paved the way for various workshops, events and conferences. From steering roundtable discussions on Ai and Acessiblity to working with local special needs schools like Step by Step to encourage enable persons with disabilities to have a seat at the table, the Tasmeem festival is the latest initiative developed in collaboration with Virginia Commonwealth University for the Arts. Over two days, the sessions challenged students and teachers to hard-wire acessiblity and inclusion into their work as the innovators, designers and community champions of the future. Highlighting Sasol Qatar’s long-term commitment to the social development pillars of the Qatar National Vision for 2030, the workshop and was warmly welcomed by students, teachers and attendees who consider the sessions and the talk by disability advocate Ghanima El Taweel as a doorway to further engagement as highlighted by one of the participants who shared “ the session was really engaging and made me interested in knowing more and getting involved with these issues.” The festival was supported by strong digital media coverage and engagement in both Doha and South Africa though collaboration with the Sasol Digital Team.
For more information on the workshop and Sasol Qatar’s flagship initiative, Accessible Qatar, please visit here
Workshop Details: “Taking Down Barriers: The Art of Transforming Public Spaces Into Playgrounds For All”