An Inclusive Champion’s Retreat: A Case Study in Sensory Friendly Event Planning

Making Conferences Accessible for All: The B Corp Example

Have you ever attended an event and felt overwhelmed by the bright lights, loud noise, and bustling crowds? For people with sensory sensitivities, these seemingly minor discomforts can be significant. In fact, they are enough to deter people from attending conferences. Furthermore, sensory overload from bright lights, loud noises, and crowded spaces can turn an inspiring conference into a draining experience. Sensory-friendly event planning is an important solution. It ensures wider participation in the conference. In addition, it creates a more welcoming environment for everyone. By addressing sensory sensitivities, conferences and events become accessible to a larger audience. Moreover, they foster a more inclusive experience for all.

Sensory Friendly Solutions collaborated with Green Living Enterprises, a sustainable cause-marketing agency, and B Lab, a global eader in social and environmental responsibility. Together, our combined goal was to ensure their 2024 Champion’s Retreat in Vancouver, Canada was a more welcoming and inclusive experience. Furthermore, our partnership demonstrates the positive impact of prioritizing sensory-friendly practices, accessibility and inclusion at conferences.

In particular, as a Certified B Corp, this project was meaningful and important to Sensory Friendly Solutions. Do you share the vision of creating a more inclusive and welcoming space for all? Dreaming of a space that welcomes everyone, regardless of sensory sensitivities? Our training membership equips you with the tools and knowledge to make it a reality!

Our Sensory-Friendly Event and Conference Planning Services:

• Website Audit and Accessibility Recommendations: We’ll review your conference website. Specifically, we suggest improvements to ensure clear information about accessibility features and the sensory experience attendees can expect.
• Venue Assessment and Sensory Recommendations: Our virtual evaluation will identify areas for improvement regarding signage, and amenities to create a more sensory-friendly environment.
• 8-Sense Analysis for Inclusive Participation: We’ll provide site-specific recommendations tailored to each of the eight senses. For example, we include sight, hearing, taste, touch, smell, movement, balance, and interoception to enhance inclusivity and participation.
• Sensory-Friendly Presentation Guide: This guide equips presenters with best practices for creating presentations that are accessible and inclusive.
• Live, Virtual Training for Organizers & Volunteers: Our interactive training session prepares conference organizers and volunteers with the knowledge and skills to create a welcoming and inclusive experience for all attendees.

Equipping the Champion’s Retreat Organizers for Sensory Awareness

Our training program to support sensory-friendly event planning for this conference in March 2024 included:

• Website accessibility review and recommendations: We taught conference organizers how to include inportant information about the sensory experiences at the conference sessions and events on the website.
• Venue assessment and recommendations: Our on-site student researcher supported a virtual, team review of the event location, the Vancouver Convention Centre. As a result, we were able to make recommendations about signage, lighting, and amenities to create a more sensory-friendly environment.

Beyond Accessibility: A Multi-Sensory Approach

Overall, B Lab, and conference organizers Green Living Enterprises embraced the concept of sensory-friendly events. The collectively recognized the broader benefits for all attendees. In summary, here are some fantastic inclusive highlights from the Champion’s Retreat:

• Sight: The venue featured natural lighting with adjustable lighting controls in conference rooms. Helpfully, signage was high-contrast and included braille for clear communication.
• Hearing: We recommended that presentations be pre-tested to ensure sound quality and appropriate volume. Noise-cancelling head phone were made available to delegates as well as a quiet, Wellness Room. Furthermore, information about the noise levels at offsite event venues was also provided.
• Taste: Attendees could request meals according to specific dietary needs. In addtion, the website offered details about plant-based menus and food ingredient signage for those with allergies or sensitivities.
• Touch: We recommended the wellness room provide tactile fidgets and weighted lap pads for attendees seeking sensory input. As well, information about the tactile experience in the vendor marketplace was also available.
• Smell: The Champions Retreat website reminded attendees of potential mealtime aromas.
• Movement and Balance: The modern venue offered level floors, spacious corridors, and accessible washrooms, supporting attendees with mobility challenges. As well, activities like yoga sessions were included in the schedule to encourage movement. And the Wellness Room had space to sit or lie down.
• Interoception: The conference schedule incorporated frequent breaks, acknowledging the importance of addressing internal body signals for all attendees. Importantly: toilet locations were clearly marked, and the website offered information about varying activity levels throughout the conference. Finally, the Wellness Room greatly contributed to participants ability to reconnect with their internal body sense in a very comfortable, quiet space.

A Glimpse Inside Inclusion: Photos from Champions Retreat 2024

This year’s Champions Retreat was a success in fostering a welcoming and inclusive environment for all attendees in partnership with us and many others!

Setting the Standard for More Sensory Friendly Conferences

B Lab’s commitment to sensory-friendly event planning at the Champion’s Retreat demonstrates a clear path towards more inclusive and accessible conferences. Moreover, by prioritizing sensory awareness, B Lab is setting a new standard for a more comfortable and enriching conference experience for a wider audience.

In conclusion, this case study showcases Sensory Friendly Solutions’ training help in creating inclusive environments. And most importantly, our successful collaboration with a major organization that is so meaningful to us as a B Corp ourselves. Furthermore, we are committed to helping all organizations create conferences that are welcoming and accessible to everyone, regardless of their sensory needs, as part of our mission to train a million businesses and organizations.

Special thanks to Occupational Therapy Student and our Research Assistant Trent Saunders for his contributions to making the Champion’s Retreat more sensory-friendly, accessible and inclusive. He was able to visit the Vancouver Conference Centre, and his deep knowledge of the city, all of the conference locations, as well as the additional research he conducted to find solutions was intrsumental in helping us train conference organizers. We are grateful to B Lab and Green Living Enterprises for the opportunity to support them and the Champions Retreat 2024.

Next, we invite you to dive deeper into the power of sensory-friendly experiences by exploring more of our case studies!

Ready to bring your vision of a sensory-friendly space to life, but unsure about funding? We get it! Creating inclusive environments shouldn’t be limited by budget. Explore our blog post, Making Inclusion a Reality: Funding Your Sensory-Friendly Transformation to discover a range of funding possibilities, from grants to creative fundraising ideas. Let’s turn dreams into reality – explore funding options and get started on your sensory-friendly transformation today!