Day two of the second meeting of the DAO Network Group is underway, with discussions continuing on how the role of the DAO can continue to develop.

The meeting, hosted by RB Leipzig, has brought DAOs from across Europe together to share best practices and innovative access and inclusion initiatives.

On day one, CAFE provided DAOs with an update on CAFE's works and activities since the first meeting held in January 2019 in Barcelona. This includes CAFE's works around UEFA EURO 2020 and UEFA competition Finals, a record-breaking CAFE Week of Action and the launch of the new CAFE website.

DAOs took part in a series of group discussions, exploring different aspects of accessible ticketing policies and organising events to raise greater awareness around access and inclusion.

Jon Dyster, DAO at Manchester City, took to the stage with disabled fans Anthony Joy (Arsenal) and Jo McNicol (Tottenham Hotspur) to discuss the importance of sharing accurate access information with disabled fans to assist with planning a trip to a stadium. Anthony and Jo discussed some of their positive and negative experiences of attending live matches, and outlined the type of information that is useful to them.

Day two began with a short video introducing Manchester City's newly-launched sensory viewing room at the Etihad Stadium. The room has been launched after consultation with many of the club's disabled fans and their families, following a series of trials at the start of this season.

Matthew McCann, CEO and Founder of Access Earth, then spoke about their mobility tool which creates accessibility maps for disabled users. The tool also allows users to share their experiences to better prepare other disabled users for any obstacles or barriers that may be present.

RB Leipzig DAO Axel Ackermann discussed some of the access and inclusion initiatives that the club has implemented, including audio-descriptive commentary, sign language interpretation and accessible formats of matchday publications. You can find out more about some of RB Leipzig's inclusion programmes by checking out Axel's presentation as part of the More than Seating session at the third International CAFE Conference here.

Before the close of the meeting, CAFE will present on innovative stadium facilities and services, and group discussions will be held on how to create a sustainable access strategy and the further development of the DAO Network Group. A series of working groups have been established, and they will continue to work together following the meeting.

You can keep up with the second DAO Network Group meeting on social media using the hashtags #DAONetwork and #TotalAccess.

To find out more about the role of the Disability Access Officer, please visit the CAFE DAO Portal here.

Read more: Second DAO Network Group meeting kicks off in Leipzig

Published 16/10/2019