space and welcome

I was speaking at a conference over the last couple of days and I found myself in nearly constant awe in regards to how the whole thing was organized. Let me give you some examples:

1) there was a ramp to the stage in the room I was presenting in. A good ramp. One that had a flat entrance onto it ... amazing.

2) seats had been left available for wheelchair users in the room. This is a common complaint of mine, I go for training and have no-where to sit.

3) I'm given announcements to be made and one of them was to remind the audience not to take or use the accessible seating unless it was being used for the purposes of access.

4) There is a darkened room, and signs around it to be quiet and to not use cell phones in the area. It's a room for people to escape into the cocoon of darkness and silence just to get away from the noise and the lights and other things that cause sensory overload.

5) The accessible space actually was. Clearly they went to the site and checked it all out. Not a single barrier for me, not even the carpet, which was of the roll able type.

It's one thing to be greeted by organizers, it's another to be welcomed by the physical space.

It was a marvelous experience.

They got it right.