Inclusion Inclusion Research & Learning Toolkits and guides Volunteering Volunteering
Inclusive volunteering in museums
Inclusion
Using the inspiration of the London 2012 Games to advocate for genuine inclusion at the heart of all events, large and small
We believe that events can be powerful tools to deliver a more inclusive society and organisers must address barriers to participation to allow disabled and non-disabled people to attend as equals.
In the ten years since Spirit of 2012 was established, we have funded many projects with inclusion as their focus. Our aim is to help ensure that disabled and non-disabled people can take part together as audience members, participants, volunteers and staff.
Our wealth of knowledge and insights will show decision makers, events organisers and delivery organisations the benefits of bringing together disabled and non-disabled people in meaningful and how events can be intentionally designed to be accessible, diverse and inclusive from their inception to their legacy.
Find out more by looking at our work around events like the London 2012 Games, Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games and Cities of Culture as well as landmark reports on inclusive volunteering and inclusive events.
Arts & Culture Disability Inclusion Legacy of Events Project evaluations
Birmingham 2022 Critical Mass Playbook
A guide from Birmingham 2022 showing how to use big events to embed inclusive practice to participatory arts programmes.
Inclusion Physical Activity Project evaluations Volunteering Young People
Inclusive Futures Evaluation
What we learned from a leadership and volunteering programme for disabled and non-disabled young people to support and deliver physical activity in schools and their community.
Disability Inclusion Legacy of Events Project evaluations
National Paralympic Day Evaluation
Learnings from an annual celebration of the London 2012 Paralympic legacy and disability inclusion in sports.
Inclusion Research & Learning
Making Events Work For Everyone
A new report from Spirit of 2012 which sets out insights, advice and recommendations for how UK events can be designed and delivered to be more inclusive, as well as how they can help foster a more inclusive society.
Research & Learning Volunteering Volunteering
Volunteering Together: Inclusive Volunteering and Disabled People
This report from Kim Donahue Associates aims to help organisations better understand the needs of disabled people, and open up more volunteering opportunities.
Arts & Culture Disability Inclusion Legacy of Events Project evaluations
Birmingham 2022: Critical Mass
An evaluation report from Critical Mass, an inclusive dance project which featured as part of the Birmingham 2022 Cultural Festival
Physical Activity Project evaluations
Changing Lives Through Sport And Physical Activity Fund Report
The Changing Lives Fund demonstrated that sport and physical activity can play a powerful role in reaching inactive people and helping them feel healthier, improve their mental wellbeing, feel included, develop skills and create community cohesion.
Disability Research & Learning
Making Routes Reports
Making Routes have created 6 reports to share knowledge and practice in relation to planning and delivery of an inclusive arts event with any organisation or individual for whom this information may be of interest.
Arts & Culture Disability Inclusion Toolkits and guides
The Unlimited Guide to Improving Access
We funded Unlimited to produce a series of videos on three aspects of accessibility, to share their learning and support other organisations to improve their practice.
Disability Inclusion Project evaluations
Beacon Films CIC: Viewfinder
Spirit of 2012 awarded £120,000 for the three-year Viewfinder programme, a talent development initiative supporting filmmakers with disabilities, autism and additional needs.
Sport and physical activity Volunteering
The Ripple Effect
England Leicester Manchester Sheffield
A grant to Swim England to increase inclusion and accessibility across their volunteering structure.
Arts Disabled people
Viewfinder
England Newcastle upon Tyne
Beacon Film’s Viewfinder programme was a talent development initiative that supported filmmakers with disabilities, autism and additional needs
Arts Disabled people
Unlimited Impact
Nationwide
Unlimited Impact focused on developing and inspiring the next generation of disabled people passionate about making change through art.
Older People Wellbeing
Our Day Out
England Norwich
Spirit funded Creative Arts East to deliver Our Day Out, a unique dementia-friendly programme of creative arts for rurally-isolated older people in Norfolk.
Disabled people Sport and physical activity
National Paralympic Day
Nationwide
National Paralympic Day is a celebration of the Paralympic movement and an opportunity for people in the UK to come together to relive the wonder of London 2012.
Volunteering Young people
Inspired Action
Nationwide
Inspired Action was run by the British Red Cross and aimed to remove barriers to volunteering for young disabled and non-disabled people.
Disabled people Volunteering
Inclusive volunteering in volunteer-run museums
Dorset England
Spirit of 2012 awarded a grant of £30,000 to fund a project working with Dorset museums and heritage organisations to remove barriers to volunteering for disabled people.
Disabled people Sport and physical activity
Get Out Get Active
Nationwide
Get Out, Get Active is an initiative to get people active in locations across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Disabled people Sport and physical activity
Flyerz Hockey
England
Access Sport’s Flyerz project targeted young disabled people in England and Wales who face the additional challenge of growing up in poverty, providing them with inclusive hockey activity.
Disabled people Sport and physical activity
Critical Mass
Birmingham England
A major part of the Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022 Cultural Festival, Critical Mass saw nearly 250 disabled and non-disabled young people from diverse backgrounds take part in inclusive dance and perform to a worldwide audience.
Sport and physical activity
Changing Lives Through Sport And Physical Activity Fund
Scotland
The Changing Lives Fund was a partnership between the Scottish Government, sportscotland, the Robertson Trust and Spirit of 2012.
Young people
City to Sea
Cornwall England London
The Wave Project created inclusive surfing communities amongst vulnerable young people in Cornwall and inner-city London
Disabled people
Circus Aurora
Ballycastle Downpatrick Northern Ireland Omagh
Circus Aurora was a three-year project which created regular inclusive circus workshops in rural parts of Northern Ireland
disabled people get set inclusion legacy path to paris sport and physical activity Wales young people
School’s in: Inside the Get Set activation days reducing inactivity for schoolchildren
The buzz of a new academic year is exciting for any child. It’s no different for the attendees of Ysgol Bro Cinmeirch, a small primary school in Llanrhaeadr, Denbighshire –…
disability inclusion London 2012
Did the London 2012 Paralympic Games change things for disabled people?
The London 2012 Games has been seen as a turning point for attitudes towards disabled people in the UK, and our Paralympic Anniversary research suggests that most of the public…
arts Birmingham 2022 Critical Mass disability
Can a mass dance project light the way for inclusive arts? Welcome to Critical Mass…
There’s a viral challenge doing the rounds. You know the one, you face a wall, lift your foot up to the wall, pivot, put your hands on the floor, lift…
events inclusion Moments To Connect social value of community events
Sport events, equality, diversity and inclusion: Reflections on the UCI Cycling World Championships
Despite spending fifteen years working in journalism and having covered local sports events in Pakistan, the inaugural UCI Cycling World Championships (CWC) represented the first international sports event I have…
Get Out Get Active legacy sport and physical activity
An active legacy: Celebrating 7 years of GOGA reaching inactive people
Spirit of 2012 is very proud to have funded GOGA for the last 7 years and to have committed £7.5m to the programme – being the founding funder in Phase…
disability inclusion Learning
Louise Wildish responds to new report on perceptions of disability
The Renaisi report commissioned by Spirit of 2012 Changing perceptions of disability through sports, arts, and culture: what works and what challenges exist? explores the lessons learnt from projects funded…
cohesion community events inquiry 2022 legacy
Events like the Commonwealth Games can bridge divides and bring people together, says report
Events such as this summer’s Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, the Women’s Euros and Birmingham’s Commonwealth Games have a very important role to play in breaking down prejudice and stereotypes in society,…
disability Get Out Get Active sport and physical activity
Get Out Get Active celebrates International Day for Disabled People
Get Out Get Active (GOGA) is celebrating the International Day for Disabled People and the importance of inclusive activity. Two years since GOGA began, they have supported over 13,000 unique…
breaking boundaries cohesion sport and physical activity
Spirit of 2012’s response to the ICEC report on racism and discrimination in cricket
Today the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket publishes its long-awaited report into the realities of people’s experiences in cricket. The Commission was established more than two years ago, in…
events Moments To Connect social value of community events
Activating festivals and events to promote equality, diversity and inclusion goals
Our FestivalsConnect project, funded by Spirit of 2012 is concerned with exploring the relationship between festivals and events of different scale, geographical location, and genre (i.e. sporting or cultural) in…
dancesyndrome disability sport and physical activity
Dancesyndrome: The Story Of A Charity Founder & Dance Leaders
Spirit of 2012 is a proud supporter of DanceSyndrome. Formed by dancer Jen Blackwell, who has Down’s Syndrome, they provide creative and fun learning opportunities for anyone who wants to…
activity alliance Get Out Get Active inclusion sport and physical activity
Reaching inactive people through inclusion – the GOGA way
As someone who runs, plays football and likes to get a sweat on, I understand the benefits of being active on people’s physical, mental and social wellbeing. But I know…
disability inclusive volunteering Swim England The Ripple Effect volunteering
New Swim England project aims to address barriers for disabled volunteers
Spirit of 2012 has announced today that it will award £60,000 to Swim England to fund a new project aiming to increase inclusion and accessibility across their volunteering structure. The…
disability HEAR Kim Donahue Consulting Volunteer Centre Dorset volunteering
A lot is known about the benefits of volunteering, but what about the experiences of disabled volunteers?
The pandemic has seen a surge in volunteering, with the Together Coalition’s Talk Together research suggesting that 12.4 million people offered their time in 2020. Among this group were 4.6…