Abstract
Intellectual accessibility in cultural mediation can based on Easy to Read, a simplification method designed for and by people with intellectual disabilities. French Easy to Read is governed by European rules, its essential principles being simple words and sentences illustrated with photos in a clear layout. People with intellectual disabilities are involved in the validation of Easy to Read documents, either by creating such documents or by proofreading them. More and more Easy to Read booklets are being offered for intellectual accessibility in the heritage sector. Many audiences are affected by simplification, including those who have other mother tongues or those who have difficulty reading. However, Easy to Read documents are reserved for people with intellectual disabilities. How can we go further? Could Easy to Read be aimed at all publics and be deployed in all heritage exhibition spaces? I studied the production of the Easy to Read booklet for the Arc de Triomphe in Paris and held focus group discussions with people with intellectual disabilities who validated the document. Using the example of the Marseillaise sculpture, I compare the simplification of the Easy to Read booklet with the complexity of the label. Could Easy to Read be a model for other texts? I draw on this simplification work to propose a prototype for an Easy to Read for All label. This would involve moving from specific accessibility reserved for certain categories of publics to “unconditional inclusion” based on Universal Design, which would then be offered to a “universal public”.
Presenters
Muriel MolinierLecturer in Information and Communication Sciences, Events, Mediation of Arts and Sciences, Versailles / Paris-Saclay University (France), Yvelines, France
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
2026 Special Focus—The Future of Museum Narratives
KEYWORDS
HERITAGE, MEDIATION, ACCESSIBILITY, INCLUSION, EASY TO READ, UNIVERSAL DESIGN
