British Internet directory seeks to catalog the accessibility of venues across Europe

About DisabledGo:

DisabledGo is an award-winning disability organisation of 9 years standing based in the UK but increasingly operating in Europe. The organisation was founded by Dr. Gregory Burke, a wheelchair user since the age of 16, who wanted to find a practical way to encourage disabled people to access and contribute to their community.

DisabledGo is now one of the largest disability organisations in Europe with a turnover larger than the UK’s Employers Forum on Disability and comparable with the Royal National Institute of the Blind.

The DisabledGo service was born from a two year consultation exercise with disabled people across the UK with a variety of different impairments.

The focus of the research was to identify the barriers to involvement and participation. A key barrier was identified as ‘not knowing what venues were accessible to a disabled person’s individual needs’.

From these grassroots beginnings, DisabledGo involved over 800 groups of disabled people in designing a venue-survey methodology. This methodology enables DisabledGo surveyors to capture the information that empowers disabled people to choose venues that they feel meet their specific requirements.

DisabledGo produces fine-grain, pan-disability access guides to locations and venues across the UK and now in Europe too. Every venue is surveyed in person. Every venue is subject to the same standard of surveying which means users can rely on the information in their town and city and in the towns and cities they would like to visit which have taken part in the DisabledGo Access Initiative.

DisabledGo publishes the information on www.disabledgo.info and on participating Partners’ websites. The organisation serves over 110,000 people every month, recording over 1.6 million hits.

As an international organisation, DisabledGo ensures it remains responsive to the needs of local disabled people by setting up local steering groups in every area in which the organisation works. In 2007, DisabledGo held over 3 events every week; ensuring that disabled people are in control of the organisation’s aims and direction.