Breaking Barriers: The House's path to inclusivity

As we mark four years since the Sydney Opera House committed to the United Nations Sustainable Development Group Goals, this #GlobalGoals Week we wanted to shine a spotlight on some of the change-makers under the sails.

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals are our planet's to-do list and aim to address our world's most pressing issues, including equal access, social justice, and climate action.

Jenny Spinak , Accessibility Manager, reflects on how we are making the site, building, and experiences accessible to everyone.

The focus of our team is to make sure that every single person feels at home at the Sydney Opera House. In the past year, our accessibility initiatives have continued to foster new possibilities for engagement, connection, and community.

Over the past year, we have prioritised making the live performance experience more inclusive to all. Some highlights include:

• We shared the magic of live music by trialing haptic vibration vests during our summer Forecourt concert series. Made with vibration technology, the vests are worn by audience members and can translate sound frequencies to skin vibrations. This sensory experience provides improved access for Deaf, hard of hearing, and Deafblind audiences.

• Our commitment to inclusivity extends to the littlest members of our community. We developed an accessible, multisensory version of our popular Kids Music Café event. This is a new collaboration between Lifestart Disability Services , Sensorium Theatre Inc , and Sydney Youth Orchestras , designed for young audiences 0-2+ with disability and their families. The children experience an introduction to live music and orchestral instruments igniting their imaginations.

• We installed a new Adult Changing Places facility to better meet the needs of visitors with disability and their carers; and
• We installed a collection of Assistance Dog Hydration Stations to assist people with Assistance Dogs coming to events, whilst also building community awareness of their needs.

This year we have also been turning our attention inward to create a workplace that reflects our commitment to inclusivity.

Currently, only about 39% of people with intellectual disability are in the labour force (72% of which are in Australian Disability Enterprises). And recent Disability Royal Commission research on employment outcomes of Disability Employment Services quoted that in 70% of placements, employees lost their jobs within the first 3 months. This has been attributed to issues such as a lack of support, discrimination, and workers feeling undervalued in their jobs. These unacceptable statistics led us to create something new and bespoke for the Opera House.

This year we piloted our Workplace Readiness Project. The project successfully created jobs for individuals with intellectual disabilities throughout the Opera House and will enhance our ability to ensure the ongoing success of these new positions. Working in partnership with Jigsaw Australia , so far we have created 7 tailored entry-level roles across the House. We also invested in Workplace Disability Awareness Training, providing support to over 35 managers, supervisors, and co-workers in the areas of the organisation where the new roles have been created.

We have also introduced a staff volunteer Social Mentorship Program to support our new employees in the first months of their employment. Working with partners Centre for Disability Studies (CDS), a group of volunteer Opera House staff have been trained to assist our new employees’ transition from supported to open employment, take advantage of workplace opportunities and foster a sense of belonging to the ‘life of the Opera House’.

As we begin to welcome our new staff members to the Opera House as part of this project, it’s wonderful to witness the joy of individuals achieving their dream jobs, as well as observing staff members becoming personally enriched from directly experiencing the true value of a more inclusive and diverse workforce.

While we are happy with the progress we have made, we still know there is a lot of work to achieve the Global Goals together. The world has until 2030 to achieve the Global Goals, and only 15% of targets are on track.

We look forward to growing these programs for audiences and employees, as we believe that creativity has a key role to play in creating a more sustainable, equitable, and fairer future for all. ?

A special thank you to the Jibb Foundation , Bowness Family Foundation , Limb Family Foundation and JACE Foundation for generously supporting our access initiatives.

#GlobalGoals #GlobalGoalsWeek #SDGs #Sustainability #Accessibility #WorkplaceAccessbility