Europe Beyond Access have launched their new report, Learning To Change

On December 3, Europe Beyond Access (EBA) launched their new report, Learning to Change – a research report authored by On The Move, and commissioned by Skånes Dansteater in the context of Europe Beyond Access with the support of the British Council – which examines the current state of accessibility in higher arts education across Creative Europe countries and the UK. The research draws on surveys, interviews, and focus groups with disabled artists, cultural organisations, and higher education institutions.

The report sheds light on widespread barriers to access and participation, while also identifying examples of promising practice. It calls for a shift from reliance on individual goodwill to the development of structural and institutional change.

The report shows a significant gap between institutions’ commitments and lived reality. Many entry processes, buildings and communications remain inaccessible, and no aspect of the student experience was rated above 5.87/10 by disabled respondents. Only 41% of surveyed institutions adapt entry tests, and just 27% provide information in accessible formats.

These barriers have long-term consequences: disabled artists who were able to access higher education are twice as likely to have participated in 15 or more professional productions compared to those who could not. Exclusion at the training stage directly limits diversity across the wider performing arts ecosystem.

While some institutions are taking steps to improve accessibility through flexible entry requirements, dedicated staff and partnerships with specialised organisations, the report concludes that systemic change — not ad-hoc adaptations — is needed.

Accessibility must be recognised as a fundamental part of artistic diversity, not an exception.

Europe Beyond Access is the biggest trans-national project in the world supporting Disabled and Deaf artists to break the glass ceilings of contemporary dance and theatre. The project started in 2018, and in 2024 the second generation has been co-funded once again by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union and will run for another 4 years, to 2027.

Read the report and find out more here.

Photo Credit: Giulia Lenzi