Article 30 - Participation in cultural life, recreation, leisure and sport - (Country information)

The above country questionnaire and replies are based on the topic of copyright exceptions.
Latest News! Video The Right to Culture and Sport 

EBU video on the right to culture and sport, January 2022. Read the scene-by-scene description, video 5.

The translated versions in Lithuanian, Portuguese, Spanish, Montenegrin, Slovak, French, Dutch, Swedish, German.

Now available

• Access to Art and Culture - Political and legal background - An overview 2022 (December 2022, pdf document)
• Results of the survey about Audio Description in EBU Countries conducted in 2021 as part of the PARVIS project (December 2022, pdf document)
• EBU examples of good practice in access to museums and cultural heritage sites (February 2022, pdf document)

1. Convention Text

1.1 States Parties recognise the right of persons with disabilities to take part on an equal basis with others in cultural life, and shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that persons with disabilities:

1. Enjoy access to cultural materials in accessible formats; R1
2. Enjoy access to television programmes, films, theatre and other cultural activities, in accessible formats; R2
3. Enjoy access to places for cultural performances or services, such as theatres, museums, cinemas, libraries and tourism services, and, as far as possible, enjoy access to monuments and sites of national cultural importance. R3

1.2 States Parties shall take appropriate measures to enable persons with disabilities to have the opportunity to develop and utilise their creative, artistic and intellectual potential, not only for their own benefit, but also for the enrichment of society. R4

1.3 States Parties shall take all appropriate steps, in accordance with international law, to ensure that laws protecting intellectual property rights do not constitute an unreasonable or discriminatory barrier to access by persons with disabilities to cultural materials. R5

1.4 Persons with disabilities shall be entitled, on an equal basis with others, to recognition and support of their specific cultural and linguistic identity, including sign languages and deaf culture.

1.5 With a view to enabling persons with disabilities to participate on an equal basis with others in recreational, leisure and sporting activities, States Parties shall take appropriate measures:

1. To encourage and promote the participation, to the fullest extent possible, of persons with disabilities in mainstream sporting activities at all levels;
2. To ensure that persons with disabilities have an opportunity to organise, develop and participate in disability-specific sporting and recreational activities and, to this end, encourage the provision, on an equal basis with others, of appropriate instruction, training and resources; R6
3. To ensure that persons with disabilities have access to sporting, recreational and tourism venues;
4. To ensure that children with disabilities have equal access with other children to participation in play, recreation and leisure and sporting activities, including those activities in the school system; R7
5. To ensure that persons with disabilities have access to services from those involved in the organisation of recreational, tourism, leisure and sporting activities.

2. Declaration of Needs and Characteristics

2.1 Blind and partially-sighted people expect to participate in all aspects of cultural life. To enable this to become a reality:

• Information about the range of cultural opportunities and events is required in a range of formats;
• The venues where cultural events are held need to be designed and maintained to standards of accessibility that take full account of visual loss;
• Personal assistance is needed to enable blind and partially-sighted people to participate fully;
• Community library services need to provide literature, newspapers, magazines and other services in accessible formats.
• Libraries should also have available personal computers with screen magnification and synthetic speech adaptation to enable blind and partially sighted people to access internet services. Staff should be a able to provide personal assistance to blind and partially sighted people to access the libraries' facilities, including the use of personal computers;
• Responsive and comprehensive Braille, audio, electronic and large print library services are required and governments should develop and resource this provision;
• Television, film and video productions need to be audio described and audio subtitled, distributed through normal channels and made available at the same time and cost;
• All television facilities and services, including programme guides and interactive services must be accessible;
• Live performances at theatres, leisure, cultural, sporting and recreational venues that are open to the public must provide audio description services of all their productions and events;
• Information about museums' exhibits, cultural and historic buildings and monuments must be provided in formats and systems that are accessible to blind and partially-sighted people. As many exhibits as possible should be available for examination by touch. As far as is practicable the physical environment must take full account of the access needs of blind and partially-sighted people;
• The guide of a blind or partially-sighted person must be admitted to museums, heritage and cultural sites and buildings, sporting, leisure and recreational facilities without charge.
• Blind and partially-sighted persons accompanied by their guide dogs must have full access to all of the facilities at cinemas, theatres, sporting, recreational and leisure facilities, museums, heritage and historical sites, including restaurants and catering facilities.

2.2 Blind and partially-sighted people expect to have the opportunity to fulfil their creative, artistic and intellectual potential. To achieve this:

• Culturally specific and/or sensitive materials should normally be available for access;
• Education, training and peer support that is appropriate to their culture or creative and artistic abilities and interests should be provided;
• Necessary personal assistance to facilitate creative and artistic development or to engage in activities relevant to their indigenous or cultural identity should be provided.

2.3 It is especially important that blind and partially-sighted children and young people are able to access the range of facilities and support described in 2 above during their formative years in primary, secondary and tertiary education.

2.4 Blind and partially-sighted people expect to be able to access published materials, including those available via websites and other electronic media.

• Governments must ensure that laws protecting copyright and intellectual property permit the production of all published materials in formats that are accessible to blind and partially-sighted people at the same time and that their cost is no greater than that normally charged;
• Governments must ensure that all website and other electronically based textual information is accessible to blind and partially-sighted people and that all websites and other electronic media permit textual material to be transposed into accessible formats;
• There should be a textual description of all website and other electronically transmitted graphical and pictorial representations.

2.5 Blind and partially-sighted people expect to have full access to, and where practicable to participate in, all recreational, leisure, tourism and sporting activities. To achieve this:

• Published information, commentaries, electronic guides, physical, social and catering amenities, as well as the full range of sporting, leisure and coaching facilities must be accessible;
• Reasonable adjustments must be made and appropriate support provided to enable blind and partially-sighted people to participate on equal terms to the fullest extent possible.

2.6 Many blind and partially-sighted people wish to compete in sporting and recreational events with other blind and partially-sighted people. To achieve this:

• Governments should provide for blind and partially-sighted people to participate in competitions and events at a local and national level;
• Governments should ensure that blind and partially-sighted people have access to levels of instruction and training that is equivalent to that available to other athletes performing at comparable levels.

2.7 Blind and partially-sighted children and young people in primary, secondary and tertiary education also need to take part in sporting and recreational events. To achieve this, educational institutions must enable blind and partially-sighted children to participate to the fullest extent possible in gymnastic, sporting, cultural, recreational and leisure activities.

3. Important Aspects of Convention Text

3.1 Convention text - R1 Enjoy access to cultural materials in accessible formats.

3.2 Requirement - Information about the range of cultural opportunities must be available in a range of formats.

3.3 Requirement - Accessible cultural written materials must also be provided in reasonable time and at a reasonable cost.

3.4 Requirement - All community library services, including internet access, should be provided in accessible formats for blind and partially-sighted people and should ensure that personal assistance is available if required to enable these services to be accessed.

3.5 Requirement - Governments must facilitate the development of and resource the provision of effective, responsive and comprehensive Braille, audio, electronic and large print library services for blind and partially-sighted people.

3.6 Convention text - R2 (b) Enjoy access to television programmes, films, theatre and other cultural activities, in accessible formats.

3.7 Requirement - Television broadcasters, programme manufacturers, film producers and manufacturers of DVD and other digital reproductions of audio visual presentations must be required to produce and distribute all their products with audio description and audio subtitling.

3.8 Requirement - Blind and partially-sighted people must have access to the same range and quality of access to digital television programmes via audio description and audio subtitling as other people in their community. Other television services, such as programme guides and interactive services must also be fully accessible.

3.9 Requirement - All cinemas, theatres, sporting and cultural venues open to the public must provide audio description and audio subtitling services of all their performances for blind and partially-sighted people.

3.10 Convention text - R3 (c) Enjoy access to places for cultural performances or services, such as theatres, museums, cinemas, libraries and tourism services, and, as far as possible, enjoy access to monuments and sites of national cultural importance.

3.11 Requirement - All cultural establishments and sites should ensure that information about sites and exhibits is available in formats and systems that are accessible to blind and partially-sighted people. As many exhibits as possible should be able to be examined by touch. Cultural establishments and sites should ensure that as far as is practicable the physical environment takes full account of the needs of blind and partially-sighted people.

3.12 Requirement - The venues where cultural events are held must be designed and maintained to meet the needs of blind and partially-sighted people.

3.13 Requirement - Personal assistance should be made available when and where necessary to enable blind and partially-sighted people to participate fully in all aspects of cultural activities.

3.14 Requirement - The guide of a blind or partially-sighted person must be admitted to all cultural establishments and sites and sporting, leisure and recreational facilities without charge.

3.15 Requirement - Blind and partially-sighted persons accompanied by their guide dogs must have full access to all of the facilities at all cultural establishments, sporting, recreational and leisure facilities, including restaurants and catering facilities.

3.16 Convention text - R4 2. States Parties shall take appropriate measures to enable persons with disabilities to have the opportunity to develop and utilise their creative, artistic and intellectual potential, not only for their own benefit, but also for the enrichment of society.

3.17 Requirement - Blind and partially-sighted people must be able to fully access culturally specific and/or sensitive materials as well as creative and artistic resources and receive education, training and peer support that is appropriate to their culture or creative and artistic abilities. Blind and partially-sighted people should also be provided with any necessary personal assistance to accomplish their creative and artistic development or to engage in activities relevant to their indigenous or cultural identity. It is especially important that blind and partially-sighted children and young people receive this support during their formative years in primary, secondary and tertiary education.

3.18 Convention text - R5 3. States Parties shall take all appropriate steps, in accordance with international law, to ensure that laws protecting intellectual property rights do not constitute an unreasonable or discriminatory barrier to access by persons with disabilities to cultural materials.

3.19 Requirement - Governments must ensure that laws protecting copyright and intellectual property permit the production of all published materials in formats that enable blind and partially-sighted people to access these materials and that their cost is no greater than that normally charged.

3.20 Requirement - Governments must ensure that all website and other electronically based textual information is accessible to blind and partially-sighted people and that all websites and other electronic media permit textual material to be transposed into formats that are accessible to blind and partially-sighted people.

3.21 Convention text - R6 5. With a view to enabling persons with disabilities to participate on an equal basis with others in recreational, leisure and sporting activities, States Parties shall take appropriate measures:

1. To encourage and promote the participation, to the fullest extent possible, of persons with disabilities in mainstream sporting activities at all levels;
2. To ensure that persons with disabilities have an opportunity to organise, develop and participate in disability-specific sporting and recreational activities and, to this end, encourage the provision, on an equal basis with others, of appropriate instruction, training and resources.

3.22 Requirement - Blind and partially-sighted people must have full access to published information, commentaries, electronic guides, physical, social and catering amenities, as well as the full range of sporting, leisure and coaching facilities at all recreational, leisure, tourism and sporting activities and centres. Reasonable adjustments must be made and appropriate support provided to enable blind and partially-sighted people to participate on equal terms in sporting, recreational and leisure activities to the fullest extent possible.

3.23 Requirement - Governments should also ensure that provision is made for blind and partially-sighted people to participate in competitions and events for blind and partially-sighted people at a local and national level.

3.24 Requirement - Governments should ensure that blind and partially-sighted people have access to levels of instruction and training that is equivalent to that available to other athletes performing at comparable levels.

3.25 Convention text - R7 (d) To ensure that children with disabilities have equal access with other children to participation in play, recreation and leisure and sporting activities, including those activities in the school system.

3.26 Requirement - Schools must enable blind and partially-sighted children to participate to the fullest extent possible in gymnastic, sporting, cultural, recreational and leisure activities.