Festivals are at their best when they are places where everyone feels welcome, safe and unafraid to be themselves. In this two-day seminar during SoAlive, the European festival association YOUROPE unites experts on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), behavior, and mental health from across the continent. The goal is to teach festival makers and other cultural actors how to make their events and their organizations more diverse, inclusive and equal to create happier, healthier teams and visitors.
If you would like to participate in the whole two-day seminar, please register via https://yourope.org/know-how/2nd-seminar-on-dei/. Registered participants will be invited to join a walking tour of Sofia and a participants’ dinner on Wednesday evening. If you can’t join the whole two days, it is also possible for SoAlive delegates to attend individual sessions.
DAY 2 FULL PROGRAM & SCHEDULE
09:45 Case study: Colours of Ostrava’s Colours without Barriers program
Colours without Barriers is an inclusion project of the Colours of Ostrava festival, launched in 2011. Over the years it has grown from mobility support to a comprehensive program for visitors with visual, hearing and mental disabilities, as well as people on the autism spectrum. The project provides barrier-free access, assistance services, sign language interpretation, relaxation zones, and other tailored solutions. Colours without Barriers has become a European benchmark for accessibility at large cultural events, proving that music and culture should be fully open to everyone.
Speaker:
Pavla Slivova - Head of Booking & Artist Liaisons, Colours of Ostrava
10:15 Discussion: Barriers to equal access
Barriers preventing people from joining our events come in many shapes and sizes. This can be a lack of suitable transport to the event, physical obstacles on the site, no available space to take care of special needs, high costs for tickets or on-site services, an unwelcoming atmosphere, outdated structures and policies in our organizations, and much more. In this session, you have the opportunity to discuss specific barriers that exist at your festival with the group to find good practices from other events that might help you – or even completely new solutions.
Host:
Mika Christoffersen - Head of DEI & Behavior at Roskilde Festival
11:00 Workshop: Keeping events affordable
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, festival promoters and suppliers have been fighting with rising production costs, artist fees, and the cost of living crisis. However, they cannot just pass on any extra costs 1:1 to their customers – otherwise festival tickets and services would simply become too expensive and the events unaffordable for their audiences. So, what can you do to keep events affordable? We will start this workshop by giving you a short introduction with some good practice example from the festival sector to inspire you. Then it’s up to you to come up with creative solutions together with your fellow participants.
Host:
Isabel Roudsarabi - Co-founder and managing director at Höme – For Festivals
13:00 Panel: Gender balance in Eastern Europe & beyond
In this panel, our speakers will illuminate how gender balance is lived (or not lived) in the European music industry, drawing on data from academic and industry research. They will present possible solutions for more gender balance, like GENiE, an online database of over 500 gender equality initiatives across the continent.
We will take a closer look at the situation in the Eastern European music industry, where firmly-established traditional gender roles often prevent women from taking over leadership roles. Our speakers will bring in their own experiences of gender stereotypes impacting their work. They call for a systematic change that normalizes women in leadership roles and values competence over other factors like gender. To help with this change, they support initiatives like the mentoring program Women in Music, which you will also learn about in this panel.
Speakers:
Gergana Milovska - Sofia Live Festival / SoAlive Music Conference
Grace Goodwin - Founder of the GENiE database
Roxana Luca - ARTmania / Emagic / Pozitif Live / YES Group
14:10 Workshop: Team mental health & wellbeing
This workshop consists of three parts: a presentation on the EXIT Festival case study, a session on dealing with stress in the music industry, and an open conversation about the mental health of the participants.
EXIT Festival places mental health at the core of its identity, offering year-round psychological support for staff, on-site counseling for visitors, and campaigns such as “Life Is Live” to promote digital detox and youth wellbeing. This presentation highlights how EXIT integrates mental health into every level of its work – through practical initiatives, strategic partnerships, and measurable results – demonstrating how festivals can serve as platforms for healing, connection, and community care.
Stress and relationships are common challenges for both artists and music industry professionals, especially in the fast-paced world of festivals. In this interactive session, Rosana Corbacho (M.I. Therapy founder) will explore key stressors, share tools to prevent burnout, and offer insights into building healthier teams. Participants will be invited to share experiences and reflections, making the workshop a space for connection and practical learning.
Speakers:
Tanja Njezic - Secretary General of EXIT Festival
Rosana Corbacho - Psychologist / Founder of M.I. Therapy