SVG Europe Women Scotland ‘Accessibility and Inclusion’ focuses on investing for inclusivity
The SVG Europe Women Scotland 2025 panel titled ‘Why, what and how: Making sports production sustainably accessible’, where speakers and chair [L-R] broadcaster Alison Walker, Amelia Knott, TV Industry Human Rights Forum Lead Researcher, Lucy Lake, QTV Director of People & Purpose and Jo Finon, Sky Sports, Manager for Responsible Production, discussed how technology is advancing and remote production hubs are opening doors for crew that need accessibility support in order to do their job, yet roadblocks continue to exist around outside broadcast trucks, stadiums and more
At SVG Europe Women Scotland’s ‘Accessibility and Inclusion’ event held with QTV on the 25 February at The Exchange in the centre of Glasgow, panels took to the stage in front of a packed house of over 70 people to discuss the issues around enabling more people to work in this dynamic industry.
With outside broadcast firms and broadcasters faced with budget pressures, the responsibility to ensure all people from all backgrounds and with all abilities can access the industry is a challenge, speakers said. While the sports broadcasting sector is crying out for new talent in its never-ending search to fill jobs, there was a lot to be said about how this could reasonably and sustainably be achieved.
The event included British Sign Language interpreters so everyone in the audience and watching the recording of the evening on demand is able to understand, and everyone on stage gave a verbal description of themselves so sight-impaired people can get a mental picture of them. The event was filmed by QTV’s current cohort of trainees.
The first panel, ‘Tech dichotomy: Creating accessibility or shifting the problem?’ at the SVG Europe Women Scotland 2025 event, where the big debate looked at how innovation and technology is allowing more people to be active members of the sports broadcasting community. The panellists with their chair were [L to R] broadcaster Alison Walker, Purminder Gandhu, BBC R&D Edge Group Lead, technology transfer & partnerships manager, Morag McIntosh, BBC solution lead for studio automation and gallery control and Anne-Louise Buick, Rise Board Member
Join SVG Europe Women at our next in-person event ‘A City United’ which is taking place at Dock10 in Salford, Greater Manchester, on 19 March. Speakers include BBC Sport Controller of Production Debbi Dubois. Find out more and register here: A City United
In the second panel, titled ‘Why, what and how: Making sports production sustainably accessible’, the speakers looked at how technology is advancing and remote production hubs are opening doors for crew that need accessibility support in order to do their job, yet roadblocks continue to exist around outside broadcast trucks, stadiums and more.
The speakers were: Jo Finon, Sky Sports, Manager for Responsible Production; Amelia Knott, TV Industry Human Rights Forum Lead Researcher; and Lucy Lake, QTV Director of People & Purpose. They spoke about how these barriers can be raised sustainably using technology and innovation.
Lake noted that the issue was about putting your money where your mouth is, but also making sure that as an OB firm, spending was invested cleverly so that already squeezed budgets could be used wisely.
Following the panels, the speakers and guests enjoyed networking, drinks and plotting what to do next.
A rapt audience of over 70 people were in attendance for SVG Europe Women Scotland 2025 – Inclusion and Accessibility, held in Glasgow in partnership with QTV
Morag McIntosh, BBC solution lead for studio automation and gallery control, speaks on the ‘Tech dichotomy: Creating accessibility or shifting the problem?’ at the SVG Europe Women Scotland 2025 event
Join SVG Europe Women at our next in-person event ‘A City United’ which is taking place at Dock10 in Salford, Greater Manchester, on 19 March. Speakers include BBC Sport Controller of Production Debbi Dubois. Find out more and register here: A City United