Mundaneum in Mons, Belgium

Mundaneum is a unique place and organisation. Its roots reach the end of the nineteenth century. At that time, in Brussels, Paul Otlet, Henri La Fontaine, and Leonie La Fontaine began creating a place where all world knowledge would be gathered and made accessible to everyone. This is why their archive is often called ‘Google made of paper’. They created a repository of world bibliography. Everyone could send them information about a book, an article or any other publication. They categorised it according to the system they created. And if someone else was searching for information, for example, about mushrooms, they could write to Mundaneum and ask for a complete bibliography on this subject. The dreams of the Mundaneum creators went even further: they aimed to establish world peace. Henri La Fontaine won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1913! But Mundaneum also had its share of hard times. After some years of oblivion and wonderer, Mundaneum’s archives found its headquarters in Mons, in a building that used to be a store. Inside, you can discover a fascinating story of the organisation, its founders and their dreams. It organises events related to their credo: La paix par la connaissance [Peace through knowledge].

Within the framework of the REACT project, we helped Mundaneum develop a user-friendly, digitised training programme on accessibility for visitors with special needs. For organisational reasons, they couldn’t provide regular training for the front office employees. The only way to enrich their knowledge was to create a self-training solution.

Our goal was to create easy-to-use, efficient, and gamified training that would provide participants with basic knowledge of different special needs and savoir-vivre towards visitors with disabilities. At the same time, we wanted to equip them with knowledge about Mundaneum’s accessibility, solutions, and the educational materials they prepared for visitors with special needs. The third goal to reach was to make this training accessible through different digital devices (computers, tablets, smartphones).

The training consists of nine (9) interactive presentations:

• 1 and 2: Visually impaired visitors and what Mundaneum has for them.
• 3 and 4: Visitors with reduced mobility and what Mundaneum has for them.
• 5 and 6: Visitors with hearing impairment and what Mundaneum has for them.
• 7 and 8: Neurodiverse visitors and what Mundaneum has for them.
• 9: Final quiz.

Each presentation (except the first and last ones) begins with two to three recap questions from what was discussed in the previous one. For example, presentation three (3) begins with a few questions about the Mundaneum’s accessibility for visually impaired visitors.

To create the presentations, we’ve decided to use Genially for several reasons:

• Gamification – this tool offers features allowing participants to engage. Possibilities are almost unlimited: from simple yes/no questions to escape games.
• Intuitive use – this tool is easy to use by both creators and users. Everything happens intuitively; there’s nothing one can ‘break’.
• Sustainability – each presentation is easily accessible online and can be updated at any moment according to the Mundaneum’s needs.

From the creator’s perspective, the most difficult was balancing the gamified experiences with the classical presentation of the knowledge we wanted participants to learn. At the same time, each presentation had to be short and to the point. We didn’t want to take too much participants’ time: up to 10–15 minutes per presentation.

During training, they would receive one presentation per day. This strategy supports the retention of information learned and allows employees to explore it in situ through the training.

We’ve tested the presentations with five representatives of the target group: two employees of the Mundaneum’s cash/information desk, the Mundaneum’s accessibility coordinator and two representatives of another cultural organisation in Mons. We’ve asked them to complete at least two of the nine training modules. Afterwards, they filled out feedback forms.
Their general impression was positive (rated 4–5 on a 1–5 scale). They found the training engaging, with a good balance between the interactive/gamified and educational elements. One person reported that sometimes there was too much educational content. The learning experience was well assessed as well. Testers gained new knowledge about the Mundaneum’s accessibility and found it useful in both professional and personal contexts. Among the adjectives given to describe the training, the most often chosen were: interesting, edutaining, and timesaving. Our testers identified a few areas for improvement to enhance the gamified experience. For example, multiple-choice questions – one person found the need to take repeated attempts to find the right combination of answers demotivating. Another person wrote that it would be good to begin the ‘real’ training with an introductory session to provide a better context for the participants.
However, all testers were unanimous in recommending this form of training to their colleagues and in its good long-term potential.

Experience shows that it is very difficult to provide consistent and effective training for employees in high-rotation posts. This includes front-office staff. And it is not only because of the budget. Constant training of others would take up too much time for the accessibility officer and distract them from their other duties. Training by external organisations, even the best ones, will always remain at a certain level of generality. Our initiative responds to the need for ongoing training for new employees.

When creating such training, we should avoid:

• Implementing too much information. It must be well selected.
• Trying to make the presentation too interactive. You have to balance well interactivity and fun with a solid dose of knowledge.
• Being general. Adapt the content to the organisation’s characteristics.
• Making it childish. Adapt layout, vocabulary and methods to the target group.

This cooperation showed us the importance of providing ways of constant internal training of the museum staff on accessibility. Many museums in Belgium, including Mundaneum, are very well prepared for visits of visitors with special needs. But it is crucial that its front office staff had a good knowledge of all the features available – from tactile books to induction loops. Because this is the only and the best way to provide a unique and complete experience to the visitors.