iPRES 2018 seeks to provide an inclusive, collaborative, caring, and respectful community environment for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity/expression, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, age, language spoken, national origin, and/or religion. We are committed to diversity and free expression of ideas, and creating a conference in which participants feel welcome to learn and exchange ideas in an environment of mutual respect. We also are dedicated to providing a conference experience that offers extraordinary and joyful learning experiences for everyone.
We do not tolerate harassment or disrespect of iPRES 2018 participants in any form. Sexual or discriminatory language and imagery are not appropriate for any event venue or online platforms associated with iPRES 2018, including presentations, discussions, and associated social events.
If someone makes you or anyone else feel unsafe, harassed, or unwelcome, please report it as soon as possible. Conference organizers will initiate action to address the issue. Participants who are asked by anyone to stop any harassing or disrespectful behavior are expected to comply immediately.
All participants are required to adhere to the Code of Conduct and respect fellow participants in order to ensure a safe, welcoming, and inclusive learning experience for everyone present. We have established a specific and accessible response framework to be applied in the event of an incident.
iPRES 2018 seeks to provide an inclusive, collaborative, caring, and respectful community environment. We are committed to diversity and free expression of ideas, and creating a conference in which participants feel welcome to learn and exchange ideas in an environment of mutual respect, regardless of individual’s personal, professional or social backgrounds. We also are dedicated to providing a conference experience that offers extraordinary and joyful learning experiences for everyone.
Feedback on your experience at iPRES 2018 is welcomed as an opportunity for continuous learning and towards meeting our goals of inclusion and equity.
We do not tolerate harassment or disrespect of iPRES 2018 participants in any form. Sexual or discriminatory language and imagery are not appropriate for any event venue or online platforms associated with iPRES 2018, including presentations, discussions, and associated social events.
Harassment is understood as behavior that intimidates or threatens another person or group of persons. It includes a wide range of behaviors, including offensive verbal comments and slights related to gender, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, ethnicity, nationality, race, or religion; sexual and or discriminatory images in public spaces; stalking; following; inappropriate photography or recording; sustained disruption of talks or other events; inappropriate physical contact; and unwelcome sexual attention.
What You Can Do & How We Will Respond
If someone makes you or anyone else feel unsafe or unwelcome, please report it as soon as possible. Harassment and other code of conduct violations reduce the value of iPRES 2018 for everyone.
If a participant engages in harassing behavior, the organizers will initiate action in response. Participants who are asked by anyone to stop any harassing or disrespectful behavior are expected to comply immediately. Sanctions may include, but are not limited to, warning the offender, withdrawing the offender’s position on the programme, requiring the offender to leave the session in which the harassment takes place, immediate expulsion from the event, and reporting the offender to local law enforcement.
If you are being harassed, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns during the conference, please notify the Organizing Team or event staff as soon as possible.
Please note that all reports are kept confidential and only shared with those who “need to know”. Retaliation in any form against anyone reporting an incident of harassment, independent of the outcome, will not be tolerated.
Organizing Team Members will wear easily identifiable name badges to facilitate identification and will be available throughout the conference and at the main Registration Desk.
Where immediate action is required we request the issues are raised in person. If safety is a concern, we will identify an anonymous reporting means that we will identify and share prior to the start of the conference. Issues may also be raised by email to ipres2018contributions@gmail.com or by messages to the @ipres2018 Twitter account and we will respond to those as soon as we can.
We will be happy to help you contact hotel/venue security, local law enforcement, local support services, provide escorts, or otherwise assist you to feel safe for the duration of the event. We value your attendance.
We intend to have a member of our team attend every session to assist in responding and documenting if an incident occurs or an issue arises.
Harassment in-session:
Session chairs and Organizing Team representatives are expected to monitor the session. Should harassing behavior manifest or be otherwise reported, session chairs and Organizing Team members will immediately request the offender to cease. If an incident occurs, the organizers will work to understand and document what happened to determine an initial response. All incidents will be handled on a case-by-case basis, using a thoughtful approach while keeping the iPRES Steering Group (STG) apprised.
Decisions to expel participants from a session or from the conference will be discussed with one of the Organizing Co-chairs in consultation with sponsors and iPRES Steering Group before acting.
Incident details will be logged in confidential Organizing Team records.
Harassment out-of-session:
Should harassing behavior manifest elsewhere associated with the conference and be reported, Organizing Team members will respond. Issues requiring immediate action must be acknowledged straightaway by at least one Organizing Team member and subsequent actions or investigations initiated. Responding and reporting will be handled by the Organizing Team on case-by-case basis in a manner that fits the nature of the offense, while also keeping the iPRES Steering Group informed. Issues requiring discussion with the complainant before agreeing to a response should be dealt with sensitively in a private space and the complainant made aware of how the Organizing Team wishes to respond.
For serious incidents:
Incident details must be logged in confidential Organizing Team records.
Important contact information:
Prior to the start of the conference, contact information (phone numbers and/or email addresses) for these and possibly other primary contacts will be made available to attendees (in-person and virtual):
A report will be filed with the iPRES Steering Group (STG) at the end of the conference en summarizing any Code of Conduct violations or issues. Every attempt will be made to anonymize incidents unless they are of a criminal nature or resulted in participants being banned from the event.
Thank you to everyone who contacted us about having a Code of Conduct for iPRES 2018. We have been finalizing both the Code, but as or more importantly our incident response protocols - here they are. There was never any doubt that we will have a Code of Conduct for iPRES 2018 – this is a high priority for all of our team’s members as well as a requirement of the co-hosting institutions.
If you would like to share any feedback with us, please contact us at: ipres2018contributions@gmail.com.
Sincerely,
iPRES 2018 Organizing Team
The iPRES 2018 Code of Conduct and Response Framework was informed by these community resources and exemplars:
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