Ensuring accessibility, safety, and privacy at our events

We are committed to making our events are as accessible and safe as possible for everyone. We adopt a number of protocols to ensure safety and security.

• Grounding rules
• During the live online event
• Data privacy
• Accessibility
• Safeguarding
• Reporting

If you have any questions or would like further information about accessibility, data privacy, and security at our events, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Grounding rules 

1. We would like to keep this a space of compassion and care. Please be kind to one another.
2. We welcome different perspectives and celebrate diversity. Please be respectful to each other even when there are disagreements in opinions and beliefs.
3. Ableism, racism, sexism, transphobia, queerphobia, or any kind of abuse will not be tolerated. Please contact a moderator if you experience harassment or have any concerns.
4. We understand access as a collective responsibility. Please be mindful of other people’s access needs and language abilities.
5. Share space with each other - try not to dominate or interrupt and give other people the chance to contribute.
6. Do not share sensitive data or identifiable personal information - please use professional affiliations and contacts if possible when networking.

During the live online event:

• Organisers will check the sign ups after ticketing closes and remove any AI bots or suspicious looking emails to prevent spam bots from accessing the event.
• Due to GDPR rules, AI live transcription systems will not be permitted at the event and will be removed from the call if they are present.
• Before joining, attendees will wait in the waiting room to be admitted once their registrations have been verified.
• All attendees will be muted with videos turned off upon joining the meeting. Attendees may request to turn audio or video on to ask questions. The chat function will be turned off to prevent spam messages though attendees will still be able to message hosts privately.
• The Q&A function will be enabled to allow attendees to ask questions. Attendees may submit questions anonymously.
• The event will be recorded. Organisers will remind attendees that they will be recorded should they be spotlighted when asking a question with live audio/video during the event.
• Recordings of the event will be shared on the website. The recording will be for documentation and archiving purposes only and will not be used in research or edited for other purposes.

Data privacy

• Personal data from the event registration such as names and email addresses will not be stored and will be deleted following the event.
• Information provided with consent such as institutional/organisational affiliations and geographical region will only be used for analytics purposes to monitor and improve the quality of our events. None of this data will be shared with third parties and will not be published as research.
• Surveys will be anonymous and reviewed only by the organisers for evaluation purposes. No data from the surveys will be published.
• Padlet boards will be deleted two weeks after the event. The discussion board will be archived and stored securely for evaluation purposes only to inform future events planning. Data from the networking lounge will not be saved apart from metadata about engagement (number of posts, contributors, views, visitors) for purposes of evaluation and improving future events. Comments from the Padlet boards will not be quoted or used in research or published. 

Accessibility

• Live automatic captioning will be available during the live event. This may be toggled on and off by participants as needed.
• There will be British Sign Language interpretation at the event. Participants who wish to ask questions using BSL should contact the hosts who will spotlight the participant for the interpreter. Sign language interpretation will not be recorded.
• Participants are advised to speak at a normal pace and avoid rushing to improve the accuracy of live captioning and sign language interpretation.
• Transcripts of the presentations will be available on the website ahead of the event. Easyread versions will also be available.
• Short access breaks are included in the event.
• Participants are invited to join the aftercare session if they wish to connect with speakers and other participants or give feedback to organisers in a smaller setting.
• Padlet boards are compatible with screen readers. 

Safeguarding

• To ensure a safe and inclusive environment, we ask that all participants read and follow the grounding rules of engagement at the event and when using Padlet.
• We reserve the right to remove anyone who engages in inappropriate or abusive behaviour. This includes but is not limited to bullying, making threats, personal attacks, and any form of ableism, disablism, racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, and discriminatory behaviour based on class, religious, or political beliefs.
• Hosts and co-hosts will monitor the chat and Q&A throughout the live event for inappropriate or offensive content.
• Organisers will monitor posts and comments on the Padlet boards and inappropriate comments will be removed.

Reporting

• Attendees should report any concerns or misconduct to the organisers. If attendees experience or become aware of harassment/inappropriate behaviour during the live event, they should report to the organisers via private messages to the hosts. Organisers will offer assistance and take action to remove or ban participants from who continue to engage in inappropriate behaviour if deemed necessary.