We believe that everyone has the right to be in a safe and welcoming environment when attending Halfway to the Future. We wish for Halfway to the Future to be a symposium grounded in debate, which we consider to be a natural part of social academic life and is an important part of building a community and learning from one another. Nevertheless, we will not tolerate any inappropriate behaviour as described in this code of conduct.
At this event we uphold the following values:
- Committing to empowering each other
- Listening to others' views and communicating respectfully
- Being aware of our biases and prejudices
- Respecting our environment and the people around us, in person and online
- Respecting people’s choice of gender pronouns, personal space, and right to engage/disengage in any conversation
- Respecting participants wishes not to be photographed or videoed
However, to represent ourselves and our research to our very best ability, we will not tolerate any abuse, violence, discrimination or harassment. Harassment includes but is not limited to:
- offensive verbal or written comments and visual imagery related to gender, age, sexual orientation and activity, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, religion,
- sustained disruption of talks or other events, harassing photography, including capturing or sharing visual images of individuals wearing orange lanyards
- deliberate intimidation or threats, including violent language and images, stalking, following, inappropriate physical contact, and unwelcome sexual attention
Absolutely everyone involved with our activities, including participants, members, sponsors, guests, volunteers, organisers, and our committee members, are subject to our Code of Conduct.
If what you’re doing is making someone feel uncomfortable, that counts as harassment and is enough reason to stop doing it.
Attendees asked to stop any inappropriate behaviour are expected to comply immediately.
If a person engages in any unacceptable behaviour, as highlighted above, we may take any action we deem appropriate, including but not limited to warnings, expulsion, and banning, with no eligibility for reimbursement or refund of any type. We may also withdraw any associated publication that you have had accepted into the symposium proceedings.
Our decisions regarding the Code of Conduct may be escalated to the General Chairs as a committee, or the organising committee as a whole. The decision to take action is non-negotiable once it has been made.
If you are being harassed, or are aware of any inappropriate behaviour, or have any other concerns, please contact the general chairs using the contacts below or approach one of our volunteers. The general chairs will make a mobile phone number (for SMS and WhatsApp) available during the symposium.
In addition to the above, we are following the ACM Policy Against Harassment.
Contact Details
Please email us at: [email protected] (Pepita Stringer; Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Chair) or [email protected] (Martin Porcheron; Communications Chair). You may also call or send WhatsApp and SMS messages to the Communications Chair on +44 7394 212757 during the symposium.
Alternatively, you may send a report via our website, and choose whether or not to identify yourself.
This event complies with the University of Nottingham’s Events guidance.
Credits
This Code of Conduct was adapted from Hacksmiths Code of Conduct and the CSCW 2019 Code of Conduct.
