Code of Conduct & Anti-Harassment Policy

Throughout these policies, ‘we’ refers to the newCardigan community of volunteers and organisers.

If you attend any newCardigan events, or participate in a newCardigan project, we consider you to be part of the community.

By taking part in any newCardigan event or project, you agree to uphold and promote these policies and Code of Conduct.

This is a living document and may change at any time.

Last amended: 3 August 2017

Code of Conduct

newCardigan provides an environment where everyone is welcome.
We are a diverse community from a wide range of backgrounds and interests. To ensure that everyone has an enjoyable and enriching experience, please bring a spirit of respect and friendly inquiry to all your interactions.

We are dedicated to providing a harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, education, income, ability, physical appearance, body size, ethnicity, or religion.

Be awesome. Be polite and friendly to everyone in the community.

Be welcoming. newCardigan is a community that welcomes and supports people of all backgrounds and identities. People from all fields somehow related to Galleries, Libraries, Archives or Museums are welcome.

Be respectful. Our community comes from a range of backgrounds and experience levels. Listen and support others to learn. Remember that everyone has their own field of expertise.

Be kind. Be careful in the words that you choose. Do not insult or put down other participants. Endeavour to make your language inclusive. Suggested readings about inclusive language are included at the end of this document.

Be considerate. Respect the space and facilities. Help the organisers by looking after equipment and cleaning up after yourself and others.

Be forgiving. People sometimes make mistakes. Please assume that participants and organisers are acting with the best intentions. If you choose to engage with them regarding something you feel is inappropriate or unfair, aim to be diplomatic and forgiving.

Let us know. If you’re not sure about something or have a concern, feel free to ask an organiser for advice; we’re happy to help. Organisers are usually the people opening doors, stacking chairs, pointing at the food and otherwise being helpful.

Photography / video / audio recording

Please do not photograph or record newCardigan participants or speakers without their explicit permission.

We will sometimes photograph and/or record (audio and/or video) invited speakers at newCardigan events, to enable us to share the sessions online and on our CardiCast podcast. If you ask a speaker a question during the session, this may be included in the recording. If you wish to a have audio and/or video recording of yourself edited out before it is made publicly available, please speak to a newCardigan organiser and we will do our best to accommodate your request. Note that audio/video may occasionally be transmitted live.

Reporting / blogging / social media

We encourage all newCardigan community members to join the conversation on Twitter, blogs and other social media forums. We often cover events by live-tweeting. We remind attendees that the Code of Conduct extends to online interactions associated with newCardigan.

Attribution

Comments made on social media may be republished with attribution (for example retweeting or embedding of tweets in blogs). If you wish to attribute an opinion or statement to an individual in a long-form piece, please verify with that individual that they feel you have written an accurate representation of their view.

Off the record conversations

newCardigan is a supportive network and encourages discussions of difficult issues and calling out of ‘elephants in the room’. Occasionally participants may wish to speak in a newCardigan discussion ‘off the record’. Please respect their wishes by not reporting or attributing these comments publicly.

Anti-harassment policy

Be nice or go home.
newCardigan is dedicated to providing an enjoyable, safe, and harassment-free experience for everyone at our events and in our spaces. We do not tolerate harassment or discrimination of community members in any form. Attendees violating these rules may be cautioned, expelled or banned from newCardigan events and spaces at the discretion of organisers and moderators.

Harassment includes, but is not limited to:

offensive verbal comments related to gender, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race or ethnicity, religion, or other personal attributes or identities
unwelcome comments regarding a person’s lifestyle choices and practices
sexual images in public spaces
deliberate intimidation
stalking or following
threats of violence or incitements to violence against an individual
violating any newCardigan policy
sustained disruption of talks or other events
sustained attacks on someone’s project, work or idea
inappropriate physical contact and invasions of personal space
unwelcome sexual attention.

Sometimes a comment one person thinks is innocuous is quite offensive to someone else. If someone tells you they find your language or comments offensive, please take that on board graciously.

If we ask participants to stop any harassing behaviour they are expected to comply immediately. Any newCardigan member can issue a verbal warning to a participant that their behaviour violates the community’s anti-harassment policy. A record of complaints received and warnings issued will be maintained to enable any repeat offenders to be identified.
If a participant engages in harassing behaviour, the organisers may take any action they deem appropriate, including warning the offender, or in extreme cases, expelling or banning them from newCardigan events.

In case of harassment

If you are being harassed, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns, please contact an newCardigan organiser. If you are being harassed by a newCardigan organiser, please contact someone else you trust from the newCardigan community, preferably an organiser, as soon as you are comfortable doing so.
newCardigan organisers will be happy to help attendees contact police or crisis services, provide escorts, or otherwise assist those experiencing harassment to feel safe. We value your attendance and will do our best to take care of community members.
Please note, while we take all concerns raised seriously, we will use our discretion in determining when and how to follow up on reported incidents and may decline to take any further action. All concerns will be recorded.

We expect participants to follow these rules at newCardigan events and online forums.