• Visual Descriptions: Please offer a brief visual self-description of yourself and the images you are presenting to make our conference more inclusive for blind and visually impaired colleagues. Further guidance is below. 
• Flashing Images: Please warn those in the session if your presentation contains flashing images at the beginning of the presentation.
• Land Acknowledgements: Please begin your presentation with a land acknowledgement if you feel this is relevant or appropriate to your situation or location.
• Audience Preferences: Tell the session host and/or Chair whether or not you would like online audience members to keep their cameras on or off, or to use the chat function during your presentation. There may be good reason for cameras to be turned off. Even though seeing one another can foster a convivial atmosphere and contribute to a more engaging presentation, it can slow down internet speed and connectivity and is less environmentally friendly. Please be mindful and respectful of individual choices around camera use.
• Social media: At the start of your paper, make it clear whether or not you permit live-tweeting, images or screen shots to be taken, or sharing via other social media platforms about your presentation.
• Distressing/Offensive Material: Please use content warnings for slides or material that might reasonably be expected to cause distress or offence, such as explicit sexual content, racialised or ableist language, depictions of violence or abuse (while also being mindful that triggers may differ from person to person depending on their experiences).
• Your presence on Sched: Please update your profile as necessary, and include an image of yourself if you feel comfortable doing so. You should be able to also update your abstract if necessary on this platform.
• Documenting/Recording: We are not recording Working Group or Open Panel sessions. Keynotes and the Executive-curated panel will be uploaded to our YouTube channel as soon as possible, once we have the presenters’ final approval and permission.

Providing a visual description of yourself at the start of your presentation or participation in a session creates a more equitable experience for blind and visually impaired people. It also puts in motion TaPRA’s anti-oppression manifesto by inviting colleagues to critically reflect on the identity markers of those in any given space, the power dynamics that result from it, and to self-reflect on these in relation to privilege. As per the guidelines from the Vocal Eyes website “By describing yourself, you are in some way identifying and defining yourself, and it is thus a political and personal act.”

Chairs and/or working group convenors should model good practice at the start of their panels or conference event, repeat the request [for visual description], and model it as appropriate. However, to work with the advice from Vocal Eyes, “it is important that this is done without naming, singling out, or in any other way noting the blind or visually impaired person or people” who may be in the room, and/or who may have requested this access service.

It is recommended that you write down your self-description and stick to what you have written. This should be as concise as possible (one or two sentences), starting with your name.

As a guideline, ask yourself how you would describe yourself to a non-blind person who you have never met so that they are able to find you in a crowded public place.

Try to restrict yourself to three key elements. These may include your gender; age (in decades such as ‘early 30s’ or ‘mid 50s’ rather than specific numbers); race, ethnicity or skin colour; disability or neurodivergence; build or height; clothing or accessories. It is important to remember here that as a minoritised person, your choice of words in your visual description can be difficult to determine in certain circumstances where you find yourself on your own. To quote Vocal Eyes on this: “If you find it uncomfortable in the circumstances, it is perfectly acceptable to choose not to include an aspect of self-description”.

The above guidelines are from the Vocal Eyes website, where you can find further information and guidance: https://vocaleyes.co.uk/services/resources/digital-accessibility-and-inclusion/self-description-for-inclusive-meetings/

TaPRA is committed to creating welcoming and hospitable conference environments which facilitate intellectual debate and discussion, while remaining sensitive to the potential harms risked by unequal power dynamics and the vulnerabilities inherent in sharing our work with a wider community.   Our Dignity and Respect Policy is available here.

We want all conference delegates, regardless of race, age, disability, job title, sexuality, sex, gender identity or expression, religion, body size, class, belief or other status, to feel valued and to have an enjoyable and fulfilling experience. As such, we ask all attendees to consider how their behaviour and conduct impacts on colleagues, and to show respect and courtesy to other delegates throughout the conference.

Note that what is said online (for example on social media and blogs) is just as real as what is said and done in person at the conference. Note also that we expect participants to follow these rules at all conference venues and conference-related social events.

The below code of conduct sets expectations for behaviour during the conference, and gives details of how to report any incident of discrimination, bullying or harassment, should delegates experience them. 

ALL PARTICIPANTS ARE EXPECTED TO:  

• Be considerate, inclusive, respectful and collaborative; 
• Behave professionally;
• Listen to others’ views and engage constructively with them;
• Set an example;
• Be committed to helping each other and to be kind;
• Respect the environment and the people around you;
• Use preferred pronouns, titles and names;
• Follow guidance for presenters and chairs;
• Consider the power dynamics in exchanges and make particular efforts to support and include those over whom your status gives you power; 
• Consider how questions to presenters are phrased, and refrain from aggressive lines of questioning, and from asking questions that are intended to undermine the speaker; 
• Refrain from intimidating, discriminatory, harassing or demeaning behaviour (see unacceptable behaviour in the below section); 
• Refrain from tweeting or sub-tweeting (that is obliquely referencing a specific incident) in a manner that might causes distress, embarrassment or ‘pile-ons’ for other delegates;
• If consent is not explicitly given for the contents of presentations to be shared online, please refrain from doing so;
• Alert any member of the TaPRA Executive Committee if you notice someone in distress (See section below on how to report unacceptable behaviour)

UNACCEPTABLE BEHAVIOUR  

Examples of unacceptable behaviour include: intimidation, harassment, bullying, discrimination, derogatory or demeaning conduct. 

Harassment includes offensive verbal comments related to gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, religion, technology choices, sexual images in public spaces, deliberate intimidation, stalking, following, harassing photography or recording, sustained disruption of talks or other events, inappropriate physical contact, and unwelcome sexual attention. Participants asked to stop any harassing behaviour, even if it is unintentional, are expected to comply immediately.

TaPRA takes harassment and issues relating to inappropriate behaviour seriously. While one-off comments and or occasional instances of forgetfulness, rudeness, or tactlessness do not constitute harassment in a legal sense, TaPRA asks delegates to be mindful of the impact of their words and actions on others.

TaPRA members found to be engaging in behaviour that violates this code of conduct may be subject to investigation by the Executive Committee.  Anyone requested to stop harassing or perpetrating other inappropriate behaviour is expected to comply immediately. In cases where an offender appears to present the risk of continuing harm, expulsion from the conference is a possible sanction. In cases where a person is proven to have committed an offense, TaPRA membership and any honours granted by the organisation may be revoked. 

REPORTING UNACCEPTABLE BEHAVIOUR OR CONCERNS 

If you are subject to or notice that someone else is being subject to unacceptable behaviour, or have any other concerns (for example, the content of a paper or other form of presentation), please take one of the following actions:

• Report it directly to a member of the TaPRA Executive Committee – they are all listed on the Sched.com app, and on the TaPRA website  
• Report it by email to exec@tapra.org 

We encourage you to report any form of discrimination or harassment even if you do not wish for a formal follow-up procedure to take place. This will help us better understand the varying degrees of discrimination and harassment taking place, and explore how we can prevent them at future events. All reports will remain confidential, although we may share details regarding numbers of complaints and their general type with members. 

DISCLAIMER 

TaPRA cannot control the behaviour of conference attendees and does not assume legal liability for unacceptable behaviour taking place at this conference. This code of conduct is for information only and is not a contract, and does not create any legally enforceable protections or obligations on the part of TaPRA. It is not intended to, nor should it be used to support a cause of action, create a presumption of a breach of legal duty, or form a basis for liability. 

* This Code of Conduct was originally adapted from the Harassment Policy of the American Musicological Society and the ‘Reach 2019 Code of Conduct’.  The updated version has drawn from the Royal Geographical Society-IBG’s Code of Conduct.”