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Academic Conference on Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy
Policies on Inclusion and Conduct


The Academic Conference on Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy strives to create a safe, equitable, and inclusive community space that is accessible and welcoming to everyone regardless of race, gender identity and expression, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, ability, culture, age, nationality, and physical appearance. The organizing committee of ACCSFF endeavours to remove barriers and ensure our conference is accessible to all attendees and participants.

 
If you encounter a barrier or have an accessibility concern during the conference, please bring it to the attention of ACCSFF's organizers and we will be happy to work with you to find a solution.


Attendee Responsibilities: Inclusive and Accessible Presentations

We ask that participants strive to make their conference presentations and supporting materials as inclusive as possible with accommodations for audience members who may have diverse needs and abilities. Panelists should avoid making assumptions regarding ability, gender identity and expression, or race. Conference participants are encouraged to refer to the following resources to help make inclusive and accessible presentations:

We also encourage ACCSFF participants to be familiar with strategies for communicating with persons with disabilities such as Respect Ability's "Etiquette: Interacting with People with Disabilities" toolkit.


ACCSFF Code of Conduct

ACCSFF is committed to creating a mutually respectful and welcoming discursive environment at its conference and in its online spaces (Twitter, Facebook, etc.). All participants are expected to be familiar with the responsibilities outlined below and to adhere to the code of conduct in their behaviour during ACCSFF.

ACCSFF is committed to upholding free speech and acknowledges that different perspectives and positions are an important part of academic discourse and engagement. Attendees are expected to remain professional in their comments, questions, and feedback, and to not engage in harassing behaviour or personal attacks on attendees, presenters, organizers, and library staff during the conference or in its online forums.

ACCSFF condemns all forms of harassment and discrimination (in-person or online) including offensive or threatening verbal or written comments, bullying or intimidation, defamation, continuous disruption of speakers, inappropriate physical contact, stalking, photography or recording without consent, and unwelcome sexual attention.

Attendee responsibilities:
  • Uphold the values of equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility;
  • Maintain a mutually respectful and inclusive space for all other participants and attendees;
  • Offer feedback in a respectful manner that focuses on the presentation/research, not the individual;
  • Professionally conduct themselves in their behaviour toward ACCSFF attendees, organizers, and library staff. This includes respecting the allotted presentation time, actively listening, avoiding interrupting or speaking over others, remaining tactful when asking questions, and being considerate in their responses to others;
  • If presenting, prepare presentation materials and content with attention to accessibility and inclusion, such as providing captions and transcripts for audio or video, alt-text captions of images on slides and verbal descriptions of the images, handouts, or a PDF copy of slides if presenting virtually;
  • Help promote a welcoming and inclusive space by using gender-neutral language for addressing the audience (e.g., ACCSFF members, members of the audence) and avoiding addressing the audience with gendered language. To help facilitate this environment, speakers are encouraged to share their pronouns and/or include their pronouns on their name bades or next to their names if presenting online;
  • Avoid engaging in any form of harassment or offensive comments toward attendees, organizers, or other staff.


Dealing with a Breach of the Code of Conduct

If participants experience or observe behaviour that is inappropriate, offensive, and/or breaches ACCSFF's code of conduct, they should notify the organizers immediately. ACCSFF organizers will be mindful of confidentiality where possible and consult on what actions may be taken to best address the situation.

The organizers will take actions based on the situation's context and severity. Actions may include but are not limited to:
  • Attempting to mediate in the case of disagreement, misunderstanding, or conflict;
  • Delivering a private warning to the individual in breach of the code of conduct;
  • Stopping the individual from continuing;
  • Issuing a request for a private or public apology from the individual;
  • Removing the individual from the conference space;
  • Prohibiting the individual from attending future ACCSFFs.