GISRUK Code of Conduct

Diversity Statement

Geographical Information Science Research UK (GISRUK) is committed to welcoming and encouraging participation by all people at all GISRUK activities and forums. We strive to create an inclusive community that recognises and values everyone’s differences and the strengths those differences bring to our community. This commitment to diversity and inclusivity includes all aspects of a person including, but not limited to: race; ethnicity; nationality; age; sex; gender; faith, religious belief, or non-belief; pregnancy and maternity; ability/disability; socioeconomic status; political views; and appearance.

Code of Conduct

The following is largely based upon the Berlin Code of Conduct, which is a community organised and maintained guide for conduct at conferences and events. The Berlin Code of Conduct is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) license. The Berlin Code of Conduct is based on the pdx.rb Code of Conduct.

Purpose

The primary goal of any GISRUK event is to be inclusive to the largest number of contributors , with the most varied and diverse backgrounds as possible. As such, we are committed to providing a safe and friendly environment for all. We ask you to join us in ensuring that this conference creates a dynamic, friendly, intellectually enriching and harassment-free environment for everyone while creating a safe and positive experience for everyone.

Scope

We expect all GISRUK participants (contributors, paid or otherwise; sponsors; and other guests) to abide by this Code of Conduct in all GISRUK event venues—online and in-person—as well as in all one-on-one communications pertaining to community business.

Open Source/Tech/Culture Citizenship

A supplemental goal of this Code of Conduct is to increase open [source/culture/tech] citizenship by encouraging participants to recognize and strengthen the relationships between our actions and their effects on our community.

Communities mirror the societies in which they exist and positive action is essential to counteract the many forms of inequality and abuses of power that exist in society.

If you see someone who is making an extra effort to ensure our community is welcoming, friendly, and encourages all participants to contribute to the fullest extent, we want to know.

Expected Behaviour

  • Participate in an authentic and active way. In doing so, you contribute to the health and longevity of this community.

  • Exercise consideration and respect in your speech and actions.

  • Attempt collaboration before conflict.

  • Refrain from demeaning, discriminatory, or harassing behaviour and speech.

  • Be mindful of your surroundings and of your fellow participants. Alert community leaders if you notice a dangerous situation, someone in distress, or violations of this Code of Conduct, even if they seem inconsequential.

  • Communicate politely at all times. While English is the lingua franca of this conference, keep in mind that not everyone may be a native English speaker.

Unacceptable Behaviour

Unacceptable behaviours include: intimidating, harassing, abusive, discriminatory, derogatory or demeaning speech or actions by any participant in our GISRUK community online, any GISRUK related events, and in one-on-one communications carried out in the context of GISRUK community business/activities. GISRUK community event venues may be spaces shared with members of the public; please be respectful to all patrons of these locations.

Harassment includes: harmful or prejudicial verbal or written comments and imagery related to gender, sexual orientation, race or ethnicity, religion, nationality, political views, appearance, disability, or socioeconomics; inappropriate use of nudity and/or sexual images (including presentation slides); inappropriate depictions of violence (including presentation slides); deliberate intimidation, stalking or following; harassing or non-consensual photography or recording; sustained disruption of talks or other events; inappropriate physical contact, and unwelcome sexual attention.

Consequences of Unacceptable Behaviour

Unacceptable behaviour from any community member, including sponsors and those with decision-making authority, will not be tolerated. Anyone asked to stop unacceptable behaviour is expected to comply immediately.

If a GISRUK event member engages in unacceptable behaviour, the GISRUK organisers may take any action they deem appropriate, up to and including a temporary ban or permanent expulsion from the GISRUK community without warning (and without refund in the case of a paid event).

If You Witness or are Subject to Unacceptable Behaviour

If you are subject to or witness unacceptable behaviour, or have any other concerns, please notify a GISRUK event organiser as soon as possible. You can find a list of GISRUK event organizers to contact for each of the supporters of this code of conduct at the bottom of this document. Further, GISRUK organisers will be identifiable at any physical conference by a distinctive name badge stating “ORGANISER”.

Additionally, GISRUK organisers are available to help community members engage with local law enforcement or to otherwise help those experiencing unacceptable behaviour feel safe. In the context of in-person events, organisers will also provide escorts as desired by the person experiencing distress.

In case of a crime or an emergency, contact emergency services by calling 999 prior to contacting any conference organiser.

The full procedure for reporting unacceptable behaviour is outlined in the section “Reporting Unacceptable Behaviour.”

##n Reporting Unacceptable Behaviour

The following procedures are adapted from the FOSS4G 2019 conference’s “Code of Conduct” which is based upon previous FOSS4G conferences, other conferences, and the Ada Initiative’s guide titled “Conference anti-harassment/Responding to Reports”.

If you witness or are the target of harassment, please consult the dedicated GISRUK harrassment policy and procedures. The GISRUK Organising Committee is committed to addressing and resolving the matter to the best of their abilities.

Additionally, please report the incident to the GISRUK organisers as soon as possible either in person or via the contact listed at the end of this document. When reporting, try to gather as much information as possible, but do not interview people about the incident – organisers will assist you in writing the report/collecting information.

Important information:

  • Identifying information (name) of the participant doing the harassing

  • The behaviour that was in violation

  • The approximate time of the behaviour (if different than the time the report was made)

  • The circumstances surrounding the incident

  • Other people involved in the incident

IF AT ANY MOMENT, YOU FEEL UNSAFE, A CRIME HAS OCCURRED, OR THERE IS AN EMERGENCY, PLEASE IMMEDIATELY CALL 999 FOR EMERGENCY SERVICES. If you do not have the possibility to call, ask any staff member/organiser to assist you. All staff members/organisers are aware of the Code of Conduct policy and of the actions to take if it is not respected.

Addressing Grievances

If you feel you have been falsely or unfairly accused of violating this Code of Conduct, you should notify one of the GISRUK event organisers with a concise description of your grievance. Your grievance will be handled in accordance with our existing governing policies.

GISRUK Conference Event Organisers and Contact

Levi John Wolf (Co-Chair): +44 07445 836645, levi.john.wolf@bristol.ac.uk

Rui Zhu (Co-chair): rui.zhu@bristol.ac.uk

Caitlin Robinson (Co-chair): caitlin.robinson@bristol.ac.uk