Community Event Participation Guidelines on OEG Connect

Open Education Global Conference and OE Week encourages community interaction on OEG Connect. As such, OEG Connect is a safe space for people to gather around shared common goals. All attendees, speakers, sponsors, and volunteers at the OE Global Conference or OE Week are asked to adhere to the following community participation guidelines. The Open Education Global (OEG) team and conference organizers established these community participation guidelines to help ensure a safe, respectful, and healthy environment for everybody.

OEG will enforce these community participation guidelines throughout the events. At these events and beyond, our community strives to:

Be welcoming

We strive to be a community that welcomes and supports people of all backgrounds and identities. This includes, but is not limited to, members of any race, ethnicity, culture, national origin, immigration status, social and economic class, educational level, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, age, size, family status, political belief, religion, and mental and physical ability. Assume good faith in all your interactions.

Be considerate:

Your work will be used by other people, and you in turn will depend on the work of others. Any decision you take will affect colleagues, and you should take those consequences into account when making decisions. Remember that we’re a worldwide community, so you might not be communicating in someone else’s primary language.

Be respectful:

Not all of us will agree all of the time, but disagreement is no excuse for poor behavior and poor manners. We might all experience some frustration now and then, but we cannot allow that frustration to turn into a personal attack. It’s important to remember that a community where people feel uncomfortable or threatened is not a productive one. Please consider the words used: we are a community of professionals, and we conduct ourselves professionally. Practice kindness. Do not insult or put down other participants. Harassment and other exclusionary behavior aren’t acceptable.

Be open to ideas:

Disagreements, both social and technical, happen all the time. It is important that we attempt to resolve disagreements and differing views constructively, and also accept non-closure if necessary. Remember that we’re different. The strength of our community comes from its diversity. Different people come from diverse contexts, have different perspectives on issues and face different challenges. Being unable to understand why someone holds a viewpoint doesn’t mean that they’re wrong. Don’t forget that it is human to err and blaming each other doesn’t get us anywhere. Instead, focus on helping to resolve issues, learn from mistakes, and accept non-closure. Embrace your differences, listen to a different perspective and move forward.

The Short Version

Our conference is dedicated to providing a harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, religion (or lack thereof), or technology choices. We do not tolerate harassment of participants in any form. Sexual language and imagery is not appropriate for any venue, including talks, workshops, parties, social media and other online places. Participants violating these rules may be sanctioned or expelled from the conference without a refund at the discretion of the organizers.

The Full Version

Harassment includes verbal comments that reinforce social structures of domination related to gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, age, religion; sexual images in public/virtual spaces; deliberate intimidation; stalking; harassing photography or recording; sustained disruption of talks or other events; inappropriate physical contact; and unwelcome sexual attention. Participants asked to stop any harassing behavior are expected to comply immediately.

Participants asked to stop any harassing behavior are expected to comply immediately.

Sponsors are also subject to the anti-harassment policy. In particular, sponsors should not use sexualized images, activities, or other material.

If a participant engages in harassing behavior, the conference organizers will take action with an initial warning. If untoward behaviors are reported, the organizers will ask the participant to leave the platform and whatever event is being held at the time.

Reporting

If you are being harassed, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns, please contact report@oeglobal.org immediately.

If you do not feel comfortable going through our reporting process non-anonymously, please report anonymously by using this form. We will do our best to respond to the situation (under the restrictions of anonymity).

We value your attendance and membership in our community.


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This document builds upon the work of others, such as:

oeg2021-community-participation-guidelines.pdf (145.4 KB)