Our Goals 2020 Inclusive conferences and events
Conferences and events are important moments for career progression, sharing research, collaborations and more. Therefore, it’s essential that we reduce barriers to attending and contributing, making these key moments inclusive. Representation also matters, and events are an important way to showcase role models and the diversity of people working in science and health research.
EDIS and its members have committed to improving how we run conferences and events through an equality, diversity and inclusion lens. We will collaborate to share good practice and work to create a wider cultural shift in the sector’s approach to conferences and events.
Accessibility and Inclusivity
Improving the accessibility and inclusivity of events should start from their conception and continue all the way through to the post-event evaluation. It’s important that event organisers communicate upfront what support is in place and how attendees (including speakers) can request any additional requirements. Event evaluations are valuable ways to learn more about who was able to attend and how inclusive the event was for them and should be used to drive continuous improvement.
As more conferences and events move online, some elements of accessibility have improved (e.g. through removing the need to travel, widely available auto-subtitling, more sessions being recorded and made available as standard). However there is still a need for online safe space policies, considerations to the time of events (including length and scheduled breaks) and limitations of internet speeds and bandwidth. In 2021 we want to explore this side of events and conferences more and what we can do as a collective to improve our practice.
We’ve adapted our in-person events code of conduct into a safe space policy for all in-person and online events and communications.
EDIS Symposium 2019
It was important that the EDIS Symposium in 2019 demonstrated what we have learnt as a coalition. In addition we wanted to stretch ourselves and our attendees to think what more could be done. This included trialling silent clapping, being upfront about expected behaviours and offering financial support to attendees for travel and childcare.
Delegate booklets and code of conduct
Our delegate booklets were available in both a graphically designed format and a simpler large font format. Inside you’ll find more information about the inclusion measures we put in place, the steps we took towards greater accessibility and our event-specific code of conduct that all attendees and staff had to agree to.
Pronoun stickers
At the EDIS symposium 2019 we provided pronoun stickers for delegates to wear and encouraged the use of these by everyone who felt comfortable to do so. If you want to read more about why this might be important to people, please read this article published anonymously to the Physiological Society’s blog site.
We’ve included blank stickers for anyone wishing to choose a pronoun not listed. These stickers are 4cm by 4cm in size so they are easily visible, and colour coded to help people identify the pronouns used without having to be close enough to read them. We hope they help prevent misgendering, and empower people to choose the pronouns that best describe their gender identity.
Useful resources:
EDIS Statement on Recent Racist Violence in the UK
EDIS wants to extend our care and solidarity to our community, the wider science and health research sector, and to everyone who has been impacted by the recent Islamophobic, racist, xenophobic and anti-migrant violence in the UK.
Lessons Learned: How do you organise an inclusive symposium?
A roundup of the top 5 lessons we learned while organising the 2023 EDIS Symposium, including running hybrid events and how to build trust.
Posters from the 2023 EDIS Symposium
For more information on the EDIS 2023 Symposium, check out the delegate booklet here [PDF]. View the Applied Microbiology International poster at full size
Evaluating features of scientific conferences: A call for improvements
Scientific conferences provide valuable opportunities for researchers across career stages and disciplines to present their latest work, and to network with their peers. This research finds that many meetings could still be improved significantly in terms of diversity, inclusivity, promoting early career researcher (ECR) networking and career development and venue accessibility.
Disability awareness and planning for accessibility
A guide for event planning covering: Disability awareness and planning for accessibility, the benefits of inclusiveness, how to plan an accessible and inclusive event, and a best practice checklist for accessibility to comply with UK Equality regulations.
Who attended the EDIS Symposium?
We asked attendees to fill out an anonymous diversity monitoring form at the EDIS symposium 2019 and here we share our findings.
The NumFOCUS DISCOVER Cookbook
Diverse & Inclusive Spaces and Conferences: Overall Vision and Essential Resources – This cookbook is intended as a resource for organizers of conferences and events to support and encourage diversity and inclusion at those events. Developed by the NumFOCUS Diversity & Inclusion in Scientific Computing (DISC) Program.
