Open Repositories (OR) is dedicated to providing a welcoming and positive experience for everyone, whether they are in a formal session or a social setting, or are taking part in activities on-line. OR participants come from all over the world and bring with them a wide variety of professional, personal and social backgrounds; whatever these may be, we treat colleagues with dignity and respect.
OR participants communicate primarily in English, though for many of them this is not their native language. We therefore strive to express ourselves simply and clearly remembering that unnecessary use of jargon and slang will be a barrier to understanding for many of our colleagues. We are sensitive to the fact that the international nature of OR means that we span many different social norms around language and behaviour and we strive to conduct ourselves in ways that are unlikely to cause offence.
OR gatherings are information-rich and intended to generate much discussion and debate. We discuss ideas from a standpoint of mutual respect and reasoned argument.
OR participants work together to promote a respectful and safe community. In the event that someone’s conduct is causing offence or distress, OR has a detailed Anti-Harassment Policy, details below, which can be applied to address the problem. The first step in dealing with any serious misconduct is to contact a member of the local conference committee, the OR steering committee, or the program chairs immediately; at an OR event, these people can be identified by distinctive name badges.
ANTI-HARASSMENT POLICY
Open Repositories (OR) is dedicated to providing a harassment-free conference experience for everyone. If you have been harassed, please consult this protocol for conflict resolution which makes clear how we can help.
OR is committed to helpful and respectful communication.
OR has established the following policy to make it clear that we do not tolerate harassment in any form. Sexual or discriminatory language and imagery are not appropriate for any event venue, including talks, or any other communication channel used during the conference (such as social media).
Harassment includes:
- offensive verbal comments related to sex, gender, ethnicity, nationality, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, age, race, religion;
- sexual or discriminatory images in public spaces;
- deliberate intimidation;
- stalking;
- harassing photography or recording;
- sustained disruption of talks or other events;
- inappropriate physical contact; and
- unwelcome sexual attention.
The lingua franca of OR is English; however, English may not be the native language of many OR participants. Further, cultural norms around what may be considered obscene and offensive communication will vary among OR attendees. Delegates are asked to please be mindful of the international character of Open Repositories, and to use respectful and clear language free of slang to facilitate communication.
Participants asked to stop any harassing behavior are expected to comply immediately.
If a participant engages in harassing behavior, event organizers and Steering Committee representatives (or their designees) may take any action they deem appropriate, including warning the offender, expulsion from the OR conference, or contacting a higher authority such as a representative from the offender’s institution.
If a participant raises a concern relating to actions covered by this policy in good faith, there will be no retaliation for bringing forward their concern. Threatening or taking action against someone for invoking this policy or for participating in any related investigation will be considered a violation of this policy.
Participants are expected to follow the anti-harassment policy at all conference-related venues, conference-related social events, and online communication channels.
We expect attendees and speakers past and present to be respectful to each other, and we will deal with any incidents that arise, including on social media.
We value your participation in the Open Repositories community and your support in keeping the OR community a safe, welcoming, and friendly space for fellow participants.
License
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