Code of Conduct
OUR POLICY
Our conference is dedicated to providing a harassment-free conference experience for everyone. How are we defining harassment?
Harassment is any unwelcome conduct that might be reasonably be perceived to cause offence or humiliation to another person.
Harassment does include personally abusive verbal or written comments related to a person’s identity (gender, age, sexual orientation, abilities, appearance, race, ethnicity, religion or lack of religion, technology choices, etc.).
Harassment does include behaviors that demonstrate deliberate intimidation, unwelcome sexual attention, following/stalking or sustained disruption of activity.
Behaviors that are not considered harassment are those that arise from a relationship of mutual consent. Harassment does not include disagreements on ideas, practices or frank discussion of controversial topics.
If a participant engages in harassing behavior, our policy will be to give one warning to the person making harassing comments. If a second incident occurs, the person will be removed from the conference.
If you are being harassed, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns, please contact a member of conference team immediately.
A participant should never knowingly make a false or misleading claim about harassment or unwelcome conduct.
Standard of Presence: I commit to seeking consent for actions that I can see may be perceived as harassing for another conference member.
Community Agreement
In order for the conversation to be meaningful, it needs to come from everyone! Here are some guidelines for Embodiment conference sessions and forums:
ACKNOWLEDGE EVERYONE’S A HUMAN BEING
We encourage that you create space within yourself to engage with presenters and participants who do not share your perspective. Disagreement is not expressing one’s disapproval of something or expressing that something makes you feel bad. To really disagree with someone’s idea or opinion, you must first understand that idea or opinion. Another person’s perspective is not automatically a personal attack on you and your values. Differences are not the grounds to attack another person’s character and reputation. Seek within yourself the possibility to listen to, engage with and learn from other perspectives.
Standard of Presence: I commit to listen to, engage with and learn from other perspectives.
EMBRACE CURIOSITY
We make better decisions when we approach our problems and challenges with questions (“What if we…?”) and curiosity. Allow space for play, curiosity, and creative thinking.
Standard of Presence: I commit to being curious when I encounter a perspective or situation that challenges me.
ACKNOWLEDGE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN INTENT AND IMPACT
Sometimes people say or do things that cause harm, even when it is not their intention to do so. But when we use our good intentions to deny (or avoid being accountable), more harm can be caused. In a global conference, it may happen that something we say can be misunderstood or misconstrued by someone from a different social, cultural or political context. By acknowledging that intent and impact of our actions are two different things, a simple apology can take away any negative impact we may create.
Standard of Presence: I commit to acknowledging the gap between intent and impact.
CALL IN NOT CALL OUT
As an embodiment community, one way we can walk the talk of embodied ethics is to acknowledge that we are all a work in progress. Notice when you feel a need to call someone out for not saying something exactly right. Challenge yourself to shift your desire to correct someone into a question of how to inform and educate – how can you call the person into a conversation rather than call them out for their “error”.
Standard of Presence: I commit to calling in others into conversation before I call them out for behavior that I find challenging.
ONE PERSON, ONE MIC, ONE FOCUS
We ask that one person speak at a time and leave a few moments in between speakers for those who might need more time to process or are less comfortable interjecting in conversation. Keep your speaking and contributions focused on embodiment topics. Other topics like conspiracy theories, political news, gossip, and zombie apocalypse belong in other forums.
Standard of Presence: I commit to contributing to embodiment related discussions in ways that include space for others.
NO ONE KNOWS EVERYTHING; TOGETHER WE KNOW A LOT
We believe that each person has something to contribute to the conversation. We ask that you practice being humble, share what you know, and look for what you can learn from each person in the session.
Standard of Presence: I commit to sharing what I know and leaving space for others to share what they know.
MOVE UP, MOVE UP
If you’re someone who tends to not speak a lot, please move up into a role of speaking more. If you tend to speak a lot, please move up into a role of listening more. In both cases, growth is happening!
Standard of Presence: I commit to expanding my comfort zone in how I participate.
WE CAN’T BE ARTICULATE ALL THE TIME
Often, we hesitate to participate for fear of “messing up” or stumbling over words. We want everyone to feel comfortable participating, even if you don’t feel you have the perfect words to express your thoughts. Here is the place to try things out. Even if you “mess up”, we can work on the language together.
Standard of Presence: I commit to participating with acceptance of my own imperfections and the imperfections of others.
BE AWARE OF TIME
Please respect everyone’s time commitment, and refrain from speaking in long monologues.
Standard of Presence: I commit to focusing my comments to avoid long monologues.
This policy is inspired by and adapted from: