Kickass Conferences

Code of Conduct

 

 Code of Conduct

Kickass Conferences is dedicated to providing a respectful, productive and harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of age, body size, visible or invisible disability, ethnicity, sex characteristics, gender identity and expression, level of experience, education, socio-economic status, nationality, personal appearance, race, caste, color, religion, sexual identity and origin, or any intersectionalities of the identities listed previously.

We pledge to act and interact in ways that contribute to an open, welcoming, diverse, inclusive, and healthy community.

We do not tolerate harassment or Code of Conduct violations in any form. Clients violating these rules may be sanctioned or removed as a client without a refund at the discretion of Kickass Conferences. If a member of the Kickass Conferences team or extended network of contractors, vendors, etc. violates these rules, we will take swift action to address the violation.

1. Who does this Code of Conduct apply to?

This Code of Conduct applies to:

  •  All Kickass Conference clients

  • Kickass Conference employees and contractors

  • Event volunteers and vendors 

For the purposes of this Code of Conduct we define a client as the person who signed the service agreement AND including anyone on their team involved in the project such as their own staff, employees, contractors, vendors, volunteers, etc.

2. Where does the Code of Conduct take effect?

This Code of Conduct is in effect during any interaction between the client and anyone on or working for the Kickass Conferences team including our vendors, contractors, full- and part-time staff.

This includes interactions online (such as via Slack, email, video conferencing or similar) and in person (an event hosted by a client or any third party) while the client is under contract with us.

3. Our Standards

Examples of behavior that contributes to a positive environment for our community include:

  • Demonstrating empathy and kindness toward each other

    • Being respectful of differing opinions, viewpoints, and experiences

    • Respectfully giving and accepting constructive feedback

    • Accepting responsibility and apologizing to those affected by our mistakes, and learning from the experience

    • Focusing on what is best not just for us as individuals, but for the overall community and work group

  • Following established procedures and using the work tools as needed to move the project forward

  • Respecting each other’s time

    • Arriving to meetings on time

    • Notifying us as soon as possible if a meeting needs to be rescheduled/canceled

    • Responding to messages/requests within 3 working days

    • Handing in requested information by mutually accepted due dates


Examples of unacceptable behavior include:

  • Harassment of any kind, publicly or privately

  • Publishing others’ private information without their explicit permission

  • Other conduct which could reasonably be considered inappropriate in a professional setting

Harassment includes, but is not limited to:

  • Verbal comments that reinforce social structures of power, domination and oppression (such as related to gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, age, religion etc).

  • Sexual images in public spaces

  • Deliberate intimidation, stalking, or following 

  • Harassing photography or recording

  • Sustained disruption of the work environment

  • Inappropriate physical contact

  • Unwelcome sexual attention

  • Advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above behavior

4. Reporting

Instances of abusive, harassing, or otherwise unacceptable behavior may be reported to the team members responsible for enforcement at admin@kickassconf.com

All complaints will be reviewed and investigated within 48 hours of receiving a report by the Kickass Conferences leadership team.

All Kickass Conferences leadership team members are obligated to respect the privacy and security of the reporter of any incident.

5. Enforcement

Anyone as defined in section 1  engages in harassing or inappropriate behavior, Kickass Conferences retains the right to take any actions to keep a welcoming environment for all clients, vendors, staff, attendees and  anyone else involved in the project. 

This includes but is not limited to actions such as:

  • A private, written warning, providing clarity around the nature of the violation and an explanation of why the behavior was inappropriate and course of action for addressing the violation.

  • A private meeting via video conference or in person with Kickass Conferences leadership  to discuss the violation and course of action expected 

  • In the case of a client, the  cancellation of the service contract with no refund.

Kickass Conferences may take action to redress anything designed to, or with the clear impact of, disrupting or making the work environment hostile.

6. Attribution

This Code of Conduct is adapted from the Contributor Covenant, version 2.1, available here and the the example policy from the Geek Feminism wiki, created by the Ada Initiative and other volunteers available here.