{"id":1017,"date":"2019-07-04T15:42:09","date_gmt":"2019-07-04T14:42:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/osc\/?p=1017"},"modified":"2023-04-26T12:29:44","modified_gmt":"2023-04-26T11:29:44","slug":"one-of-the-most-welcoming-sustainable-collaborative-and-inclusive-conferences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/osc\/2019\/07\/04\/one-of-the-most-welcoming-sustainable-collaborative-and-inclusive-conferences\/","title":{"rendered":"“One of the most welcoming, sustainable, collaborative and inclusive conferences….”"},"content":{"rendered":"

When we set out to run the Scholarly Communication Conference we wanted it to be as accessible and inclusive as we could make it.\u00a0 We received some great feedback about this (which we’ve borrowed a quote about from @ScholComsLib<\/a> for our title [1]<\/a>), and here we reflect on how we achieved this, and what we’d do differently next time.<\/strong><\/p>\n

So, how did we go about it?<\/h2>\n

Call for Papers<\/h3>\n

From the outset we wanted to “feature underrepresented voices in Scholarly Communication<\/em>“.\u00a0 We actively encouraged submissions from colleagues at all stages of their career, and from individuals who had never presented at a conference or event before, to more experienced voices from diverse communities, and we left the format up to them to decide.\u00a0\u00a0We asked applicants to include the word “priority”, where they identified with an underrepresented group\/had never presented at a conference before,\u00a0 as a prefix to their submitted title, and without the need to explain why.\u00a0 On opening the conference, Sarah welcomed all but particularity first-time speakers, and reflected that even experienced speakers remember how it felt to stand up and present to a crowd for the first time.<\/p>\n

Committee<\/h3>\n

The programme committee reflected the “voices from diverse communities<\/em>” highlighted in the call for papers. A group of five people from across the United Kingdom gave regional perspectives, were diverse in their attributes, and brought an extensive range of experiences from across the scholarly communication sector.\u00a0 Google Docs ensured that call for paper submissions were accessible to all committee members, we used Skype for face-to-face meetings in real time, and each chaired a range of sessions over the two day conference.<\/p>\n

Conference Programme<\/h3>\n

The conference programme was a document of epic proportions that was created in a fully accessible format This included making it fully navigable, easily assimilated, and inclusive in its content by providing information about venue accessibility, prayer spaces, food and drink venues for different dietary requirements, conference quiet space, arrival instructions, sustainability, WiFi options, local pharmacy, and much more.<\/p>\n

Navigable headings and subheadings<\/h4>\n

This was probably the most significant part of creating a fully accessible conference programme as it enabled everyone to easily navigate the thirty-one page tome.\u00a0 It’s especially helpful for people with print impairment as the content can be easily skimmed and hierarchies more readily assimilated.\u00a0 We also created a table of contents, which is very easy once heading and subheadings have been formatted, and included page numbers to aid navigation through the document.<\/p>\n

Meaningful hyperlinks<\/h4>\n

We used hyperlinks to send readers directly to information within the programme or to an external web page.\u00a0 To create meaningful hyperlinks we gave them unique and descriptive names and avoided terms such as “click here”.\u00a0 Within the programme links were used to aid:<\/p>\n