TRAC Conduct Policy TRAC aims to provide a forum for debate and discussion amongst senior academics and professionals, young scholars, students, and the wider archaeological community, in addition to engaging with, and valuing, a diverse community Session Organisers Should aim to assemble a diverse panel of speakers in terms of gender, age, ethnicity, sector, and career status. Reach out beyond initial networks to attract speakers by circulating your CFP widely on email lists and social media, as well as asking for speaker recommendations. Field enquiries in a polite and positive manner. Appoint strong chairs that will keep papers to allotted time and encourage discussion. Try to avoid session line-ups with speakers consisting of: One gender One nationality One sector (academic, museum, commercial, public) One career level (all lecturers, all students) Conference Organisers Should provide accommodations for those with caring responsibilities (as applicable), e.g.: Day conference rates or bursaries to cover caring responsibilities, rooms for breast-feeding, quiet areas. Conference dates that span weekdays and weekends Normalise the presence of children at in person and virtual events. Provide a diverse range of social activities including non-alcoholic networking events. Provide ample space for the display of academic posters Ensure that the digital and physical venues have visible and clear signage with information on venue facilities provided in advance. Encourage the use of social media to allow those unable to attend in person to follow the conference. (e.g. Have display boards and/or screens for tweets and other media or online activity) Ensure a range of delegates have opportunities to ask questions. Select a wide-range of sessions, in terms of both content (region, period, theoretical approach, methodology) and organisers. Conference Speakers Inquire as to the composition of the panel before agreeing to speak on it. If you are unable to attend, offer a list of diverse alternative speaker suggestions. Ensure your presentation is accessible to a wide range of delegates, e.g.: Avoid using references to current events/geographic locations which require pre-knowledge of a specific geographic location (UK) Try to avoid paper titles full of jargon or in-jokes Avoid flashing images/lights on slides Aim for appropriate use of fonts/colour/size for partial-sighted and colour blinded This conference policy has drawn upon the TAG Deva guidelines for session organisers (see here and here). Political and ideological discourse As a group of multidisciplinary scholars, from Classics to Roman Archaeology, we are well aware how easy it is to draw comparisons, assess similarities and retro-project current political and ideological thoughts, events or consequences in the past. Whilst we understand that some parallels and political implications over the heritage sector are unavoidable, we would like to ask participants to refrain from engaging solely in topics dedicated to current economic and geopolitical events. This would ensure a welcoming environment for our diverse array of participants and guarantee that we keep focused on our research topic, the Roman Republic and Empire. Any vexatious or insistent behaviour or line of questioning on such topics will not be tolerated. Anti-Harassment and Bullying Policy TRAC is dedicated to providing a harassment-free conference experience for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, age, or religion. We do not tolerate harassment of conference participants in any form. Bullying and sexual language and imagery are not appropriate for any conference venue, including talks. Conference participants violating rules may be sanctioned or expelled from the conference at the discretion of the conference organisers. Harassment includes, but is not limited to: Disparaging verbal comments related to the gender, identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, age, or religion of other delegates The display of sexual images in public spaces Deliberate intimidation, stalking, or following Harassing photography or recording Sustained disruption of talks or other events Inappropriate physical contact Unwelcome sexual attention Advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above behaviour Bullying is offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behaviour involving the misuse of power that can make a person feel vulnerable, upset, humiliated, undermined or threatened. Power does not always mean being in a position of authority but can include both personal strength or popularity and the power to coerce through fear or intimidation. Bullying can take the form of physical, verbal and non-verbal conduct. Bullying may include, by way of example: physical or psychological threats; overbearing and intimidating levels of supervision; unwarranted criticism about someone’s performance; spreading a false rumour about someone excluding someone from team meetings, a group or social events aggressive or vexatious comments or questions Enforcement Participants asked to stop a harassing behaviour are expected to comply immediately. If a participant engages in harassing behaviour, conference organisers retain the right to take any actions to maintain the event as a welcoming environment for all participants. This includes warning the offender or expulsion from the conference. Conference organisers may take action to redress anything designed to, or with the clear impact of, disrupting the event or making the environment hostile for any participants. We expect participants to follow these rules at all event venues and event-related social activities. We believe delegates should follow these rules outside event activities as well. Reporting Harassment and other code of conduct violations reduce the value of our event for everyone. We want you to be happy at our event. If someone makes you or anyone else feel unsafe or unwelcome, please report it as soon as possible. Conference organisers can be identified by [TRAC] following their name in gather.town and wearing specific badges at the in-person events. You can make a report by: Contacting a member of the conference organising team Contacting a member of the TRAC Standing Committee. Emailing admin@trac.org.uk When taking a personal report, we will ensure you are safe and cannot be overheard. They may involve other event staff to ensure your report is managed properly. Once safe, we’ll ask you to tell us about what happened. This can be upsetting, but we’ll handle it respectfully and responsibly and you can bring someone to support you. You won’t be asked to confront anyone, and we won’t tell anyone who you are. The conference team will be happy to help you contact venue security, local law enforcement, local support services, provide escorts, or otherwise assist you to feel safe for the duration of the event.