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A Publishing Resource for Geographers |
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A Publishing Resource for Geographers |
It is fair to say that there is often little critical reflection on the ways in which seminars, workshops and conferences are organised. However, these are events that are imbued with power relations and taken-for-granted norms that need to be destabilised and challenged in order to make them more inclusive in nature. None of the solutions below are particularly onerous or expensive and yet they can transform conferences.
Location
The location of a seminar/conference is often a pragmatic decision, based on the location of the event organisers. However, where there is latitude to site a meeting elsewhere, consideration should be paid to transport access, facilities, cost, political message, and so on. For example, the International Critical Geography Conference, mindful of the politics of international conferences, has sought to locate the conference venue strategically with the last two conferences in South Korea and Hungary, the next in Mexico.
Disability
It should almost go without saying that meetings should be held in locations that all potential delegates can access. This means ensuring that all the rooms used at the meeting are accessible to wheelchair users and people with mobility impairments. That there are accessible toilets nearby. That the accommodation available to delegates is fully accessible. That if there is a long distance between meeting venues or to accommodation that accessible transport is available. If a person uses a guide or mobility dog you should check to see whether the venue is happy to accommodate it and that the dog can travel to the venue easily (e.g. Hawaii will not allow guide or mobility dogs to accompany their user without expensive tagging and quarantine; some countries do not allow the free passage of dogs).
Further, every endeavour should be made to make sessions and materials accessible. This means that if there are (partially) deaf delegates that signers are provided; if there are (partially) blind delegates that the programme is provided as braille or on audio cassette and as large print, that the signage between rooms is also in large print, and that a large-print/tactile map of the meeting venue is provided; if there are wheelchair or mobility-impaired delegates that full access maps that detail the accessibility of buildings and the routes between them are provided (for map symbols see http://www.may.ie/staff/rkitchin/newbridge.htm). Delegates should be strongly encouraged to have their talk on overheads as detailed bullet points, then those delegates whose are (partially) deaf can still follow the talk.
In addition, helpers (e.g. wheelchair pushers, guides) should be made available if required.
Remember, the cost of travel for disabled delegates is often far higher than non-disabled delegates. This is especially the case if they have to travel with personal assistants. As good practice, you should not charge the personal assistant for attending the conference.
Most of above is relatively cheap with the exception of signing. The most simple way to pay for it is to cross-subsidise from delegate fees. In practice, this will mean raising the fees modestly across all delegates.
Language
English is now often taken-for-granted as the lingua franca at international conferences with little explicit resistance. For delegates whose first language is not English this can be highly problematic as it creates particular power-geometries that favour those for whom English is their native tongue. Native English speakers can speak freely without having to perform on-the-spot translation. They can reply to questions without having to 'try and find' the right words. Further, for many delegates where English is their second, third or fourth language, they find it much easier to follow the written word rather than speech.
All these issues need to be respected by both the conference organisers and delegates, with efforts made to provide as much material as possible in a written format and delegates encouraged to speak more slowly, clearly, and without slang or colloquialisms. One useful strategy to encourage among delegates is have their talk on overheads as detailed bullet points, then those delegates whose verbal English is poor but written English is good can still follow the presentation.
It should also be remembered that some delegates will have been on intensive language courses in order to attend the conference and will have spent months preparing an English language version of their talk. This effort should be respected. If members of the audience have questions these should be written down as well as spoken. Where possible there needs to be experimentation with translation. While professional interpreters are one potential solution, they are extremely expensive and push conference costs up significantly, thus excluding those with limited budgets.
Customs and body-language
Two aspects little considered by either meeting organisers or attendees are customs and body language. One of the most insidious aspects of many supposedly 'international' meetings is that because the lingua franca is English, native English-speakers also take it for granted that the social norms - in terms of social interaction, public behaviour, speaker-audience interaction, ways of asking questions, ways of addressing peers - of English speaking societies are also the meeting's norm. This is clearly problematic for other delegates who can feel 'out-of-place' or obliged to adopt such norms. Moreover, it needs to appreciated that body language varies from place to place, leaving some delegates unsure how to read gestures and react appropriately.
Here, conference organisers need to encourage attendees to 'step outside' of their own traditions and to engage with new ways of knowing and doing without simply rejecting them 'out of hand' because they fail to meet their own standards (whatever they may be). What might be useful in this respect is a workshops in good practice in communication/customs (e.g. presentation, conduct, conference customs, body language) to be held at the start of each meeting.
Name-badge politics
As a meeting organiser you should be aware of what might be termed 'name-badge politics' - how people can be treated differently depending on their position of seniority or how well known they are to other delegates. There are no easy solutions. Potentials might be to drop titles from name badges - so no 'Dr' or 'Prof' labels; to ensure mixing at social events; to ensure that postgraduate and junior faculty get to participate fully in sessions and events (e.g. making sure there is a mix of experience on panels and so forth).
Catering
Given the variety of people's eating habits, plus dietary conditions, you should endeavour to cater for all peoples' food preferences. This means providing menus that include vegetarian/vegan options, as well as catering for specific dietary needs.
Accommodation
It used to be the case that conference accommodation was either restricted to university halls of residence or a specific hotel. It is now increasingly common for delegates to be offered a preferred choice, but with a range of options based on price and personal preference.
Costs
Conferences, seminars and workshops are now often seen as income-generating events. Their primary function, however, remains the dissemination and debate of new knowledge and ideas. To maintain that function they have to be accessible to as many people as possible. This means keeping the cost as low as possible. In particular, there should be reduced costs for postgraduate students, unemployed and retired delegates. Where possible, bursaries should be given to postgraduates to offset their costs. Many professional organisations will provide these bursaries if the conference is linked to them in some way (see Professional Organisations)
 Good practice in presenting
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| Site maintained by Rob Kitchin and Duncan Fuller |
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Copyright (c) 2003 |
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| Last updated: January 2003 | |||
