FENS Forums are professional scientific meetings that provide a respectful, harassment-free and inclusive environment for all participants, regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, appearance, ethnicity, race, national origin, age or religion.

All delegates, online and in person, including speakers, exhibitors, media and staff, and other participants are expected to behave with integrity and respect towards other delegates attending or involved with the FENS Forum and/or any related event or activity.

FENS is committed to informing the Forum delegates about the code of conduct for meeting attendees. Likewise, FENS is committed to installing procedures and guidance for appropriate reporting of unacceptable behaviour of any kind.

The present Code of Conduct is not a legal document or prescriptive in nature. It supplements, but does not affect, the application of other relevant policies, regulations, rules and laws, including laws regulating the premises in which the FENS Forum takes place and any applicable host country agreement. FENS complies with such policies and will report all inappropriate conduct accordingly.

In case of a breach of the Code of Conduct, the concerned individuals are requested to contact a member of the FENS staff. FENS staff can easily be found at the following positions:

  • The FENS booth at the entrance of the registration hall
  • Ask any staff member with a Walkie Talkie to call Inbar Caspi, FENS Forum manager

Participants are encouraged to report any experienced harassment to the designated FENS staff onsite by reaching out on forum2022@fens.org or filling this online form

For the purpose of these guidelines, harassment consists of improper or unwelcome conduct that might reasonably be perceived as causing offence or humiliation to another person. Harassment may involve any conduct of a verbal, non-verbal or physical nature, including written and electronic communication, and may occur between persons of the same or different genders. Harassment in any form is not tolerated at the Forum.

 

Examples of harassment include, but are not limited to:

  • Verbal comments that reinforce social structures of domination related to gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, ethnicity, race, age, religion, political affiliation
  • The production or non-consensual sharing of harassing non-consensual photography or unwanted recording, including sexual images in public spaces (in any format, electronic or otherwise)
  • Deliberate intimidation, stalking or following
  • Sustained disruption of talks, sessions or other events
  • Inappropriate physical contact
  • Unwelcomed sexual attention
  • Advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above behaviours
  • Unless otherwise specified, Forum badges indicating the name of the person in possession of the delegate or exhibitor’s badge, should always be visibly worn inside the restricted areas of the Forum venue.
    • All events (including educational sessions and exhibit hall activities) are exclusively reserved for registered participants. Non-registered individuals will not be permitted in any of the event areas. This rule excludes infants and small children of registered delegates (or similar) who may access the Forum premises under the sole responsibility and constant supervision of a registered parent and/or designated caretaker. Unregistered adults are welcomed into the central entrance hall.
    • Mobile phones, tablets, computers and other electronic devices must be set to silent mode throughout all scientific sessions of the Forum.
    • Smoking is prohibited inside the entire congress centre, except in designated smoking areas where applicable. Smoking outside is permitted according to the specific guidelines of the venue.
    • Where alcoholic beverages are available in the context of the Forum, participants are expected to drink responsibly. Individuals that are visibly under the influence of alcohol or other legal or illegal substances will be escorted from the Forum venue and will not be allowed re-entry.
    • Any recording, filming, or other capturing of presentations at the Forum, including of scientific posters is not acceptable without the expressed consent of the presenter.

Participants are encouraged to report any experienced harassment to the designated FENS staff on forum2022@fens.org. The Forum organisers reserve the right to take any action deemed appropriate in case of harassment. Host institutions of reported individuals will be notified about filed harassment reports.

All data and scientific research that is presented at the FENS Forum shall be based on original research findings that have been derived from procedures and experiments that adhere to the accepted guidelines for good ethical and experimental research conduct. Presenters are responsible for the content of their presentations, whether oral or written, and shall secure appropriate consent from collaborators and funders, as relevant, prior to any presentation at the FENS Forum.

The presentation of research or data within sessions, posters or in other formal or informal engagements is the sole responsibility of the presenter. FENS is not responsible for the data, its accuracy or the way it was obtained. By submitting the abstract and poster the authors unanimously consent for FENS to present it onsite (physically)  and online (digitally) at the virtual poster section on the app and the virtual Forum platform.

Bags or suitcases may not be left unattended at any time in or around the venue. The Forum offers designated cloak rooms for such effects. FENS furthermore advises delegates to use hotel safety deposit boxes for all valuables and FENS takes no responsibility for lost and stolen items in or around the Forum venue.

The organisers do not accept liability for personal accidents, loss, or damage to private property, which may be incurred as a result of the participation in FENS Forums. Participants are advised to secure appropriate self-insurance for their stay and travel to and from the FENS Forum.

In accordance with national and European law, including national health and safety rules, registration and/or admittance to the FENS Forum is exclusively reserved for participants who are 18 years of age or older. Registration of a person under 18 is unauthorised and in violation of the Forum terms and conditions for delegates and will automatically result in the forfeit of the registration. Personal ID should be carried at all times and be provided to Forum staff upon request.

Unregistered individuals will only be granted access to the venue following special agreement with the organisers. If special access to the Forum is needed for any reason, and no registration is available, the person should contact the registration desk for support. Supervised minors and invited adults may in special instances have access to the Forum. Such access will be granted case by case by the organisers.

As mentioned above under “Required behaviour inside and around the Forum venue,” infants and small children of registered delegates (or similar) may access the Forum premises under the sole responsibility and constant supervision of a registered parent and/or designated caretaker.

Attendees of the Forum are required to respect the privacy of other participants and refrain from any unauthorised or unwelcomed recording or photography. Participants are not allowed to take photos or videos of scientific material shown unless express prior consent by the presenter has been ascertained. Moreover, integral recording of complete oral presentations is not allowed unless these are done by a professional entity that has been contracted for this purpose by or on behalf of the organiser. The use of flash is not allowed in any session hall or in the exhibition areas unless performed by an authorised professional photographer.

Taking photos and recordings within the Forum environment for professional use is not allowed without obtaining prior permission from the organiser.

FENS follows the guideline for consent related to the use of pictures with identifiable persons in a public space under the EU General Data Protection Regulation. Recording via video, photography or other means of participants to the FENS Forums is in general allowed as long as people are not shown in incriminatory or private situations and images are not used in a misleading or derogatory way. Any publication of photos or videos on social media requires the clear consent of all participants. It is highly recommended for anyone to obtain permission before the sharing of such content, including on social media.

FENS adheres to the copyright laws guiding the appropriate sharing of scientific research material, including data. Authors’ consent may be requested by FENS in case sharing of scientific material from abstracts/posters/presentations will be required as part of FENS educational activities.

Presenters and exhibitors are strongly encouraged to clearly indicate whether or not photography/recording of the poster, presentation, or exhibit booth and sharing/remixing of the material is permitted. To aid in this process, FENS will provide presenters with a digital graphic image to incorporate into their slides/poster or to print and display. The images are available on the FENS Forum 2022 website.

FENS encourages open and respectful discussions on social media and blogging platforms. Nonetheless, participants are requested to not post images or video online without obtaining appropriate permission. Participants are requested to respect any request from an author not to disseminate the contents of their presentation/poster. FENS highlights the importance for delegates to express cultural sensitivity and respect with regard to clothing and appearance.

The Forum organisers reserve the right to take any action as deemed necessary as a consequence of any breach of the present Code of Conduct. This includes reporting to host institutions and permanent removal of Forum credentials.

In case of a breach of the Code of Conduct, the concerned individuals are requested to contact a member of the FENS staff. FENS staff can easily be found at the following positions:

  • The FENS booth at the entrance of the registration hall
  • Ask any staff member with a Walkie Talkie to call Inbar Caspi, FENS Forum manager

Participants are encouraged to report any experienced harassment to the designated FENS staff:

FENS reserves all rights to take any action to prevent and report violations of the Code of Conduct. Such actions can include involving the onsite security team and filing a police report when appropriate, reporting to host institutions and permanent removal of in-person or online Forum credentials. FENS cannot investigate reports of harassment or other misconduct onsite but will inform the appropriate departments of the accused person’s host institution about any such filed report.

While the FENS Forum is organised in objectively safe cities/areas, Forum delegates are encouraged to observe safe practices while traveling and attending the FENS Forum.

Original source and credit: http://2012.jsconf.us/#/about & The Ada Initiative & https://clostpath2019.org/code-of-conduct/