Awareness and Inclusivity

We are delighted to welcome you to this conference. In the spirit of commoning, we would like to facilitate a welcoming, diverse and inclusive environment. It is important to us that all participants feel comfortable and safe in order to enable meaningful discussions.

For a successful conference, we would like to ask everyone to make an effort to speak and act with care. More specifically, we would like to draw your attention to the following points:

  1. Respecting boundaries: Please be aware of your own boundaries and the boundaries of others. This includes paying attention to our own share of speech and that of others.
  2. Acknowledging different perspectives: This conference brings together people with different knowledges and expertise. We ask to react to different perspectives and to different life situations in an appreciative way. If a person shares their experiences of violent and/or discriminatory behavior, the experiences should not be doubted or trivialized.
  3. Using discrimination-sensitive language: Anthropologists are aware of the power of language. We therefore ask for a conscious approach to one’s own language use, a critical approach to generalizations and the constructions of categories, and a consideration of self-determination in language (e.g., by respecting desired pronouns or self-designations).
  4. We encourage open communication and discussions, focusing on critiquing ideas rather than individuals, and remaining courteous even when disagreeing.

Infokasten

In Kürze finden Sie hier Informationen zu speziellen Raumangeboten am Tagungsort.

Our Awareness Team will be available throughout the conference to offer an open ear in case you experience discriminatory or uncomfortable situations and will, where possible, refer you to fitting supporting offices. If wished for, the team will document the case and/or forward it to the DGSKA board. The team will consist of student volunteers and staff members of the working group on anti-discrimination at the host institute, supplemented with academic staff members from different anthropology institutes who are involved in the “Anti-Racism and Academic Equity Task Force” of the DGSKA. Please note that the team members are not professional counsellors but will receive dedicated training before the conference. They can be recognized by their badges in green.

We understand if you feel the need to leave the room during the conference. There will be a separate safe room in a building next to the conference venue, and its location will be marked. There is also a prayer and meditation room in the main building on campus. In addition, we will compile a list with facilities for different dietary restrictions and an overview of (non-)accessible rooms and facilities and all-gender/gendered toilets at the conference venue. The overview will be published on the conference website.      

We would furthermore like to refer to the official statement of the University of Cologne on inclusive language and to further resources on the topic, which you can find via the following link: https://vielfalt.uni-koeln.de/en/anti-discrimination/inclusive-language-guidelines.

[Adapted from the Awareness Code of Bonn University]