International Society for Biocuration

• Venue: Ensure the venue is accessible in a variety of ways. Recommendations:
  • Childcare considerations: More conferences are offering childcare options at conferences, either on or off site. Consider providing a private space where women can nurse or pump.
  • The venue should meet accessibility requirements.
    • Conference organisers should canvas for requirements before the conference (e.g. questions on registration form)
  • Detailed information should be provided on the venue area.
    • Add information for local area, bus terminals, directions, approved taxis, shared journeys, etc.
    • Opportunities/networking for informal coordinated travel and social outings should be provided (e.g., sign-up sheet at the registration area, internet group).
  • From [2]: (Nice to have) provide a darkened quiet room for people to visit if the conference grew too intense. It could be equipped with blankets, cushions, eye masks and ear plugs.
• Registration: We recommend that the minimal information be included in the registration form:
  • Gender (male, female, prefer not to say, prefer to self-describe as)
  • Country of attendees work Institute
  • Job title (dropdown option: Undergraduate student, PhD student, Biocurator/software engineer/developer/Post-doc, Senior biocurator/software engineer/developer/Post-doc, Assistant or Associate Professor, Professor, Group leader, PI, other)
  • Preferred pronoun option – could be free text and make clear that this will be printed on the badge
  • Optional information: National or ethnic group (asian, black, white, prefer not to say, prefer to self describe as…)
    • This could be a separate form not associated with the registration form
• Meeting dates: When deciding on dates for meetings and conferences, consideration should be given to avoiding any major religious, cultural or other important observance or event. For virtual meetings, time zones of the participants should be considered.
  • In person meetings:
    • The local organiser(s) should be responsible for checking proposed dates for any clashes with these events, as there may be region-specific variations in these dates
    • If a significantly large proportion of potential attendees are likely to be unable to attend a meeting because of the dates chosen, e.g. due to school summer holidays, Rosh Hashanah or public holidays in the host country, then alternative dates should be found
    • If it is not possible to avoid a particular event, we recommend an acknowledgement of this to participants
  • Virtual meetings:
    • Consideration should be given to the different time zones likely to be participating. If it is a recurring meeting, consider rotating the meeting times
    • Recording the meeting and making it available to registered participants is highly recommended
    • Consider using alternative technologies that would allow people unable to attend the live event to participate, e.g. online polls and allowing questions in advance/post-event and post the answers on the meeting page
• Badges: See this article for recommendations on badges
• Photography/Video: Consent is required for photographs (according to data protection guidelines), therefore, it is essential that conference organisers provide an option for participants to not be photographed or recorded on video. Recommendations:
  • On the registration form explain that 2 colours of lanyard neck straps will be available to distinguish those participants happy to be photographed or recorded from those that do not wish to be photographed or recorded. Also include on the registration page a statement along the lines of: If you have indicated that you do not wish to be photographed, it is your responsibility not to be present when group photographs are taken. Include a ‘required’ option on the registration form to state consent / no consent to be photographed or recorded.
  • Perimeter notices should be posted and be clearly visible – including a sign outside plenary rooms with the following text (or equivalent): 
  • The conference organisers will be taking photos at this event. We will avoid taking photos of those people who have not given permission to have their photograph taken and are wearing [colour] lanyard neck straps. These images will be used by the conference organisers and the ISB to share news about the event, and to publicise our future events. Images may be used in social media, emails, newsletters, press releases, printed publicity and published on the event and ISB websites. They will be stored securely and we will delete them after they are no longer needed for publicity purposes.
  • All attendees of the conference who wish to take photographs for personal use must ensure that photographs of people wearing [colour] lanyard neck straps are not included.
  • If you have indicated that you do not wish to be photographed, it is your responsibility not to be present when group photographs are taken. If a person’s lanyard neck strap cannot be seen in the photo, then that image may be used.
  • Please contact [ADD Name and Email address] if you have any questions about this policy.
  • Include in the conference program a time when a conference group photo will be taken and ensure that this is announced before the photo so that all attendees have an opportunity to be included or to leave.
  • Consider having a photography free area/time
• Speakers: Attempt to include talks from speakers from a diversity of backgrounds including an equal distribution of gender, geographic location, affiliations (ie academia, industry, government, etc.), career level (junior vs senior biocurators), and varied topics. Conference organizers may want to consider prioritizing talks for junior curators or those who are new to biocuration. An example rubric that was used for planning the 2020 program is available here.
• Consider varying formats for talks. From [1], “The default format is often the keynote lecture in a large lecture theatre, with the aim of presenting cutting edge work. Recognising that conferences serve other important purposes – fostering collaborations, building skills and raising profiles– can justify the adoption of other types of formats that are more conducive to sharing knowledge, generating new ideas and building partnerships.” 
• Post-talk Questions: Ensure the Q&A sessions are accessible, respectful and not intimidating. Recommendations:
  • ask audience members to write down questions on notecards, and the chair can ask the questions
  • Encourage audience members to ask questions on Twitter or a dedicated app such as Slido (https://www.sli.do/)
• Presentations
  • From [2]: Consider asking presenters to make presentations available in several ways:
    • Include text scripts 
    • Provide large-print copies
    • Publishing presentations online
  • Audio description of the visual elements in slide presentations widens access
  •  Use of high color contrasts
  • Use large font sizes 
  • Use simple, sans-serif fonts
• Posters
  • Promote the alternate poster format, with the very large take away message, see article.
• Food
  • Provide lunch and snack choices suitable for those with diabetes, coeliac disease, allergies, vegan, vegetarian etc.
• Environmental considerations. Recommendations:
  • Vegetarian food options by default
  • Encourage taxi sharing and walking
  • Discourage plastic usage
  • Discourage air-con use
  • Make conference materials available digitally only to avoid needless printing (provide open formats, e.g. PDF, and a printed option for attendees who need it)
  • Remote participation to encourage diversity and engagement and reduce carbon footprint (will increase cost of conference but allow others to participate even if they can’t afford to attend the conference)
  • Leftovers donated to shelters

References:

[1] https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2019/06/06/inclusive-conferences-we-can-and-must-do-better-heres-how/
[2] https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-02253-9

Last updated 31st May 2023