Trust & Safety
We are dedicated to providing a harassment-free event experience for everyone, regardless of level of experience, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, physical abilities, neurodiversity, personal appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, age, religion, national origin, marital status, veteran status, or socio-economic background. Trust & Safety policies and protocols are in place to support a healthy and sustainable environment. We encourage all participants to conform to these policies and will take necessary actions to enforce it.
Trust & Safety Team The main Trust & Safety team members are: Pacita Rudder (Wikimedia NYC), Joe Sutherland, Jackie Koerner (Wikimedia Foundation), Richard Knipel, Victoria Alcantara, and Peter Meyer. They will serve as the primary contacts and decision-makers for safety, security and medical issues.
Code of Conduct and Expectations: During WCNA we will be enforcing the Universal Code of Conduct and |Wikimedia Friendly Space Policy, with a clear expectation that every participant will follow what is expected of them in the UCOC. To maintain the UCoC it is important for all participants to review the documentation and support a safer environment for all. It will be required for all participants to review the UCoC upon arrival at the WCNA venue and online platform.
If you are concerned about the conduct of an individual, or wish to make a complaint, you can and should talk to a volunteer, WCNA organizer or Friendly Space staff (green/yellow lanyards). The team will assess the best path forward and take action appropriate to the situation. This can include a private warning to the person concerned; in more serious cases ask them to leave.
Photography Policy: Please read the Wikimedia Photography Consent Policy carefully as we will be enforcing this at the conference. We will have color-coded stickers for participants, indicating their comfort level with the photographer (red = no photos; yellow = ask for consent; green = ok with photos). However, even when attendees indicate they are OK with photos, please be respectful and refrain from taking photos that would generally be considered unflattering, such as while attendees are eating or yawning. It is also still encouraged to ask for consent when taking close-up photos of individuals or small groups, even if they are wearing green stickers.
Media presence:
Conference attendees have a right to know if they are talking to journalist who may quote them in the press (mass media). Members of the press will wear a black and white badge saying “PRESS” to make this clear.
Reporting unwelcome behaviors
The Trust & Safe team can help participants contact hotel/venue security or local law enforcement, provide escorts, or otherwise assist those experiencing harassment to feel safe for the duration of the conference. They can be identified by their orange safety vests and yellow badges. We value your attendance at this conference.
We will have a group of designated people who will monitor the online chat and discussion areas to ensure that the policy outlined here is adhered to. They will have the ability to remove those violating the policy from comment sections, pads, and any other discussion areas under the control of the conference team. They will also have the ability to permanently ban anyone who clearly and/or persistently violates the policy.
Reporting To report an issue a participant can do any of the following:
- Find a WCNA organizer or Trust & Safety team member within the space, who will be wearing a green or yellow lanyard
- Reach out via Telegram to the WCNA 2025 Group Chat, or to Joe and Jackie (@Jackiekoerner) from the WMF directly
- Speak to a volunteer, who can guide you to a Trust & Safety team member
- Online via Email: 2025@wikiconference.org
Safe Space Room
A Safe Space Room is located on the 3rd floor in Room E of the conference for anyone who needs a quiet, supportive environment to step away and recharge. This space is intended for rest or privacy. It will remain open throughout the conference, except that if it is needed to privately handle an incident, interview, or investigation, people who are unrelated to the incident will be asked to leave temporarily.
Behavior guidance
Our conference is multicultural and international. There will be language barriers, and the point of view of the recipient of a message is important. Below are some examples of behaviors that are encouraged and discouraged.Participants asked to stop any unwanted behavior are expected to comply immediately. This applies to everyone, including event staff and sponsors.
| Be welcoming | These are some examples of ways to contribute to a positive environment that welcomes and supports people of all backgrounds and identities:
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| Be considerate and patient | Actively seek to acknowledge, respect, and understand fellow community members. While critique is natural and important, good critiques are kind, respectful, clear, and constructive. |
| Assume good faith | Misunderstandings happen easily, both online or in person. Please ask clarifying questions before assuming that a communication was inappropriate. |
| Be respectful | Discussion is an important part of our project, but it can lead to disagreements. We must strive to keep our discussions and disagreements appropriate and civil. When we disagree, try to understand why. Seek to understand each other and work to resolve disagreements and differing views constructively. |
| Harassment | Includes offensive statements/comments about gender, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, ethnicity or belief, representations of a sexual nature, conscious intimidation, stalking, persecution, unwanted photography or recording, repeated disruption of lectures and other events, undesirable physical contact and unwanted sexual attention. People who are warned about such behavior must cease immediately. This also includes asking the same question several times after other participants tried to answer, asking very general questions that are not directly related to projects people are working on, and calling out people asking for their opinion about a specific topic. Please do not pester other users with repeated messages. |
| Abuse | Including verbal, written, or physical abuse. |
| Discrimination | Discrimination against any person or group of persons, including discriminatory jokes and language. |
| Inappropriate conduct | Conduct or speech that might be considered sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic, xenophobic, ableist, or otherwise discriminatory or offensive in nature. |
| Violence and threats | Violence and threats of violence are not acceptable. This encompasses harassment, deliberate intimidation, and incitement of violence, including encouraging a person to commit self-harm. Posting or threatening to post other people’s personally identifying information online ("doxing") is also considered violent. |
| Personal attacks | Conflicts naturally arise, but please avoid personal attacks. It is not okay to insult, demean, or belittle others. Attacking someone for their opinions, beliefs, and ideas is not acceptable. Avoid yelling, and please let others speak. Do not post other people's personally identifying information ("doxing"). |
| Unwelcome sexual attention | This refers to comments, jokes, or imagery of a sexual nature in interactions, communications, or presentation materials, as well as sexual images or text. Images with sexual connotations (e.g. implied by certain emojis) are often inappropriate or unwelcome. Be aware of how your actions affect others; if it makes someone uncomfortable, please stop. This includes:
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| Unwanted content | Be aware that when you are sharing video or audio, it might be disconcerting to others. Avoid posting content, pictures, or links that are unrelated to the current topic or repeated or overly frequent posts. Don't overly promote a specific opinion or topic. Do not post sexually explicit or violent material. |
Background
- A summary of WMF guidance: Keeping events safe
- The Friendly space policies and Event Ban policy apply to this event.
- Wikimania Friendly space policy, analogous to this one.
- For matters not explicitly listed, the Wikimedia Universal Code of Conduct applies to this event and all Wikimedia events.
Emergency Response Plans
The procedures below outline how to safely and effectively navigate an emergency situation at Civic Hall.
Reporting emergencies
How to report an emergency: If you witness an emergency starting, notify the nearest Trust & Safety team member (or Civic Hall personnel) immediately. They will attend to the situation along with key emergency officials (e.g. Fire Department, EMT, or Security). They will also make the decision on whether the event needs to end early or otherwise change plans.
If you cannot find help immediately, call 911.
For information on how Civic Hall will manage hazards like fires, natural disasters and active shooters, please read the Civic Hall Emergency Response Plan
Security: There will be professional security guards present at Civic Hall as well as both evening receptions at Prime Produce and Hyatt Place.
Medical Emergencies
Wikiconference Medical Care Plan - local Pharmacies, Urgent Care, and Emergency Rooms For serious medical emergencies: Ensure the area is safe to enter. If there is a crowd forming, please disperse them to give the patient space. If the patient is able to easily get to the Safe Space Room in Civic Hall (Level 3, Room E) please bring them there. Stabilize the patient and administer first aid (if you do not have first aid training, please do not attempt to administer first aid). Call 911 and call over a Trust & Safety team member. They will continue to care for the patient until medical help arrives. If possible, they will go with the patient to the hospital.