ICS Meetings are professional scientific events 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, including speakers, exhibitors, media, staff, and other participants are expected to behave with integrity and respect towards other delegates attending or involved with the ICS Meeting and/or any related event or activity.
ICS is committed to informing Meeting delegates about the code of conduct for event attendees, as well as ensuring that procedures and guidance for appropriate reporting of unacceptable behavior of any kind are made available to all those involved.
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 ICS Meeting takes place and any applicable host country agreement if the event takes place in a physical venue. ICS complies with such policies and will report all inappropriate conduct accordingly.
Online Behavior During the ICS 2021 Online
Meeting delegates will be provided with personalised credentials allowing them access to the Online Meeting. These credentials are personal and non-transferable. Non-registered individuals and minors will not be able to access the Online Meeting, unless upon prior agreement with the Online Meeting organisers.
Throughout the Online Meeting, all meeting delegates are expected to interact with fellow attendees in the same way as at a physical ICS Meeting.
As such:
- All communication, be it verbal or electronic, must be carried out in a respectful and polite manner. Inappropriate messaging or contact will not be tolerated.
- Live sessions during the Meeting will be moderated by Chairs and ICS staff. Delegates are expected to respect the choices of the moderators in selecting questions or comments, managing session times, etc.
- Attendees of the ICS 2021 Online Meeting are required to respect the privacy of other participants and refrain from any unauthorised or unwelcomed recording or photography, including recording of any direct or indirect interactions or electronic messaging with other meeting delegates. 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.
- ICS adheres to the copyright laws guiding the appropriate sharing of scientific research material, including data. Authors’ consent may be requested by ICS in case sharing of scientific material from abstracts/posters/presentations will be required as part of ICS educational activities.
Harassment
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 Meeting.
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 contact, including via electronic communications
- Unwelcomed sexual attention
- Advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above behaviours
If you have any concerns please contact a member of the ICS staff.