Educational conferences and social justice

Conferences and related events (symposia, unconferences, cafes, uncafes, whatever) in the field of education are notoriously exclusive spaces.

And this is still often the case when the event is about social justice issues in education. Cue Alanis.

Whether it's only white people talking decolonisation, or charging the best part of a grand to bring your research there (AdvanceHE and NET, I'm looking at you), if you're a struggling academic or student, the message is clear: this is more for 'them' and less for you.

From sexual harassment (thanks, men) to explicit and hidden disincentives and barriers to engage for carers, students, and especially those who are introverted, have low disposable income, or from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds (thanks, neocolonialism), equity for speakers and delegates is still a pipe dream. Or it would be a dream if organisers were conscious of it. Hold on, it could still be a dream from the subconscious, right? I don't know. Don't ask me, I'm not Fanon, Freud or Kinouani for god's sake! I'm not even Dave. Anyway, I digress.

These are just a couple of things that would make an event more inclusive to those who usually cannot afford or justify the expense, whilst also acknowledging the lack of diversity and perpetuation of privilege that these events often reinforce.

So, organisers - here we go:

1) Don't paywall research that helps to fight social injustice. Make. All. Tickets. Free. But how?

2) Hold the event online. Or, only use venues that will provide space for free in return for the good will it generates (but still put it online, with captions - subject to session type of course, where anonymity may need to apply with sensitive topics). Universities with sparkling campuses, I'm looking at you.

3) But pay all speakers. At least enough to cover expenses (do not ask for proof. Just pay them. And make the process simple and quick). But how?

4) Ask (strongly nudge) delegates to make a donation when they book their ticket. And...

5) Secure sponsorship from a business. OK that might be hard, but you're curating a whole conference! Use that energy to be creative and find a way comrade!

6) Ring-fence a percentage of tickets for the university that are hosting you. But...

7) Ensure those tickets are prioritised for students, and for fixed-term and hourly-paid staff.

8) Ensure that there is space and platform for students to hold a session, and to be on a panel/s.

9) Ensure speakers are diverse (does this even need to be said? *browses the internet quickly*. Ah yes. Yes it does need to be said. Note: this tends to happen organically if your organising team is diverse. As does not arranging offensive activities. Yes, take a look at your team.

10) Forget all that complimentary plastic crap, and the optional extras that are not really optional at all. Expensive meals? Live band? VIP access? Early bird discounts? It's a very loose definition of optional if you are counting the loose change in your pocket. Get creative, arrange something else social, free and actually optional.

11) Don't just say you have a policy on delegate/audience expectations and conditions of engagement. Enforce it. Look at what @CollectiveBarc and others do. Self-care notifications for sensitive topics, questions-not-comments, dignity in communication, prioritising the marginalised, waiting for the microphone, and centering counter-narratives and non-Western epistemologies are just some of the things needed. A strong, confident Chair who understands power dynamics is worth her weight in gold here.

12) What other areas can you consider and act on? Childcare... Live closed-captioning... Ground-floor venues... What could you offer?

I hope this is helpful. We need to love conferences and conferences need to love us. All of us.

PS. Be unashamedly anti-racist. Call-out whiteness (and other heads of the Hydra of white supremacy, like sexism) when it comes up (and it will come up...white solidarity is important here).

Please comment with your suggestions for better educational conferences.