Accessibility and Inclusivity Statement
SPNHC Conference 2022 with NatSCA & BHL
Accessibility and Inclusivity Statement
The meeting of the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC), International Partner – BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library) and National Partner – NatSCA (Natural Sciences Collections Association) will take place in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK and online from the 5th – 10th June 2022.
SPNCH, BHL and NatSCA are committed to providing a safe, hospitable, and productive environment for everyone participating in this conference, regardless of ethnicity, religion, professional status, disability, physical appearance, gender, gender identity or sexual orientation. Our vision is to reach the broadest audience in a conference environment that fosters participation free from discrimination, patronisation, or harassment.
Our efforts toward creating an environment that welcomes and fosters inclusivity and accessibility include:
- A comprehensive, enforced code of conduct that makes our values around inclusion and accessibility crystal clear.
- Capturing requests for accommodating individual needs in the registration form and striving to meet these needs wherever possible.
- Creating registration fees and travel grants so that money isn’t a barrier to participation in the conference as far as practicable.
- An open-door policy to provide feedback on how we can improve our inclusion and accessibility spnhc2022@in-conference.org.uk
The Inclusivity and Accessibility Statements for each of our organisations are available at the following links:
Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections
Natural Sciences Collections Association
Dedicated accessibility guidelines for our onsite activities are available at the following links:
For online presentations and activities, all those creating and presenting online should create content that is inclusive of participants from around the globe, with disabilities, with different learning styles as well as non-native English speakers. Below are some resources we have found helpful:
Web accessibility initiative: how to make your presentation accessible to all
Zoom: best practices for hosting online events
Microsoft Office, Make your PowerPoint presentations accessible to people with disabilities
Purdue University Online Writing Lab, Using Gender-Neutral and Gender-Inclusive Language
