Equality and community equity are two core components of building a vibrant civic hacker / civic technology / public interest technology / open data / service design community.
With BetaNYC, these documents will be our community foundation and will be seen as living documents. On a yearly basis, BetaNYC’s staff solicits public feedback, and all staff members have an opportunity to review these changes.
Links
Feel free to suggest feedback at < saferspaces@beta.nyc >.
These documents were last updated on 30 September 2024.
Code of Conduct
BetaNYC’s activities and events should foster meaningful collaboration between participants, community members, and government partners. We expect internal governance, advocacy, activities, and events to:
- We acknowledge that there is no stagnant “safe space,” but rather “safer spaces” that require ongoing effort to maintain. We are dedicated to creating a respectful and welcoming environment where all participants are free to express their ideas and identities, provided that such expressions do not involve discrimination, harassment, or hate speech. All spaces, whether online or physical, are governed by BetaNYC’s anti-harassment policy to ensure that they remain inclusive and supportive for everyone.
- Be open to the public, maintain a spirit of curiosity and inclusivity, and strive to understand and respect diverse perspectives.
- Collaborate for the purpose of generating ideas that embrace, innovate, and develop local capacity.
- Presume the value of others and cherish everyone’s ideas, skills, and contributions.
- Encourage participants to listen as much as they speak, ask respectful questions, and demystify context.
- Foster energy that builds “yes, and” ideas and permits the ability to stretch.
- Build ideas, tools, and platforms that are open and free for reuse. Activities should prioritize public use, not private gain.
- Work to prioritize access for and input from those who are traditionally excluded from the civic process, be inclusive of all Boroughs, and be considerate of our Hudson River neighbors.
- Actively involve stakeholders, community groups, and those with subject matter expertise in all decision-making processes.
- Ensure that relationships and conversations between and among stakeholders—e.g., elected officials, their staff, and government representatives, community-based organizations and their partners, and members of the BetaNYC community—remain respectful, participatory, and productive.
BetaNYC reserves the right to ask anyone violating these policies not to participate in BetaNYC’s events or network of activities. If you have any other concerns or would like to address an issue, please contact our saferspace team at < saferspace@beta.nyc > or any of the leaders listed at the end of this document.
BetaNYC’s Code of Conduct is an adaptation of Code for America’s Community Code of Conduct. BetaNYC agrees to review this policy annually.
Anti-Harassment Policy
This anti-harassment policy is based on the example policy from the Geek Feminism wiki, created by the Ada Initiative and other volunteers.
This policy is based on several other policies, including Code For America, the Ohio LinuxFest anti-harassment policy, written by Esther Filderman and Beth Lynn Eicher, and the Con Anti-Harassment Project. Mary Gardiner, Valerie Aurora, Sarah Smith, and Donna Benjamin generalized the policies and added supporting material. Many members of LinuxChix, Geek Feminism, and other groups contributed to this work.
All BetaNYC events, workplaces, staff, presenters, and participants are held to the following anti-harassment policy.
In addition to governing its own events by this policy, BetaNYC will only lend its brand and fund groups that offer a similar anti-harassment policy to their attendees.
BetaNYC is dedicated to providing a harassment-free experience for everyone. We welcome everyone regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, age, religion, faith, national origin, source of income, and language preference. To build a democracy, we need everyone.
We do not tolerate harassment in any form. Sexual language and imagery is not appropriate for any BetaNYC event or network activity, including talks. Anyone violating these policies may be expelled from BetaNYC events or network activities; this will be at the discretion of BetaNYC leadership and/or event organizers.
Harassment includes but is not limited to offensive verbal or written comments related to gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, age, religion, faith, national origin, source of income, and language preference; sexual images in public spaces; deliberate intimidation; stalking; following; harassing photography or recording; sustained disruption of talks or other events; inappropriate physical contact; unwelcome sexual attention; unwarranted exclusion; and patronizing language or action.
If a participant engages in harassing behavior, BetaNYC leadership and/or event organizers may take any appropriate action, including warning the offender and expulsion from BetaNYC events and network activities.
If you are being harassed, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns, please contact a member of the event staff immediately.
Additionally, you can contact our safespace team at < safespace@beta.nyc > or contact any of the leaders listed below.
BetaNYC leadership and/or event staff will be happy to help participants contact hotel/venue security or local law enforcement, provide escorts, or assist those experiencing harassment to feel safe during the event.
If you cannot reach the event organizer and/or it is an emergency, please call 911 and/or remove yourself from the situation.
We value your attendance and hope that by communicating these expectations widely, we can all enjoy a welcoming environment. BetaNYC agrees to review this policy annually.
How to advertise this text
- For all online discussion spaces, BetaNYC events, and co-sponsored invites, the following text should be used: “BetaNYC, a partner project of the Fund for the City of New York, is committed to hosting safe and open spaces for all. By participating in this space, you commit to BetaNYC’s Code of Conduct and Anti-Harassment Policy.” With a link to (https://beta.nyc/code)
- At all BetaNYC events, the following text should be posted: “By attending this event, you are committing yourself to our Code of Conduct & Anti-Harassment Policy.” (Link https://beta.nyc/code)
- For events co-sponsored by BetaNYC, we expect BetaNYC members to abide by our Code of Conduct, and we will work with event planners to adopt a similarly framed Anti-Harassment Policy.
Ombudspeople
To ensure that people are comfortable reporting violations, 3 independent ombudspeople are available to receive complaints. These are BetaNYC’s community leaders who monitor < saferspaces@beta.nyc >. If you feel more comfortable reaching out to them directly, please do so.
| Noel Hidalgo Executive Director noel@beta.nyc | Jazzy Smith Fellowship Director jazzy@beta.nyc | Gabby Langston Community Manager gabby@beta.nyc |