GUIDELINES FOR PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS

SSSP is committed to making our annual meeting accessible to all. We often think that accessibility is about accommodating the needs of a few or compromising our presentation style or goals. Not so! There are a lot of simple, low-cost, or free changes that presenters can make that will enable people with disabilities to participate fully in the important conversations we have at conferences. Besides, we all benefit from more accessible spaces. Here, we provide some key tips that all of us can implement to make SSSP presentations and workshops more inclusive. If you have additional suggestions, please contact Dr. Alan Santinele Martino, Accessibility Committee Chair, alan.martino@ucalgary.ca.

SSSP aims to make the annual meeting an accessible and inclusive space. Our Accessibility Committee strives to ensure that all facilities at the annual meeting are accessible to disabled participants to encourage and assure their full participation. In addition, SSSP upholds an Anti-Harassment Policy to create a safe and welcoming space. We offer a number of travel awards to support attendance by students, lower-income members, and international scholars from the Global South and other oppressed areas outside the U.S.

All SSSP Annual Meeting attendees will be required to follow any COVID 19-related protocols mandated by local authorities at the time of the meeting. SSSP strongly recommends that attendees receive COVID 19 vaccination in advance of participation and use masks while we are together in Montréal. As you navigate the meeting space, please do your best to help protect all of our colleagues. SSSP may choose to enact stricter protocols should they be warranted by public health circumstances closer to the meeting time.

SSSP will offer the opportunity for remote presentation, with paid registration, for people who have a disability and people who have a medical condition for which a medical professional would advise against in-person attendance. SSSP is optimistic that all remote presentation requests can be accommodated, but depending on demand and available Wi-Fi bandwidth, remote presenters should be aware that the Wi-Fi could potentially fail to support the presentation. Therefore, registrants are asked to only request remote presentation if truly necessary to increase the chances that sufficient bandwidth will be available to those who need it. A request for remote presentation must be made by July 21, 2024. To request remote presentation, contact Michele Koontz, Administrative Officer & Meeting Manager, mkoontz3@utk.edu.

Accessible Presentations

Presenters should read the guide that Angela Frederick and Laura Mauldin wrote for ASA’s Footnotes entitled, “Accessibility is for Everyone: How to Rock Your ASA Presentation and Make it Inclusive.”

Visual Materials

Presenters are responsible for ensuring the access of the materials which they share with their audience. If visual material is presented, briefly describe the pertinent aspects of what you are displaying on the screen.

Handouts can be useful tools to any presentation. It is a good idea to make available several print copies of the script of your presentation. You may include a disclaimer asking participants to refrain from distributing your presentation without your permission. If you distribute handouts, include copies in a larger (18-point) font and be prepared to share them electronically. Reasonable efforts on your part and a willingness to relay additional materials later to attendees at your session are certainly acceptable.

Air Quality & Service Animals

SSSP requests that all participants refrain from wearing perfume, cologne, and other fragrances for the benefit of attendees with multiple chemical sensitives. Unless you yourself use a service or therapy dog or other credentialed assistance animal, we ask that you not bring companion animals into the conference space.

Area of Rescue Assistance

An Area of Rescue Assistance will be established and clearly marked with signage on each floor of meeting space. In the event of an evacuation during meeting hours, hotel staff will check these areas for attendees who require assistance.

Accessible Seating

Chairs will be removed from front row seating for mobility assistive devices. The rows next to the areas with removed chairs are reserved for anyone who needs to be closer to the front, whether for mobility, auditory, sight, sensory, or other needs. Attendees are welcome to move, sit, lay down, and stand as necessary during sessions. Please do what your body needs you to do to ensure you can meaningfully participate in the meeting.

Sign and Voice Interpreting

There may be American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter(s) present during your session. Do not block the view of the interpreter, especially if audio-visual aids are in use. Lights should not be lowered to a degree that would interfere with sign interpretation or lip reading. During discussion periods, be sure the interpreter can hear you and keep up with you. Speak at a moderate pace, interpreters do not need you to pause and slow down unnaturally. Please be aware that some people may have great difficulty understanding what you are saying (particularly when there is competing background noise) and that some concepts/terms used in the academic language may be unfamiliar to interpreters. Whether you are a member of the audience or are communicating with someone using an interpreter, give your attention to the person using the interpreter, not to the interpreter. To facilitate the work of interpreters and facilitators and for other logistical purposes all program participants must send a copy of their paper to the session presider and/or discussant no later than June 30.

Audio Equipment

Presenters with soft voices should request the use of a microphone so that their presentations will be more easily audible. If there is a microphone, please use it. Speak clearly and in a reasonable tone into the microphone.

LCD projectors and screens will be available for all traditional sessions. Roundtable and Critical Dialogue sessions will not have audio-visual equipment. For all traditional sessions, presenters and/or session organizers must bring their own laptop (and the connection cord if you have an Apple computer or HDMI connection cord). We recommend saving your presentation to a thumb drive in the event you need to use a fellow participant’s computer for your presentation. Powered speakers for audio will not be available for any sessions, as such, we discourage the inclusion of short video clips in your presentation due to accessibility purposes (it will be difficult for the audience to hear them). Internet access will be available in all meeting spaces in the conference hotel.

Discussions

All speakers should state their names in discussions, whether speaking from the session panel or from the audience.

We appreciate your efforts in ensuring that everyone can have a great conference experience. If you need accommodations or have any questions or concerns, contact Dr. Alan Santinele Martino, Accessibility Committee Chair, alan.martino@ucalgary.ca, no later than June 30. Every reasonable effort will be made to assist attendees onsite; however, SSSP may not be able to provide all services or equipment due to availability or the time required to obtain them. The Accessibility Committee Chair will contact you about service arrangements.

Accessible Montréal

Kéroul is a non-profit organization whose actions aim to make tourism and culture accessible to people with restricted physical abilities. They have created Québec for All which is a platform and brochure promoting accessible tourism information. They also provide information on accessible transportation in Québec including the airport, taxis, and public transportation.

Should a problem arise while you are onsite

If you have any problem or negative experience related to accessibility, including issues with housing, meeting sessions, travel throughout the city, restaurants, or any other accessibility related issue, please report the issue to the Registration Desk. A team member will record the concern and will be your advocate in working to resolve the issue whenever possible. By informing us of any concerns that arise we can work toward making the SSSP Annual Meeting more welcoming and make the cities and hotels where SSSP meetings are held aware of issues.

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