Community guidelines

To all new to or visiting our community, those returning as casual acquaintances, and those returning as old friends: WELCOME!

Whether you choose to make this one of your academic homes or are just visiting for a while, we hope that the PECS-III conference will be a memorable and excellent experience.

To facilitate such an experience, we’ve outlined a few community guidelines, based on the values of the conference organizers (PECS, the Resilience Alliance and ResNet). We ask that you please engage according to these guidelines during the conference.

We value inclusivity and diversity

Inclusivity and Diversity are not nice-to-haves for this community. As practitioners and researchers who recognize that relationships between people and nature are intertwined and complex, we believe that diversity is a superpower and (as evidence has shown) critical for achieving a just and sustainable Anthropocene. To us, the recognition and inclusion of diverse values, gender, races, life experiences, ages, career stages, nationalities, abilities and LGBTQIA+ representation are fundamental to achieving the objectives of the conference. Here are some of how we’ve set up the conference to achieve that:

- We explicitly acknowledge the value and power of Indigenous Knowledge and Power
- The conference emphasizes the use of inclusive language in all communications preceding and during the event itself.
- All organizing committees strive to maintain spaces for open expression and were selected with principles of diversity and inclusion in mind. - PECS-III provides an inclusive platform for the ‘cross-fertilization’ of ideas where many rich, diverse traditions can come together, discuss, and debate the latest developments in the field
- Speaker Guidelines include guidance for delivering presentations and posters that are friendly to participants with disabilities.
- As a community, understanding and building diversity and inclusivity is part of our academic project: you’ll find many sessions explicitly linked to diversity and inclusivity in our academic and transdisciplinary communities, as well as in the communities and projects where we work.
- We’ll have a “Queer Scholars Corner” where participants can engage with the experiences of queer scholars in this field, both listen and share.
- Our care-fé- (see next section on care) is also a space to reflect on the care taken during the conference to support diverse and inclusive spaces.
- We sought and facilitated funding to support diverse participation at the conference, particularly from global South countries, also lowering registration fees for those countries, as well as Indigenous North American scholars. There is more work to support such inclusivity, including more focus on intersectional Global South and Indigenous Researchers and Disability, and we ask your help to also help us think about how we can improve participation in future conferences, particularly considering systemic challenges like visa application processes and differential funding availability.
- Conference participants will be able to communicate their preferred pronouns and pronunciation guides on their badges. Participants are also welcomed and encouraged to share their pronouns during presentations and introductions, and can also bring their own pronoun badges.

We value care

We ask all participants to be aware of the power dynamics in the space and to participate with care; kindness and patience. We ask for people to practice deep listening; share generously; embrace curiosity; and take space during the conference, but also give space to others.

The conference should be a space that promotes respectful and caring exchanges across academic disciplines and cultures. Differences of opinion are welcomed and encouraged, and we ask people to assume good intentions when working through conflict, which can be very generative. However, we will have zero tolerance for abuse and any sort of discrimination.

Care is deeply important for our community, and you’ll find several sessions that engage with how to build deeper care into our academic practice on the conference programme. You’ll also find the “Care-fe”, a quiet space specifically for reflecting on care practices at the conference,

and We’ve included care guidelines in speaker, poster and session chair instructions, and have also included information on where to find quiet and green spaces to retreat to during the conference on our website and in newsletters.

We value Sustainability

We prioritize minimizing environmental and social impact throughout the preparation and execution of the conference. This includes considerations such as sustainable catering choices and partnering (where possible) with suppliers who share our commitment to sustainability. We ask you to contribute by bringing your own water bottle (water glasses will also be available) and coffee/tea cup and paying attention to recycling. All lunch options will be vegetarian or vegan. This is not, however, because we believe that vegetarian or vegan diets are the only sustainable choice, but simply because the meat-based options were not easily traceable for this venue. We recognize that there are diverse pathways to sustainability, and the important role that different diets play in people’s cultures and connection with nature. For this reason, the final party will include sustainable non-vegetarian or -vegan options as well.

Our conference has been awarded McGill Silver Sustainability certification.

We value Accessibility

The event aims to be as inclusive as possible by providing step-free access for people with physical disability or any kind of mobility needs. We will accommodate a range of dietary requirements and preferences, such as lactose and gluten intolerance, as well as allergies. We also respect the different intellectual and emotional needs that people might have and are ready to offer support in different ways, should this be required. We will have a room for breastfeeding and a few quiet spaces where people can retreat to. Additionally, we ask that presenters consider the accessibility and inclusivity guidelines included in the presenter guides, as these will ensure a better experience for people with disability/sensory impairments.

Please reach out to us if you are having any accessibility challenges at the conference, either before or during the event.

We ask that you take responsibility for yourself, your well-being and your boundaries

We are aware that everyone has different needs and we ask that you please take good care of yourself and your physical, intellectual and emotional boundaries and exercise caution and discernment at all times. You're welcome to contact us for emotional support or to share a concern or any harmful behaviour you encounter. We will also have people on-site throughout the event who are ready and available to listen and help you navigate your experience

Contact us
If you have any questions, please contact pecs2024@agoraopus3.com

Registration period
March 01, 2024 - 08:00 until August 1, 2024 - 23:30

Conference Venue: Centre Mont-Royal, 2200, Rue Mansfield, Montréal, QC, Canada, H3A 3R8