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📢Conference organisers📢 If you want your event to be truly inclusive, you need to have remote options for both attendees and speakers. It's not a "nod to the past couple of years", it's doing the right thing for inclusivity. 🧵 You might not have considered why:Permalink On twitter.com
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It isn't just a COVID thing, people regularly come away from conferences with illnesses such as colds. For most folks this isn't an issue, but what about people with weak, compromised or suppressed immune systems, and the folks that love them and live with them?Permalink On twitter.com
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Your event is probably not worth that person getting seriously ill. They might deem it an unnecessary risk. Unintentionally, they've been excluded from your event.Permalink On twitter.com
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But there's a load of other reasons why too.Permalink On twitter.com
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People with childcare responsibilities might not have anyone else to take that responsibility over, and they might not be able to travel with the child(ren).Permalink On twitter.com
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People who are #carers cannot necessarily leave those that they care for, and they might not be able to travel.Permalink On twitter.com
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Disabled folks or those with access needs might struggle to get around your event, despite the venue claiming that it's accessible. People with mobility aids like wheelchairs, scooters or walking frames may be (justifiably) reluctant to travel as they're often damaged in transitPermalink On twitter.com
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And for people with things like chronic fatigue and long COVID, your event may simply be too exhausting to attend in-person.Permalink On twitter.com
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The environment of an in-person conference may not be suitable for those who struggle with auditory, sensory or visual processing. You may have a quiet room, but then they're missing portions of the event.Permalink On twitter.com
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People who are pregnant might not want to or be able to travel for multiple reasons, such as the effects of the pregnancy (e.g nausea, vomiting), access to healthcare, risk of complications and general exhaustionPermalink On twitter.com
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Even financial reasons! People may take unpaid leave to be at your event, self employed people may have to pass up client work and lose out on money, people might not be able to afford the costs outside of the travel and accommodation that you provide (which you *should* provide)Permalink On twitter.com
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This is not an exhaustive list. There are plenty of other reasons that I've not listed or haven't thought of. And you've probably not thought of them either.Permalink On twitter.com
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And I'm not just some outsider coming to shout at you about how your event isn't inclusive enough. Pre-COVID, I spoke at a bunch of conferences and I loved it. But the world has changed in the years since then, and my life has changed too.Permalink On twitter.com
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For a mixture of reasons, in-person conferences aren't something I can do at the moment, and they might not be for a while. But folks who are excluded from your events still have things to offer, and we want to be included.Permalink On twitter.com
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And if you're including a remote speaker, you should be supporting them as much as you can. You'll cover the cost of travel and accommodation for someone coming to your event, and you should cover the cost of some equipment (camera, microphone, lights etc) for someone remote.Permalink On twitter.com
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Also, I'm looking for conferences to speak at, so if you run or know of any JavaScript/web conferences looking for remote speakers, please let me know! DMs are open.On twitter.com