Creating Conference Community
Conference Community and Accessibility
The Collective Power Conference is a space for learning, collaboration, growth, and supporting one another as we work to create change. We invite you to be part of a culture of respect that acknowledges and honors the differences we bring in terms of our identities and our politics, without marginalizing or tokenizing each other. We can all do this by speaking from our own experiences and being respectful of differences. Our differences can be points of strength and the many diverse identities and perspectives we hold make for a stronger and more vibrant reproductive justice movement.
All of us—conference organizers, speakers, and participants—bring our varied identities to the conference. Collective Power for Reproductive Justice tries to provide the accountable and accessible spaces necessary for everyone to be able to participate in conference events. We ask that all participants help us create these accountable spaces by upholding both Collective Power’s guidelines and Hampshire College’s community norms, as our host for the conference weekend. For Collective Power, creating accountable spaces where we can learn and collaborate includes the following:
- Striving to engage in open and constructive dialogue with each other
- Using “I” statements and speaking from your own experience
- Expressing curiosity about and being open to a viewpoint that is different than yours
- Asking genuine questions for understanding
During the Conference
If you are concerned about a violation of community norms or you feel uncomfortable with another participant’s actions, please notify Collective Power staff (who are wearing staff t-shirts and name badges) with your concerns. Comments can also be shared with us via conference evaluation forms. We are invested in making sure that participants feel respected and welcome in our space at all times, and we welcome your feedback on your conference experience.
If members of the conference community feel that participants are not upholding these community norms, those participants may be asked to leave the conference. Thank you for joining us this weekend and helping us build this movement together!
Accessibility
Collective Power for Reproductive Justice is striving to center Disability Justice in our conference. We need your help to diminish access barriers at the conference and continue to work and build with us so that the conference is more accessible to more people each year.
Please be smoke and fragrance free to the extent that you are able to, so that beloved community members with chemical sensitivities can attend the conference.
COVID-19 STATEMENT
Collective Power strives to create spaces that are accessible to as many of our community members as possible. Our commitment extends to caring for the most vulnerable in our communities, employing a disability justice lens, and adapting to the ever-evolving situation. Our COVID-19 plan/protocols are subject to change as we are still actively tracking COVID-19 trends. If you have feedback or concerns you would like to share, please get in touch: info@collectivepowerrj.org.
Masking:
Collective Power requires all participants to mask at the event to ensure the safety of everyone who attends. High-quality KN-95 masks will be provided at registration, free of charge.
Vaccination:
While we won’t require proof of vaccination, our organization encourages all conference attendees to adhere to CDC guidelines for COVID-19 vaccination and stay updated on booster shots. For information on current recommendations and the booster schedule, please visit the CDC website.
Testing:
COVID-19 testing will be required in order to attend the conference. Free tests will be available at registration for on-site or take-home use.
Symptoms:
If you’re experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, including fever, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, or other listed symptoms, we kindly request that you refrain from attending the conference. We understand health circumstances may change, and in such cases, we will refund your registration fees. To initiate a refund, please email us at info@collectivepowerrj.org.
LANGUAGE INTERPRETATION
Please register for the conference by March 15 to reserve language and ASL Interpreters. We will organize and pay for all of these accommodations. There will be Closed Captioning at the opening and closing plenaries. Please be in touch if you have any questions or concerns please contact us at info@collectivepowerrj.org.
CHILD CARE
To make the space accessible for families we are working to plan onsite child care. Please register for the conference and indicate your child care needs by March 1 so we can accommodate your needs.
CREATING SCENT SAFER SPACE
We know that scented products, including essential oils, perfumes, and hair products, can be an important part of one’s identity, and we will not be policing anyone’s use of them. However, we ask all participants who will be in shared conference spaces over the weekend to recognize how using certain products can create access barriers in those spaces for folks who cannot tolerate exposure to chemicals and fragrance.
Here are a few preparations that you can do prior to and at the conference:
- Use fragrance free laundry detergent
- Refrain from using dryer sheets or fabric softener as they are often heavily scented
- Use fragrance free body care products (e.g. soap, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, lotion, sunscreen, etc.) the week of the conference, and even before that if possible.
- If you smoke or hang around people who smoke, please do so in campus-designated smoking areas, away from walking paths and building entrances, and wash our hands often to reduce residue.
You can learn more about why this is important at these resources:
- Making Space Accessible is An Act Of Love for Our Communities by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha
- Fragrance free femme of colour genius by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha
- Changing the Framework: Disability Justice by Mia Mingus
photo, video, & Audio recording guidelines
Collective Power Recording Policy
Massachusetts follows a “two-party consent” system. As such, we ask that Conference participants refrain from photographing or recording other participants and Conference presenters without their expressed consent.
Third Sector New England Photo & Video Release
By registering for and attending Collective Power’s conference, you grant Third Sector New England, Inc. dba TSNE MissionWorks, fiscal sponsor to Collective power for Reproductive Justice (collectively referred to herein as “TSNE”) you grant TSNE permission to use your name, image, likeness in a photograph/video or other digital reproduction in any and all of its publications, in all media, known and unknown, without limitation, in perpetuity, and without payment or any other consideration.
You understand and agree that these materials and all copyrights in these materials will become the property of TSNE and hereby irrevocably authorize TSNE to edit, alter, copy, exhibit, publish or distribute this photo or video for purposes of publicizing its programs or for other noncommercial purposes.
You hereby release TSNE and those acting pursuant to its authority from liability, claims, and demands for any violation of any personal or proprietary right I may have in connection with such use, including any and all claims for libel, defamation, or invasion of privacy.
You confirm you are 18 years of age and are competent to contract in your own name. You have read this release before registering below and you fully understand the contents, meaning, and impact of this release
Brave Space:
We invite you to read and contemplate on the concept of “Brave Space” through the poem below by Beth Strano while we are in community together:
Untitled Poem by Beth Strano
There is no such thing as a “safe space” —
We exist in the real world.
We all carry scars and have caused wounds.
This space seeks to turn down the volume of the