Community guidelines
Bringing Citizens’ into Policy
We put Citizens first and do our best to recognize, appreciate and respect the diversity of our partners worldwide.
Missions Publiques, as core organizer of the Global Citizen Dialogue on the Future of the Internet, welcomes contributions from everyone who shares our goals and wants to contribute in a healthy and constructive manner. As such, we have adopted this code of conduct and require all those who participate to agree and adhere to these Community Guidelines in order to help us create a safe and positive experience for all.
These guidelines aim to support a community where all people should feel safe to participate, introduce new ideas and inspire others, regardless of their Background, Family status, Gender, Gender identity or expression, Marital status, Sex, Sexual orientation, Native language, Age, Ability, Race and/or ethnicity, National origin, Socioeconomic status, Religion, Geographic location and any other dimension of diversity.
These guidelines exist to enable diverse individuals and groups to interact and collaborate to mutual advantage. This document outlines both expected and prohibited behavior.
When and How to Use These Guidelines
These guidelines outline our expectations towards partners and hosts of the Global Citizens’ Dialogue on the Future of the Internet, both offline and online. Your participation is contingent upon following these guidelines in all related activities, including but not limited to:
- Organization of and participation in local Dialogues.
- Working with other members and participants virtually or co-located.
- Representing Missions Publiques, yourself and/or the Participants of the Global Dialogue at public events.
- Representing Missions Publiques, yourself and/or the Participants of the Global Dialogue in social media (official accounts, staff accounts, personal accounts, Facebook pages et.al.).
- Participating in related forums, mailing lists, wikis, websites, chat channels, bugs, group or person-to-person meetings, and related correspondence.
Expected Behavior
The following behaviors are expected of all partners, hosts, and participants:
Be Respectful
Value each other’s ideas, styles and viewpoints. We don’t have to agree, but disagreement is no excuse for poor manners. Be open to different possibilities and to being wrong. Be kind in all interactions and communications, especially when debating the merits of different options. Be aware of your impact and how intense interactions may be affecting people. Be direct, constructive and positive. Take responsibility for your impact and your mistakes – if someone says they have been harmed through your words or actions, listen carefully, apologize sincerely, and correct the behavior going forward.
Be Mindful
The Global Citizen Dialogue on the Future of the Web builds on citizens from across the globe and all backgrounds sharing their perspectives and insights. To allow for a trusted and candid debate, be mindful of people’s privacy and confidentiality. As a rule Don’t take or share pictures of participants, don’t attribute quotes, or share names of participants.
As an exception and with the aim of making the message and results of the Dialogue stronger we accept to pick-up some specific places around the world that will be representative of the full process. In this places we will organize in close collaboration with the national partner a series of picture and video capture as well as an access for the press and media.
Be Direct but Professional
We are likely to have some discussions about if and when criticism is respectful and when it’s not. We must be able to speak directly when we disagree and when we think we need to improve. We cannot withhold hard truths. Doing so respectfully is hard, doing so when others don’t seem to be listening is harder, and hearing such comments when one is the recipient can be even harder still. We need to be honest and direct, as well as respectful.
Be Inclusive
Listen to the diverse perspectives that will be presented throughout the day. Diversity of views and of people on powers innovation, even if it is not always comfortable. Encourage all voices. Help new perspectives be heard and listen actively. If you find yourself dominating a discussion, it is especially important to step back and encourage other voices to join in. Be aware of how much time is taken up by dominant members of the group. Provide alternative ways to contribute or participate when possible.
Be inclusive of everyone in an interaction, respecting and facilitating people’s participation whether they are.
Respect Data Privacy
Missions Publiques uses the software Sphinx for the registration of participants. Missions Publiques and its national partners only use personal data of the participants to set up panels of diversified participants and, if participants give explicit consent, information related to the activity of the dialogue.
We will also use the data in the processing and quantitative and qualitative analysis of the results. The data will be publicly used only in the form of completely anonymized statistics without identifying personal data. We exclude any commercial solicitation. By filling the registration form, participants are made aware that their data will be used for purely statistical purposes. Missions Publiques and its partners use the data in accordance with GDPR rules, including the participants’ right if access, rectification and opposition.
To ensure full respect of the data privacy rules from all national partners, Missions Publiques teaches a module about data privacy rules, as part of the training program for national partners. All partners engage to respect those rules.
Understand Different Perspectives
Our goal should not be to “win” every disagreement or argument. A more productive goal is to be open to ideas that make our own ideas better. Strive to be an example for inclusive thinking. “Winning” is when different perspectives make our work richer and stronger.
Appreciate and Accommodate Our Similarities and Differences
Partners, Staff, hosts, and participants come from many cultures and backgrounds. Cultural differences can encompass everything from official religious observances to personal habits to clothing. Be respectful of people with different cultural practices, attitudes and beliefs. Work to eliminate your own biases, prejudices and discriminatory practices. Think of others’ needs from their point of view. Use preferred titles (including pronouns) and the appropriate tone of voice. Respect people’s right to privacy and confidentiality. Be open to learning from and educating others as well as educating yourself; it is unrealistic to expect everyone to know the cultural practices of every ethnic and cultural group, but everyone needs to recognize one’s native culture is only part of positive interactions.
Lead by Example
By matching your actions with your words, you become a person others want to follow. Your actions influence others to behave and respond in ways that are valuable and appropriate for our organizational outcomes. Design your community and your work for inclusion. Hold yourself and others accountable for inclusive behaviors. Make decisions based on the highest good for the aims of the Global Citizen Dialogue on the Future of the Internet.
Behavior That Will Not Be Tolerated
The following behaviors are considered to be unacceptable under these guidelines.
Violence and Threats of Violence
Violence and threats of violence are not acceptable – online or offline. This includes incitement of violence toward any individual, including encouraging a person to commit self-harm. This also includes posting or threatening to post other people’s personally identifying information (“doxxing”) online.
Personal Attacks
If conflicts arise don’t turn frustration into a personal attack. It is not okay to insult, demean or belittle others. Attacking someone for their opinions, beliefs and ideas is not acceptable. It is important to speak directly when we disagree and when we think we need to improve, but such discussions must be conducted respectfully and professionally, remaining focused on the issue at hand.
Derogatory Language
Hurtful or harmful language related to Background, Family status, Gender, Gender identity or expression, Marital status, Sex, Sexual orientation, Native language, Age, Ability, Race and/or ethnicity, National origin, Socioeconomic status, Religion, Geographic location or other attributes is not acceptable. When asked to stop, stop the behavior in question.
Unwelcome Sexual Attention or Physical Contact
Unwelcome sexual attention or unwelcome physical contact is not acceptable. This includes sexualized comments, jokes or imagery in interactions, communications or presentation materials, as well as inappropriate touching, groping, or sexual advances. This includes touching a person without permission, including sensitive areas such as their hair, pregnant stomach, mobility device (wheelchair, scooter, etc) or tattoos. This also includes physically blocking or intimidating another person. Physical contact or simulated physical contact (such as emojis like “kiss”) without affirmative consent is not acceptable. This includes sharing or distribution of sexualized images or text.
Disruptive Behavior
Sustained disruption of events, forums, or meetings, including talks and presentations, will not be tolerated. This includes: ‘Talking over’ or ‘heckling’ speakers, Drinking alcohol to excess or using recreational drugs to excess, or pushing others to do so, Making derogatory comments about those who abstain from alcohol or other substances, pushing people to drink, talking about their abstinence or preferences to others, or pressuring them to drink – physically or through jeering.
Influencing Unacceptable Behavior
We will treat influencing or leading such activities the same way we treat the activities themselves, and thus the same consequences apply.
Consequences of Unacceptable Behavior
Reports of harassment/discrimination will be promptly and thoroughly investigated by the people responsible for the safety of the space, event or activity. Appropriate measures will be taken to address the situation.
Anyone asked to stop unacceptable behavior is expected to comply immediately. Violation of these guidelines can result in you being ask to leave an event or online space, either temporarily or for the duration of the event, or being banned from participation in spaces, or future events and activities in perpetuity.
The staff of Missions Publiques and/or national partners acting in violation of these guidelines may be subject to further consequences, such as disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment or partnership.
In addition, any participants who abuse the reporting process will be considered to be in violation of these guidelines and subject to the same consequences. False reporting, especially to retaliate or exclude, will not be accepted or tolerated.
Reporting
If you believe you’re experiencing unacceptable behavior that will not be tolerated as outlined above, please contact us at contact@missionspubliques.com. Reports go to Community Participation Guidelines Response Lead.
After receiving a concise description of your situation, they will review and determine next steps. In addition to conducting any investigation, they can provide a range of resources, from a private consultation to other community resources. They will involve other colleagues or outside specialists (such as legal counsel), as needed to appropriately address each situation.
Please also report to us if you observe a potentially dangerous situation, someone in distress, or violations of these guidelines, even if the situation is not happening to you.
If you feel you have been unfairly accused of violating these guidelines, please follow the same reporting process.
National partners of the Global Citizens’ Dialogue on the Future of the Internet
Each physical or virtual host site shall have a designated contact in charge of the respect of these guidelines. This person will present the guidelines at the beginning of the event and ask participants to review and agree to them before going on with the event.
License and attribution
This set of guidelines is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license.
These guidelines have been adapted with modifications from Mozilla’s original Community Participation Guidelines, the Ubuntu Code of Conduct, Mozilla’s View Source Conference Code of Conduct, and the Rust Language Code of Conduct, which are based on Stumptown Syndicate’s Citizen Code of Conduct. Additional text from the LGBTQ in Technology Code of Conduct and the WisCon code of conduct.
Partners
We would like to thanks all our partners to this process. From all over the world and with huge engagement and motivation they made the magic happen.