Code of Conducts

I recently proposed to establish a Code of Conduct for the BarCamp RheinMain. Here is my rationale why.

tl;dr: Your every word influences other humans. I believe it is worth scrutinizing your own behaviour.

Germany is a society dominated by CIS white males. Who doesn't acknowledge this as a deficit is part of the problem. Acknowledgement is the first step if we want to change the status quo. A Code of Conduct like this one with a very stark focus on sexual harrassment puts a spotlight on the fact that it is actually a huge problem how our society treats humans that do not identify with the simple black and white idea of man / woman = strong / weak.

Behaviour is always influenced by experiences, only if we change the environment in which we interact with other and challenge the way how we do so, change can be achieved. In my opinion it is our duty as event organizers to take on this task.

Given that we welcome many young participants at our BarCamps we have the chance to support them in the development of their personality in a good way or at least to not harm them.

For further reading on the topic, check out this awesome list of resources by Lena Reinhard.