Although diversity has increasingly become a core concern of internal university transformations in recent years, the university is still far from being a discrimination-free and barrier-free space. Our goal is to create a low barrier and reflective event environment where all participants feel as welcome and safe as possible. We are aware that we cannot change existing structures completely. Nevertheless, it is the first step to improve the situation for those affected within the university. We know we are not perfect - so if you have any comments or criticisms, please feel free to write to us!

What we can’t do:

• The conference is taking place inside a regular university building where other students, teachers, staff, ... will be present and on whose behaviour (including Covid safety measures) we have no real influence.
• We can't ensure that other attendees and speakers will not say/do something discriminatory or violent.
• We can't thoroughly educate people who have said/done something discriminatory or violent.

 

COVID

Covid is still very much present and infection rates are expected to rise in the fall. We therefore ask you to:

• Stay at home if you have symptoms and/or feel sick.
• Get tested on each day that you attend the conference.
• Wear a mask (preferably FFP2) while you are indoors, especially when you are inside one of the conference rooms.

We might be forced to adjust to the current circumstances at the end of November on short notice and enforce stricter rules, so please check this page for updates. If you can only attend if we enforce mandatory mask-wearing (for anyone but the speakers while they are presenting), please let us know.

Some masks and tests will be provided but if you can, bring your own mask and get tested at home beforehand.

We will ventilate the rooms regularly during the breaks.

 

LANGUAGE

The conference will mainly take place in English. Unfortunately, there will be no translation into sign language. We urge all speakers and participants to use inclusive, non-discriminatory language. Since English is not everyone's first language, please try to speak clearly, not too fast, and avoid overly complicated terms (or explain them).

Don't assume anyone's gender identity or pronouns based on their appearance. If you don't know someone's pronouns, use their name or gender-neutral language (like "the speaker before me", "the person over there" etc.) and they/them-pronouns. If you know someone's pronouns, always use them and correct yourself if you make a mistake.

 

AWARENESS

Awareness refers to the awareness and attention to situations in which the boundaries of others are or have been crossed. Ideally, transgressive situations or moments of violence can be prevented by raising awareness of structures and reflecting on them in advance. Awareness work is part of the practice of transformative justice, which has its origins in Black and Indigenous movements. It is a form of self-organization to resolve conflicts independently of violent state punitive logic. If a person's well-being is at risk due to discrimination, the awareness structure supports the affected person through counselling, intervention and pointing out ways to get help.

If you feel uncomfortable in a situation or observe transgressive behavior in others, please come to us directly. The awareness team will be approachable throughout. We recognize that academic spaces are not equally accessible to all and can be a violent space for some. We have a zero-tolerance policy towards racism, sexism, queerphobia, antisemitism, transphobia, classism, ableism, and any form of discrimination. We do affected-person work, i.e., we advocate for the concerns of affected persons. Together with the affected person, we consider how to handle the discriminatory situation. We work anonymously and confidentially.

You can recognize our awareness team by the colourful vests, and there will always be two persons around.

 

ROOMS

The conference will take place in the rooms Hörsaal A & B on the ground level of the Otto-Suhr-Institut (Ihnestr. 22, 14195 Berlin). You can find pictures of both rooms here:

• https://www.polsoz.fu-berlin.de/verwaltung/raum/seminarraeume/ihne21-a.html
• https://www.polsoz.fu-berlin.de/verwaltung/raum/seminarraeume/ihne21-b.html

Wheelchair-accessibility: The ground level is the same height as the sidewalk. The entrance doors can be opened with a button. The parking lot can be accessed via a ramp.

How to get there:

• The closest public transport stops are:
  • The subway station U Freie Universität (Thielplatz) (U3) which has an elevator. The way from the subway station is a bit uneven and includes curbsides with a height of around 10 cm at Faradayweg. They can be avoided by entering the street a few meters as indicated under this link
  • The bus stop Bitscher Str. (bus line 110). If you come from the north, there is a curbside that is at least 10 cm high at the opposite side of the traffic light.

• There is a parking lot right in front of the building.

Washrooms: One single-stall wheelchair-accessible washroom that can be unlocked with a Euro key as well as two additional multi-user washrooms (officially gender-separated) are right next to the conference rooms.

To our great frustration, there are no official all-gender washrooms in the building. We are aware that using gender-separated washrooms is a potential source of great stress for trans, non-binary, intersex and gender-nonconforming people. We ask all conference participants to just let everyone use whichever washroom they want to. If you experience anti-trans discrimination when using a washroom (or in any other situation during the conference), don’t hesitate to contact our awareness team for support.

A list of wheelchair-accessible and all-gender washrooms for all university buildings can be found here (in German).

Quiet room: For Friday, we have booked an additional room as a quiet(er) space to retreat to – in case anyone feels overwhelmed and/or needs a break. It’s the seminar roomIhnestraße 22 – UG4, located in the basement of the building across the street. The building can be entered with a wheelchair via a ramp on the back and there are wheelchair-accessible washrooms in the basement as well. Pictures of the room can be found on this website (Link). Please respect it as a quiet space.
Unfortunately, there were no rooms available for Thursday or any closer to the conference rooms.

Further information:

• There are a few sockets in each room.
• The chairs that come with the rooms are wooden and have no armrests. We assume that they conform to German norms and can hold up to 110 kg. If this doesn't work for you, please don't hesitate to reach out to us.

• The lights are of a neutral white and quite bright. Several parts of the room can be switched on/off separately. The lights didn't flicker when we last checked them.

• Each room has one wall facing the exterior that is made up of floor-to-ceiling windows.
• Some of the windows can be opened and used for ventilation.
• Room A has a little podium that is carpeted.

 

PERSONAL ASSISTANCE

If you need someone to accompany you to be able attend, you are welcome to do so. Since space is limited, please let them register like any other attendee. Unfortunately, we do not have the resources to help you find an assistant or carer for the conference, this is something you'd have to do yourself.

 

CHILD CARE

We can organise childcare for the conference if desired and if there are more than five registrations. For this, it is important that the childcare is booked bindingly by 30.10.2023 at the latest. Feel free to contact us for any information regarding childcare: ma-gip@polsoz.fu-berlin.de

 

SIGNALLING SOCIALIZING NEEDS

If you are comfortable being approached by others, wear your name tag. If you want to be left alone, take it off. If your needs change, just switch. Please respect other people’s wishes to take a break from socializing.

FOOD

Some food will be provided (vegan, with allergen-labels).

Additionally, here is a list of nearby food-options

• Cafeteria Shokudo, about 600m away
• Cafeteria FU II, about 1 km away
• Non-universitarian options at the corner of Garystraße/Ihnestraße, about 150m away:
  • Bakery: Aux Delices Normands
  • Vietnamese cuisine: Com Bui

 

CONTACT

For questions and requests, please reach out to ma-gip@polsoz.fu-berlin.de

Alternatively, you can call Friederike Beier at +49 30 838 63212 (usually available on Tuesdays and Thursdays).

 

For transparency reasons: The accessibility and awareness concept is created by two students who do this on a voluntary basis and the conference as a whole has limited monetary resources. We try to make the event as accessible as possible within these limitations. If there is something missing that would make the conference (more) accessible to you, please reach out to us and we will try to find a way to make it work.