Fostering an accessible and inclusive environment at the EGU General Assembly

The European Geosciences Union is committed to providing a safe, open, accessible, and respectful environment at its annual General Assembly. Our communications and approach are non-judgmental, non-biased, and inclusive. In turn, the EGU expects meeting attendees to exhibit professional and respectful conduct at all times. We require that all meeting participants accept and follow both EGU's Code of Conduct and the EGU General Assembly rules of conduct.

At its General Assembly the EGU strives to have diversity among conveners, attendees, organizers, and presenters, including with respect to career stage, gender, geographical origin, and scientific approaches. We encourage conveners and programme committee officers to keep this approach in mind while conducting all EGU activities.

This webpage details actions that the EGU has undertaken to facilitate an accessible and inclusive conference where every individual feels welcome. We encourage all participants to read this page and to help whenever appropriate.

Should you observe violations against these rules, please contact the EGU22 person of trust (links available from the Virtual Conference Centre’s Entrance Hall as well as the physical Information Desk in the Austria Centre Vienna and information desks in all other virtual and physical session rooms, by speaking to the trained Conference Assistants) and/or send an email to conduct@egu.eu. Messages to this address are treated confidentially. More advice for what you can do if you are a bystander to harassment or any other form of discrimination can be found in this blog post written by our EDI Working Group members: How to EGU22: help us ensure a safe and inclusive EGU22

Communications

  • The EGU strives to use gender-neutral language in all aspects of our communications, from publications to our meetings, and we are grateful as our members work hard to help us achieve this standard.
  • We offer pronoun, Pride, and many other sticker choices when you set up your profile.
  • The EGU has issued the following guideline for conveners: "EGU strongly encourages conveners to build their teams and organize their sessions considering and promoting under-represented demographics, in particular including: (i) multiple countries and institutes, (ii) different career stages, with particular attention to the participation of early career scientists, (iii) different genders and all other forms of diversity, and (iv) diverse scientific approaches."
  • Additional information: Accessibility at EGU: Promoting inclusive language, an incomplete guide – version 2!

Accessibility at EGU22

Visual accessibility

Audio accessibility

  • At EGU22 we will be providing AI-based closed captioning for all presentations, including the Union-wide Great Debates, Union Symposia and Medal and Award Lectures, as well as all Short Courses streamed online and all our hybrid scientific sessions.
  • The captions for EGU22 will be provided using Zoom’s integrated captioning service, so we ask your patience with the programme as it works to caption people with a wide range of speaking styles.
  • For information about what you as the presenter can do to improve your captions, please read How to EGU22: making your presentation accessible to all!

Well-being

We acknowledge how taxing it can be to attend a conference, whether digital, in-person or both, so we hope you will be able to be kind to yourself during the week and, where possible, focus only on attending EGU22. And yes, that also includes taking some time out to explore and go for walks, talk with friends and colleagues, and enjoy our EGU22 Quiet Room - whether you are joining us remotely from your home or workplace, or travelling to Vienna.

Here are a few more tips for making your conference easier, whether participating on-site, virtually or in hybrid format:

  • Take regular breaks! This can mean doing something that isn't work related, or even stepping away from your computer altogether or leaving the conference centre to spend time in the fresh air.
  • Keep a pad and pen nearby to doodle on while you listen – let yourself fidget. Research suggests that letting yourself fidget whilst you listen can actually help you focus and remember more.
  • Schedule varied events. Once you have added your key sessions and abstracts into your personal programme, why not consider adding some more varied events? During EGU22, you will be able to add and attend pop-up networking events, Union Symposia and Great Debates, and many Short Courses!
  • Protect your time. Especially if you are attending the meeting online we know how difficult it can be to protect your time and not feel the need to keep up with your regular work commitments on top of attending the meeting and all your normal personal commitments. Making a conscious effort to protect your time by setting an email out of office and informing your colleagues of your absence, even if you are attending remotely, can help to prevent burnout.

Equality, diversity and inclusion events at EGU22

The EGU recognizes the importance of equality, diversity, and inclusion as a crucial foundation for scientific research to address fundamental scientific questions and societally relevant environmental challenges. The increasing diversity of our membership in all its facets fosters collaborative research and discovery that benefits humanity and our planet.

To help ensure equitable treatment for everyone in our community, the EGU's Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Working Group has organized a number of sessions, Short Courses, and other events during EGU22.

These include, but are not limited to:

For additional information on EDI activities at EGU22, please see the EGU22 EDI flyer.

Feedback

The EGU welcomes feedback and suggestions about how to further improve accessibility and inclusiveness at the General Assembly. You can provide direct feedback through the annual General Assembly Survey.