Yale Conferences & Events is in the business of bringing people together and creating memorable experiences.
It is critical that we ensure that all our events are inclusive on every level, intentionally, and by design. As planners and hosts, it is our responsibility to ensure that every attendee feels welcome and has equal access to everything the event has to offer. By optimizing an individual’s experience based on their specific needs, we create an environment where we all belong.
Programming
Consider these points when conceptualizing your event
- Attendees' religious and other obligations: be mindful and check for conflicts with holidays, holy days, and local school schedules. Start on Monday and end on Thursday to support family life balance
- The planning committee, speakers, and/or moderator should represent a wide variety of genders, races, LGBTQ+ statuses, national origins, abilities, veteran statuses, geography, etc.
- Supplier and vendor diversity
- Find expert perspective on topic/content beyond your own circles
- Ask speakers to identify their pronouns in their introductions (and on the screen when virtual). This should be optional - encourage speakers to use only if they are comfortable. There should be an option to always opt in or out of sharing
- Eliminate titles or use gender-neutral titles. Inform speakers of design and delivery practices that enhance inclusive presentations
- Allow anonymous questions
- Offer language interpretation if feasible/needed
- A virtual event will allow you to reach a greater audience and allow for greater geographical reach for your speakers
- Offer scholarships for groups that face the most barriers
- Conference organizers should book travel and/or accommodations on behalf of travel scholarship recipients, rather than asking recipients to pay and be reimbursed
Resources
- Make individuals who are planning events aware that Yale has an Office of Diversity & Inclusion (ODI) which provides different forms of consultations and educational support
- Make note of the different diversity partners that are located on campus as additional resources
- Refer to the Chaplain's Office Multifaith Calendar when choosing the event date(s), and avoid scheduling on major religious or cultural holidays
- Refer to the Yale Travel website for travel and transportation assistance
- Share Yale's get support link for guidance, assistance, or information
Location and Set-up
Consider these points when choosing venues and transportation
- Be sure that your event's location is a good fit for your audience. For example, a 50th reunion should avoid a location with many stairs or transitions
- Parking options at the location you are considering should be checked for proximity and number of handicapped spaces
- Offer transportation to a location that might pose access challenges or distance challenges. Look for vehicles that can accommodate a wheelchair
- Keep mobility in mind, especially if the event requires participants to walk any distance or use stairs or escalators. Do a site visit and visually inspect the ramp and elevator options to make sure they are in good order. If the accessible entrance is different than the main entrance, ensure that you request reader access for both
- Make sure adequate space is allocated for someone in a wheelchair to navigate the room. If the speaker is in a wheelchair, ensure the stage has a ramp
- Ensure that a wheelchair can roll under tables and that there is sufficient space for wheelchairs/scooters throughout the premises
- Avoid positioning wheelchairs in front or back of the room. Middle is best
- Provide chairs when you expect participants to be standing, for those who want to sit
- If needed, offer quiet and private spaces for prayer rooms and neuro-divergent attendees. These rooms should feature muted colors, soft lighting, and minimal noise.
- Ensure inclusive signage is used and that all-gender restrooms are available
- Include reserved seating for hearing or vision-impaired guests
- Add a land acknowledgment at the beginning of your event
- Ensure that there is a private lactation space in the venue
- Use non-stimulating colors when designing neuro inclusive spaces, such as blues, greens, pinks, and browns, with yellows and oranges used minimally for event areas requiring energy bursts. Red seems to be one color to minimize as much as possible or avoid entirely, with studies showing this high-intensity hue may trigger sensory overwhelm and increase hyperactivity.
Resources
- Familiarize yourself with Yale's campus by exploring this detailed and interactive map of Yale
- Read through Yale's Campus Access webpage to learn more about accessible parking and transportation
- Request accessible transit through Yale Transit (CAS-protected page)
- Provide a map of lactation rooms at Yale to attendees
- Refer to the Yale land acknowledgment statements provided by the Office of the Secretary
Food and Beverage
Consider these points when planning your catering needs
- Inform your caterer of any personal and religious food restrictions and serving restrictions (kosher, vegan, halal, fasting, etc.)
- Collect food allergy and intolerance information from attendees before the event, and ensure that any foods with common allergens are labeled clearly
- Share event menus in advance where possible
- Consider customizable menus or stations. Provide identifiers to include ingredients on buffets and menu cards
- Solicit an array of locally owned caterers through outreach
- Invite the chef/manager to discuss menu items and why they are a part of the event
- Ensure that the location and setup of food and beverages are accessible for attendees with mobility issues
Resources
- Questions about best practices surrounding dietary restrictions can be directed to Yale Hospitality's Registered Dietician & Health and Wellness Manager, Sarah Kiel, (Sarah.Kiel@yale.edu), and their Nutrition, Quality Assurance & System Manager, Amelia Alonzo (Amelia.Alonzo@yale.edu)
Registration
Consider these points when building your registration forms
- Include an ADA statement on your registration form
- Inquire about specific needs, such as:
- Do you require sign language interpretation?
- Do you have a service animal? What do they need?
- Do you require a mobility assistant? What do they need? (do not charge a registration fee for a mobility assistant)
- Do you have any dietary restrictions?
- Have a process within the registration system to request additional accommodations and communicate a deadline for making requests
- Allow registrants to opt-out of selecting gender pronouns for their nametag
- Share your code of conduct at registration/on your app/in your program to set the tone for your event
- Provide attendees with information on service and emotional support animals on Yale's campus
- Know-before-you-go packages should include, at a minimum, full agendas, policies, dress codes, venue maps, and instructions about receiving additional clarity or support in preparing for the event.
Resources
Marketing
Consider these points when promoting your event
- Utilize diverse images in your marketing materials for a more equitable and inclusive promotional effort. Representation matters
- Design materials (hard copies and digital) with accessibility as a priority. Routinely audit your materials for accessibility
- Ensure that text is large enough for everyone to read and that materials are compatible with the range of hardware and software used by persons with disabilities. Run PDFs through an Optical Character Recognition software
- In long documents, break up the text with section headings and include a table of contents.
- Hyperlink text in documents so screen-reader users are made aware of where there are links instead of being dictated a long URL, which is difficult to follow
- Color contrast is important. Check the color contrast analyzer for the best color combinations
- Add image alt text to all images on web materials, left justify text for easier reading, and auto-caption your promotional videos
Resources
- See the Yale Communicators' Toolkit and Web Accessibility page
Virtual Programming
Consider these points when hosting a virtual audience
- Ask speakers to include subtitles in videos they share
- Give speakers the option to include their pronouns in their name, but do not require that they do so
- Offer live captioning for live streamed events (use Zoom auto-captioning at minimum)
- Spotlight speakers so it is easier to see who is speaking. When doing introductions, consider physically describing yourself
- Share presentations before the event and review presentations for readability
- Save and share the recording and transcript and distribute to attendees afterward
- Save the chat content if resources were shared and distribute it to attendees afterward
- Follow up with attendees whose questions were not answered during live Q&As (if applicable)
- Consider varied time zones when selecting a time/date for your event if your audience is international
- Providing a more inclusive event environment with the option to attend either in-person or online is essential. Providing on-demand content, transcripts, and session recordings creates optionality, ensures accessibility, and empowers agency.
Resources
See Accessibility Best Practices for Zoom and Accessible Virtual Conferences.