Wikimedia CH/Friendly Space Policy: todo list for Event Organizer

Todo lists for Wikimedia CH event organizer regarding the implementation of the Friendly Space Policy. Those lists are meant to be guidelines suggestions and go along three types of scenarios.

Case 1: rather large event onsite, typically a General Assembly

LONG BEFORE THE EVENT

Identify a pool of potential good candidates to be “designated Policy people” (further mentionned as FSP persons)
Make sure your candidates to be FSP read the training modules and take a quiz to evaluate their knowledge and understanding of the policy. - Wikimedia CH/Friendly space policy Training Center
Get all candidates to be FSP to sign an NDA (non-disclosure agreement). This is preferable as they may handle private information
Print the FSP brochure - You may create your own brochure according to needs. Emergency numbers can be added to the policy poster for example.
Prepare material to make the FSP people recognisable Consider special tee-shirts, special lanyards, stickers…. anything that can make them easier to identify quickly as support during the event
Make sure the index list of all cases and sanction list is up to date. If you are the person in charge of keeping this information up to date, this include adding new cases, adding new sanctions, but also removing what is expired. This might include regular check-in with “related” chapters. If you are not the person in charge of keeping the information up to date, this might be the right moment to look up who is in charge and check with them.

BEFORE THE EVENT

Select the FSP people at the earliest convenience. We suggest at least 3-6 people for the larger events. It is advised to have at least 1 community (non staff) person, selected amongst trusted participants. It is also advised to have at least 1 woman. You MUST have a couple of experienced FSP who agreed to support the event in the FSP capacity prior to the event. You may add more FSP people at the beginning of the event. The Event organiser is probably not a good option to be an FSP (already quite a lot of work in their hands).
Provide the FSP people with the link to the central HUB page on meta. : https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_CH/Friendly_space_policy. Ask them to read the meta page, but also the two associated documents.
1. the full policy : Friendly Space Policy Wikimedia CH
2. the protocol : Protocol on enforcement and reporting of the Friendly Space Policy of Wikimedia CH V2
If they have not yet done so, get all FSP people to read the training modules and take a quiz to evaluate their knowledge and understanding of the policy before the event. - Wikimedia CH/Friendly space policy Training Center
If they have not yet done so, try to get all FSP people sign an NDA (non-disclosure agreement) before the event. If lack of time prevent it, make sure to insist to them about the outmost importance of not disclosing private information
Provide the FSP people with a WMCH authority person contact. Give them the full name, email and phone number of a WMCH authority person they need to reach out for very urgent and critical situation. Make it clear who they should go to in case of need (hint: this should not be another designated person)
Emergency numbers should be available. Emergency numbers should be be available to every participant. Yes, the Event organizer should have them as well, but urgent sometimes means urgent… They can be displayed on the eventpage (ie metawiki), mentionned on participants guides, added to the FSP policy poster … For a f2f event, make sure that FSP people do have immediate access to the urgent numbers they might need (police, hospital etc.).
Add a one-small paragraph sentence about the Friendly Space Policy on the event pages, such as
1. Website page dedicated to the event
2. Wikipage dedicated to the event
3. If email are sent to participants, add it to the emails as well
4. If a participant guide is sent to participant, mention the FSP in the guide etc. Proposition of text : This event is covered by the Friendly Space Policy of Wikimedia CH, to ensure a safe and pleasant working environment, and to restore such an environment as quickly as possible after incidents. FSP designated people will be available to support you if needed. More information about the Wikimedia CH Friendly Space Policy can be found here : https://w.wiki/Dfiq.
If the event requires a registration, remind the Friendly Space Policy, and add a checkbox for participants. It can go along with a text such as “I confirm I understand this event will be covered by Wikimedia CH Friendly Space Policy: https://w.wiki/Dfiq and agree to respect it” or anything similar
Make sure that all FSP people have access to the incident report template. [Template] Incident Reporting Document WMCH
Equip the FSP people to make them more visible. This is in particular important for bigger events where participants may have difficulties to find them or recognise them.
Plan a safe and discreet space at the venue. This space can be used by FSP people to talk with people involved in an incident. It may be an isolated room for example. Consider comforting elements (cookies, drinks, plushies, stress balls, first aid kit, masks…). In some instances where no space is available, hotel rooms are sometimes used…
Check if no anticipated participant is on the “cases with active measures” list. Anticipate by looking for potential cases of concerns. If you do not have access to the list of people under sanction, check with the Wikimedia CH staff person with access to this information
Let FSP people know about any potential issue with significant risk of occurrence

DURING THE EVENT

Display the brochure at the event. For example, put the printed docs on the registration table. Stick them to the wall, etc. Make sure emergency numbers can easily be found
During the introduction-launch of the event, mention the FSF.
1. take a couple of minutes to notify the audience that the event is covered by Wikimedia CH Friendly Space Policy and that anyone feeling unsafe should not hesitate the talk about the situation, during or after the event. Do not ramble several minutes. Keep it short.
2. Indicate where the Brochure with link to the full policy can be found (available on the wall, in the lobby, next to you etc.)
3. Introduce with great clarity ALL the FSP people to the audience. Give their name (or pseudo if they prefer it so). Audience need to SEE them. Best is to have them ALL on stage, smiling and waving to the audience. It is also recommanded that their names or pseudonymes + pictures are displayed on the Event page, at least during the event
Remind the audience about the FSP at regular intervals. If the event is a full day and the entire group reconvene after lunch time, remind the audience about the FSP, indicate again where they can find the brochure, point out again at the FSP people. If the event is two days… do it AGAIN on the second day.
At mid-day, check with your FSP people that everything is fine. Did they get some complaints ? How did they deal with them ? Does it need escalation ? Make them feel supported If the event last two days, do the same at the end of the first day
At closing time, publicly thank your FSP people. This will help reinforce the policy and motivate other participants to volunteer next time.

AFTER EVENT

Post-event status check-in with all designated people. Did they get any issues to work on ? Do they have suggestions for the future. Thank them. For big events, it could be done by the Wikimedia CH “authority” contact.
Collect the incident reports during the event from the FSP people. This includes cases which have been resolved onsite. Share the information with the other FSP people. [Template] Incident Reporting Document WMCH
Record reported cases in the index report document. This will help for any further action and for the annual report Obviously, if you do not have access to this index, provide all information to the people with this “authority” to do it. Insist that ALL cases must be reported
Post-event follow-up on open cases that needs further work. Investigate, decide and do not forget to inform all parties of the outcome afterwards
Record the names (or usernames) and contact info of non-staff FSP people after the event. They would be good candidates for future needs and prime customers for in-depth training. Also note any FSP people to avoid in the future…

Case 2: smaller size events (onsite or hybrid), typically an edit-a-thon

BEFORE THE EVENT

Print the FSP brochure - You may create your own brochure according to needs. Emergency numbers can be added to the policy poster for example. Or you may have no brochure at all if you feel it is not needed and plan to communicate about the policy in other ways.
Add a one-small paragraph sentence about the FSP on the event pages.
1. Website page dedicated to the event if relevant
2. Wikipage dedicated to the event if relevant
3. If email are sent to participants, add it to the emails as well
4. if there is a registration process, add it there as well, with a check box to confirm they are aware the event is covered by the FSP. Proposition of text : This event is covered by the Friendly Space Policy of Wikimedia CH, to ensure a safe and pleasant working environment, and to restore such an environment as quickly as possible after incidents. FSP designated people will be available to support you if needed. More information about the Wikimedia CH Friendly Space Policy can be found here : https://w.wiki/Dfi q.
Plan a safe and discreet space at the venue. This space can be used by FSP people to talk with people involved in an incident. It may be an isolated room for example. Consider comforting elements (cookies, drinks, plushies, stress balls, first aid kit, masks…). If no specific place has been identified, remind FSP people of the need of discretion when dealing with a case.
Select the FSP at the earliest convenience. We suggest at least 1-4 people for example. It is advised to have at least 1 community (non staff) person, selected amongst trusted participants. It is also advised to have at least 1 woman. You MUST have at least one experienced FSP who agreed to support the event in the FSP capacity prior to the event. You may add more FSP people at the beginning of the event (typically may happen for smaller events). It is advised to have at least 1 person who is not the Event Organizer (as they may be very busy running the event). Also remember to have one person in charge of the FSP policy for the online participants.
Provide the FSP people with the link to the central HUB page on meta : Wikimedia CH/Friendly space policy. Ask them to read the meta page, but also the two associated documents.
1. the full policy : Friendly Space Policy Wikimedia CH
2. the protocol : Protocol on enforcement and reporting of the Friendly Space Policy of Wikimedia CH V2
If they have not yet done so, ask all FSP people to read the training modules and take a quiz to evaluate their knowledge and understanding of the policy before the event: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_CH/Friendly_space_policy_Training_Center
If they have not yet done so, try to get all FSP people sign an NDA (non-disclosure agreement) before the event. If lack of time and energy prevent it, make sure to insist to them about the outmost importance of not disclosing private information
Provide the FSP Policy people with an authority person contact. It may be yourself (the event organizer). Or it may be a WMCH authority person. But at least; give them the full name, email and phone number of someone they can reach out for very urgent and critical situation. Make it clear who they should go to in case of need (hint: this should not be another FSP person.
Emergency numbers should be available. Emergency numbers should be be available to every participant. Yes, the Event organizer should have them as well, but urgent sometimes means urgent… They can be displayed on the eventpage (ie metawiki), mentionned on participants guides, added to the FSP policy poster … For a f2f event, make sure that FSP people do have immediate access to the urgent numbers they might need
Make sure that all designated people have access to the incident report template: [Template] Incident Reporting Document WMCH
Check if no anticipated participant is on the “cases with active measures” list. It may or may not be always possible. If you do not have access to the list of people under sanction, try to check with the Wikimedia CH staff person with access to this information. In particular in case of a doubt…
Let FSP people know in advance about any potential issue with significant risk of occurrence.

DURING THE EVENT

Display the brochure at the event. For example, put the printed docs on the registration table. Stick them to the wall. Etc. This may be mostly important to do in circonstances where participants are not yet very familiar with Wikimedia spaces.
During the introduction-launch of the event, mention the FSF -
1. take a couple of minutes to notify the audience that the event is covered by Wikimedia CH Friendly Space Policy and that anyone feeling unsafe should not hesitate the talk about the situation, during or after the event. Do not ramble several minutes. Keep it short.
2. Indicate where the Brochure with link to the full policy can be found (available on the wall, in the lobby, next to you etc.)
3. Introduce with great clarity ALL the FSP people to the audience. Give their name (or pseudo if they prefer it so). Audience need to SEE them. Best is to have them ALL on stage, smiling and waving to the audience.
4. It is also recommanded that their names or pseudonymes + pictures are displayed on the Event page, at least during the event
Remind the audience about the FSP at regular intervals. If the event is a full day and the entire group reconvene after lunch time, remind the audience about the FSP, indicate again where they can find the brochure, point out again at the Designated people.
At mid-day, check with your FSP people that everything is fine. Did they get some complaints ? How did they deal with them ? Does it need escalation ? Make them feel supported If the event last two days, do the same at the end of the first day
At closing time, publicly thank your FSP people. This will help reinforce the policy and motivate other volunteers for next time.

AFTER EVENT

Post-event status check-in with all FSP people. Did they get any issues to work on ? Do they have suggestions for the future. Thank them.
Collect incident reports during the event from the FSP people This includes cases which have been resolved onsite. Share the information with the other FSP people.[Template] Incident Reporting Document WMCH
Forward reported cases to WMCH FSP staff person for addition in the index report document. This will help for any further action and for the annual report. Obviously, if you do not have access to this index, provide all information to the people with this “authority” to do it.
Post-event follow-up on open cases that needs further work Investigate, decide and do not forget to inform all parties of the outcome afterwards. If the follow-up is done by someone else, do not drop the ball.
Record the names (or usernames) and contact info of FSP people after the event. They would be good candidates for future needs and prime customers for in-depth training. Also note any FSP people to avoid in the future…

Case 3: online events

BEFORE THE EVENT

Add a one-small paragraph sentence about the FSP on the event pages.
1. Website page dedicated to the event if relevant
2. Wikipage dedicated to the event if relevant
3. If email are sent to participants, add the mention in the email sent
4. if there is a registration process, add it there as well, with a check box to confirm they are aware the event is covered by the FSP. Proposition of text : This event is covered by the Friendly Space Policy of Wikimedia CH, to ensure a safe and pleasant working environment, and to restore such an environment as quickly as possible after incidents. FSP designated people will be available to support you if needed. More information about the Wikimedia CH Friendly Space Policy can be found here : https://w.wiki/Dfiq.
Select the FSP at the earliest convenience.
1. For larger events, you MUST have at least one experienced FSP who agreed to support in the FSP capacity prior to the event. We suggest at least 1-3 people for larger events for example (for example, online hackathon for 2 days). It is advised to have at least 1 community (non staff) person, selected amongst trusted participants. It is also advised to have at least 1 woman. It is advised to have at least 1 person who is not the Event Organizer (as they may be very busy running the event). You may add more FSP people at the beginning of the event.
2. For very small events, the Event Organizer will usually be the FSP person…
Provide the FSP people with the link to the central HUB page on meta : Wikimedia CH/Friendly space policy Ask them to read the meta page, but also the two associated documents.
1. the full policy : Friendly Space Policy Wikimedia CH
2. the protocol : Protocol on enforcement and reporting of the Friendly Space Policy of Wikimedia CH V2
If they have not yet done so, get all FSP people to read the training modules and take a quiz to evaluate their knowledge and understanding of the policy before the event: - Wikimedia CH/Friendly space policy Training Center
If they have not yet done so, try to get all FSP people sign an NDA (non-disclosure agreement) before the event. If lack of time prevent it, make sure to insist to them about the outmost importance of not disclosing private information
Provide the designated Policy people with a WMCH authority person contact. Give them the full name, email and phone number of a WMCH authority person they need to reach out for very urgent and critical situation. Make it clear who they should go to in case of need (hint: this should not be another designated person)
Make sure that all designated people have access to the incident report template: [Template] Incident Reporting Document WMCH
Check if no anticipated participant is on the “cases with active measures” list. It may or may not be always possible. If you do not have access to the list of people under sanction, try to check with the Wikimedia CH staff person with access to this information. In particular in case of a doubt…
Let FSP people know in advance about any potential issue with significant risk of occurrence.

DURING THE EVENT

During the introduction-launch of the event, mention the FSF.
1. take a couple of minutes to notify the audience that the event is covered by Wikimedia CH Friendly Space Policy and that anyone feeling unsafe should not hesitate the talk about the situation, during or after the event. Do not ramble several minutes. Keep it short.
2. Provide the link to the policy in the chat
3. For bigger events, introduce with great clarity ALL the FSP Policy people to the audience. Give their name (or pseudo if they prefer it so). Audience need to be able to get in touch with them through the chat in particular. You may want to mention that their names or pseudonymes + pictures are displayed on the Event page, at least during the event
4. It may be useful if the FSP people change their online name to mention FSP : such as “Anthere (FSP)”
Remind the audience about the FSP at regular intervals. Small event... just at the beginning. During full day online webinar, consider dropping a reminder and a link to the policy every couple of hours.
At closing time, publicly thank your FSP people. This will help reinforce the policy and motivate other volunteers for next time.

AFTER EVENT

Post-event status check-in with all FSP people. Did they get any issues to work on ? Do they have suggestions for the future. Thank them. For big events, it could be done by the Wikimedia CH “authority” contact.
Collect all incident reports from the FSP people: [Template] Incident Reporting Document WMCH
Forward reported cases to WMCH FSP staff person for addition in the index report document . This will help for any further action and for the annual report. Obviously, if you do not have access to this index, provide all information to the people with this “authority” to do it.
Post-event follow-up on open cases that needs further work. Investigate, decide and do not forget to inform all parties of the outcome afterwards. If the follow-up is done by someone else, do not drop the ball.
Record the names (or usernames) and contact info of FSP people after the event. They would be good candidates for future needs and prime customers for in-depth training. Also note any FSP people to avoid in the future…