Diversity, Sustainability, & Inclusion

Open source projects such as PostgreSQL are stronger when all members of our community have an active voice in its leadership and development. Towards that goal, our objective is to increase the participation of diverse community members PGConf NYC. Members of communities who have not historically been well-represented at PostgreSQL conferences and in PostgreSQL activities are encouraged to submit talks for consideration in our Call for Papers, as your voice represents an important and growing part of the PostgreSQL community and the leadership and guidance of our project should reflect our full community of users to the greatest extent possible.

To that end, we have put resources towards the following efforts to increase accessibility, sustainability, and safety at PGConf NYC:

Code of Conduct

We apply a strict anti-harassment policy to our event to make sure we create a safe space for everyone. It includes clear language, clear consequences, and multiple reporting options in terms of method and to people of different genders. This Code of Conduct will be enforced. All attendees, sponsors, team members and vendors will be expected to abide by it.

Venue

Our venue for this year's conference is committed to making hotels, amenities, and services accessible to all guests regardless of abilities and disabilities. More information about accessibility at this year's chosen venue can be found on the hotel's website. Additional information on the venue along with related airport and transportation details can be found on our Venue & Hotel page. Gender neutral and family friendly toilets are also available!

Quiet Room

A quiet room will be made available to all attendees to use for whatever purpose that they need. Need to do a bit of work? Do you just need a quiet place to sit for a while and relax while getting away from the crowds? Regardless of the reason, a room will be made available for that purpose.

Food Accommodations

All attendees have the option while registering for the conference to provide any information regarding desired food accommodations or allergies.

We work with our venue to ensure we can provide adequate nutrition options for every attendee based upon allergies and other dietary requirements detailed (such as Gluten, Nuts, or Shellfish allergies, or Vegan or Kosher dietary restrictions).

Speaker Support

We recognize how important it is to have our speaker lineup also reflect the audience that we want to serve. To that end, we’ve put a lot of emphasis on inviting speakers from a diverse background to bring their knowledge to our audience.

Speakers are provided with a dedicated quiet room for getting ready before their presentation; this space could be used for reviewing slides, making changes, clearing the mind, or whatever else is needed. Additionally, all speakers have the right to request one-on-one mentoring from someone on our committee if advice or assistance is desired for improving a talk, public speaking skills, or with any other questions or concerns.

Sustainability

PGConf NYC is committed to providing an environmentally friendly conference experience, involving an organized approach to introducing sustainable materials and processes throughout the conference. 2019 is the first year of PGConf NYC's sustainable approach, and we are working on making small, manageable changes in order to move on to more widespread and effective permanent changes to how our conference is managed. Our goal is to contribute in a meaningful way towards a greener and more sustainable future.

To that end, we have committed to several actions that will improve our environmental impact from the conference, including but not limited to:

  • Recycling and composting systems will be put in place with convenient and well-marked receptacles.
  • Lights and equipment will be kept turned off when not in use through the use of motion sensors.
  • Explicit effort will be made to utilize food that is locally grown, organic, low in processing, and/or purchased in bulk.
  • Wherever possible, disposable dishes, cutlery, straws, stir-sticks, etc. will not be used for coffee breaks or meals.
  • Leftover materials from the conference, such as reusable tote bags, will be donated to appropriate nonprofit organizations such as food banks.

Our team here at PGConf NYC hope these actions will assist with making the event comfortable for everyone. If there's something more you think we could be doing, please get in touch through our primary email address contact@pgconf.nyc.