UIST 2019 Diversity and Inclusion Statement

The open exchange of ideas and the freedom of thought and expression are central to the aims and goals of the UIST 2019 conference. The UIST community commits to providing a harassment-free, accessible, and pleasant conference experience with equity in rights for all. We want every participant to feel welcome, included, and safe at the conference. Moreover, we will do our best to accommodate specific needs such as accessibility, or dietary requirements. We cannot promise to solve every issue, but will try our best.

We aim to provide a safe, respectful, and harassment-free conference environment for everyone involved regardless of age, sex, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, (dis)ability, physical appearance, race, ethnicity, nationality, marital status, military status, veteran status, religious beliefs, dietary requirements, childbirth- and pregnancy-related medical conditions or childcare requirements. We also respect any other status protected by laws of the country in which the conference or program is being held.

We do not tolerate harassment of conference participants. Harassment includes but is not limited to overt and/or covert acts of:

• Verbal accusations or bullying
• Deliberate intimidation, stalking, or following both in person and online
• Harassing photography or recording
• Sustained disruption of talks or other events
• Interference with a person’s participation or opportunity for participation
• Inappropriate physical contact
• Unwelcome sexual attention
• Advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above behavior

We expect all interactions between attendees to be respectful and constructive, including interactions during the review process, at the conference itself, and on social media. Conference participants violating these rules may be sanctioned or expelled from the conference (without a refund) at the discretion of the conference organizers.

Please see the UIST Accessibility FAQ and the ACM Policy Against Harassment and Discrimination for more details.

Anyone witnessing or subject to unacceptable behavior should notify the General Chair (chair@uist.org) or the Diversity and Inclusion Chairs (diversity@uist.org). For accessibility concerns please contact the Accessibility Chair (accessibility@uist.org).

This statement was adopted from the Diversity and Inclusion Statement for ACM DIS 2019.

Special Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge our sponsors, the National Science Foundation and SIGCHI Development Fund, who supported our efforts to broaden participation at UIST 2019 through travel scholarships provided to students from historically underrepresented backgrounds to attend the conference and participate in the Student Innovation Contest.