Read the report on the web here: https://sparcopen.github.io/opencon-dei-report/ or download the PDF
OpenCon is a platform for creating, empowering, and connecting the next generation of leaders to advance Open Access, Open Data and Open Education–across disciplines, and in every corner of the globe. OpenCon’s initiatives include an annual flagship global conference, satellite events organized by volunteer hosts around the world, and ongoing online community. Each year, OpenCon’s global conference convenes promising students and early career academic professionals from around the world interested in opening research and education.
Central to advancing Open Access, Open Data, and Open Education is the belief that information should be shared in an equitable and accessible way. It is important to us that OpenCon reflects these values—equity, accessibility, and inclusion—both in our communities and in the design of our conference. We recognize that although the Open movements are global in nature, privileged voices are typically prioritized in conferences while marginalized ones are excluded from the conversation. To avoid creating an environment that replicates power structures that exist in society, OpenCon does its best to design a meeting that (1) is accessible and inclusive, (2) meaningfully engages diverse perspectives, and (3) centers conversations around equity.
Although OpenCon participants come from diverse geographical locations, over the years we have learned that inclusion means more than simply having diverse representation in the room. Both as a conference and global community, we continue to work on making OpenCon a more inclusive space. We are constantly learning. This report was created to:
- Keep OpenCon transparent and accountable to our commitments to equity, diversity, and inclusion
- Share our learnings as conference organizers and encourage others to organize events that center on diversity, equity, and inclusion
- Encourage iteration and feedback from the broader community
- Files for the report
- The website for the report website
- Downloadable open data sets from OpenCon
- Contributor Guidelines and other project documentation
We have a couple of other repositories for OpenCon including one where we plan OpenCon openly. You can find them here.