Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

Public engagement activities including the Cambridge Festival aim to be inclusive and safe spaces for people of all backgrounds, races and ethnicities, ages, genders, and abilities to engage with our research. 

We know there are persistent structural barriers to equality in many areas of society and there is a lot of work to be done in breaking those down. We hope to help make a step in the right direction by striving for diversity in our speakers, the topics explored, the event and activity formats used and by encouraging and enabling discussion about systemic inequalities such as racism, sexism, and ableism from multiple perspectives. 

We are committed to making our activities productive, supportive and inclusive and have prepared a Code of Conduct to this end. This is to ensure that our activities are a positive experience for every one of all gender identities and expressions, sexual orientations, with any disability and of all races, ethnicities, nationalities, religions/beliefs and other protected identities based on the UK’s 2010 Equality Act. By being part of and attending our events, you are confirming that you will abide by this Code of Conduct in all interactions throughout our activities.

We are committed to making our online content as accessible as possible. If you are unable to access content online, we will provide it in an alternative format. 

While we aim to run our events in fully accessible venues some of our buildings are old with areas are only partially accessible. In these cases we will ensure accessible routes are signposted with volunteers to direct people. 
Please check accessibility information at: https://www.accessable.co.uk/university-of-cambridge and contact the Public Engagement team on 01223 766766 or by email to publicengagement@admin.cam.ac.uk if you have specific requirements 

Public Engagement events, our code of conduct

We are committed to creating an open, inclusive and safe environment where all attendees, event organisers and contributors feel welcome and able to participate at our events.

Everyone involved in activities and events (attendees, volunteers, staff members, organisers and so forth) is subject to the Code of Conduct.

Being part of a public engagement event or activity means:

  • Tolerating and listening to each other’s views
  • Using welcoming and inclusive language
  • Treating everyone with respect
  • Being considerate of event attendees, event staff, organisers and volunteers

We will NOT accept:

  • Abusive, insulting or degrading, threatening, bullying, intimidatory, hateful or otherwise inappropriate behaviour (including speech and/or text and/or imagery)
  • Harassment
  • Discrimination of any kind i.e. offensive comments related to gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, and religion
  • Display of inappropriate content
  • Sustained disruption of talks or events
  • Unauthorised recording or photographing

It is the responsibility of parents and carers to ensure the online safety of the children in their care. This includes making sure that the events and activities accessed by children in their care are age-appropriate and monitoring the child’s communication through online Festival platforms.

Failing to comply with the Code of Conduct could result in the immediate exclusion from any public engagement events or activities (without a refund).

If you think the Code of Conduct is not being followed at an event, please get in touch with the Public Engagement Team at: publicengagement@admin.cam.ac.uk