Central Asian WikiCon 2025/Safety

SAFETY GUIDELINES FOR PARTICIPANTS

Purpose

The overarching goal of the guideline is to establish a proactive approach to safety, health, and inclusivity, ensuring all participants' well-being from arrival to departure. We recognize the diverse backgrounds of our attendees, encompassing different cultures, languages, beliefs, and needs.

Moreover, with the digital era upon us, the way we connect and share information has transformed dramatically. As such, digital safety and privacy are given paramount importance in these guidelines, ensuring the security of our participants in every dimension, physical and digital.

Recommendations

Local Norms and Customs: Familiarize yourself with local customs, religious practices, and etiquette to show respect and avoid misunderstandings.
Transportation: Use trusted transportation methods recommended by the conference or well-reviewed ones.
Update Software: Ensure all your devices are updated with the latest security patches.
Password Protection: Use strong, unique passwords for all your accounts. Consider a password manager.
Back up all information regularly and store it in a secure offsite location.
Immediately report all breaches/intrusions/denial of service/Ransomware attacks to the Trust and Safety Operations Centre of the Central Asian WikiCon and law enforcement if considered a safe option.
Your online identity needs to be protected. The following resources could help you to stay safe:
- Doxxing: Tips To Protect Yourself Online & How to Minimize Harm by EFF
- Learn about doxing for a more comprehensive self-doxing by the Tactical Tech Collective.
- Remove personal data from the internet by CPJ.
Encrypted Messaging: Use encrypted messaging apps for communication.
Avoid Public Wi-Fi: If you must use it, make sure to connect through a VPN.
Be cautious of emails or messages asking for personal information or payments related to the conference. Always verify with known conference organizers.

Best Practices During the Conference

Behaviour: Avoid public displays of excessive affection and respect personal boundaries.
Cultural Awareness: Be aware of the local cultural nuances, religious practices, and etiquette.
Be respectful and open in your interactions. Embrace diversity and different viewpoints.
Don't interact with people if they don't want to.
Consider the personal space of persons and respect it.

Conclusion

The Central Asian WikiCon 2025 gathers diverse minds, experiences, and cultures. Ensuring safety isn't merely a procedural necessity; it embodies our commitment to providing every attendee with a nurturing, respectful, and secure environment to learn, interact, and collaborate.

The city of Tashkent, with its rich history and cultural tapestry, serves as a backdrop to our discussions, but the responsibility of making the meeting truly successful lies with each of us. The guidelines presented aim to facilitate this endeavor, addressing every facet of safety and inclusion.

Friendly space policy for Central Asian WikiCon 2025

The Wikimedians of the Uzbek Language User Group is dedicated to providing a harassment-free experience for everyone at all venues and events – such as conferences, virtual events, and related social events – that this policy applies to regardless of gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, physical appearance, age, race, ethnicity, political affiliation, national origin, or religion—and not limited to these aspects. We do not tolerate any form of harassment of conference participants. Sexual language and imagery are not appropriate for any conference venue or talks. Any participants violating these rules may be sanctioned or expelled from the conference at the discretion of the conference organizers.

Harassment includes but is not limited to offensive verbal comments related to gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, physical appearance, age, race, ethnicity, political affiliation, national origin, or religion. Harassment also includes sexual images in public spaces, deliberate intimidation, stalking, unwelcome following, harassing photography or recording, sustained disruption of talks or other events, inappropriate physical contact, and unwelcome sexual attention. Participants asked to stop any harassing behavior are expected to comply immediately.

If a participant engages in harassing behavior, the conference organizers may take any action they deem appropriate, including warning the offender or expulsion from the conference. If you are being harassed, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns, please contact a member of the conference staff immediately. Conference staff can be identified by special badges.

Staff will be happy to help participants contact hotel/venue security or local law enforcement, provide escorts, or otherwise assist those experiencing harassment to feel safe for the duration of the conference. We value your attendance.

We expect participants to follow these rules at Wikimedians of the Uzbek Language User Group venues and events - such as conferences, virtual events, and related social events - that this policy applies to.

Youth Safety

The Wikimedians of the Uzbek Language User Group are committed to ensuring a safe and positive experience for young attendees at venues and events that this policy applies to. For this purpose, organizers and participants must follow these requirements:

People of age 14 or younger will not register (or be allowed to register) for or attend Wikimedians of the Uzbek Language User Group events unless accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.
People between the age of 15 to the age of majority in the location of an event will only be able to attend as part of a group with at least one responsible adult. Conference organizers will inform the responsible adult that youth should not be left unattended during an event. If conference organizers are uncertain about the local age of majority, we suggest following the United Nations definition of youth as between ages 15–24.
Mature content such as violent or sexually explicit imagery will not be displayed in public areas of a venue. Spaces where such content is displayed will identify this type of content and require separate registration or sign-up to attend. If the event is designed for young people, this type of content will be avoided altogether. Conference organizers should use their discretion in determining whether content is appropriate for young attendees.

Events or venues designed for young people aged 15–24 will have a safety plan for young attendees including, at minimum:

a contact method displayed at the venue to reach qualified event staff if an attendee is concerned about their own or another young attendee’s safety and
a method for ensuring the event or venue is not attended by uninvited guests.
If the event or venue is overnight, it will also have a method for age-adequately and safely housing young attendees.

Conference organizers will have copies of the youth safety plan available for event attendees.

In addition, conference organizers are responsible for ensuring that their events comply with all local laws and regulations that apply to young attendees.

If you are attending a Wikimedia event or venue and encounter any concerns related to young attendees, please contact a member of the event staff immediately.

Universal Code of Conduct

The WCentral Asian WikiCon 2025 follows the movement's Universal Code of Conduct (UCoC), which covers all movement spaces both in-person and virtual. The UCoC, which we strongly recommend you read before the meeting begins, lays out expected and unacceptable behaviors in the movement. The most relevant of those for the Meeting's purposes are:

Show mutual respect: Practice empathy, assume good faith, participate constructively, and respect the way that contributors name and describe themselves.
Do not harass others: Harassment is strictly prohibited. An incomplete list of things that could qualify as harassment:
Insulting others (including using slurs and stereotypes)
Sexual harassment (including things like commenting on others' bodies and making unwanted - even if well-meaning - sexual advances)
Making threats (individual or general)
Encouraging harm to others (including encouraging someone to self-harm)
Doxing
Hounding
Trolling

While these points present a summary of much of what the UCoC says, please keep in mind that the entire UCoC applies to this event, not just the parts mentioned here.

Trust and Safety officers

TBD

Contact

If you have any questions or comments or need to report something to us, please get in touch with us via ca@wikimedia.org