by Sommer Panage based on the rider of Tatiana Mac
Last updated 11 May 2023
In the aftermath and lessons of the global pandemic, I am taking in-person events on a carefully considered, case-by-case basis based on flu/COVID/other-illness case rates in my location and the event location, as well as travel safety and personal considerations at the time. I will make my best estimates based on the dates provided; however, I do reserve the right to cancel my appearence due to safety concerns. (To date, I have not needed to exercise this.)
I am happy to consider all remote/"Zoom" style engatements.
- Business-class airfare (Economy OK for flights < 3 hours) and local transportation to the conference (unless lodging is within walking distance)
- For not-for-profit/community conferences where tickets are free/very low-priced, I recognize that business-class air travel might be prohibitivly expensive to the organizers. In this case, I request a travel stipend that covers the above costs for economy travel, as I may be able to cover my own upgrade via points on various airlines.
- U.S. conferences: For full length of conference, minus workshops/auxiliary events (unless I am partaking in those)
- International conferences (outside of U.S.): One (1) full day of lodging before the conference + length of conference/workshops (if I'm participating) + evening that I speak.
- Provide both a reimbursement option and the option to purchase all travel and accommodation on behalf of the speaker.
- Leave conference credit card on file for the hotel. (Many folks cannot afford a large hold on their credit card, don't have access to credit cards (this becomes further complicated by international conferences).)
- Generally, I prefer to have remote conferences (particularly those in very different time zones) to be pre-recorded. As I cannot guarantee internet stability, I would not want to compromise conference quality.
- For live sessions, ensuring we have some sort of back-up plan and run-of-show prior with internet speed tests, tech check, etc.
- Question and answer sessions need to be moderated by someone trained on your code of conduct with strict no harassment and trolling policies.
- Chat spaces must have conference moderators who are trained to follow your Code of Conduct (see section below).
- The space should be accessible to WCAG AA standards.
- For-profit conferences, I ask for $1,000-$2,500 USD depending on ticket costs and conference accessibility and value.
- For not-for-profit/community conferences where tickets are free/very low-priced, I will heavily discount or waive my fee depending on similar criteria above.
- For internal/private speaking events, I ask for $1,500-$8,000 USD depending on audience size, how my recorded talk will be used/distributed (private v. public), revenue/philanthropy of your company, the length and nature of the engagement (Q&A, talk + Q&A, workshop, etc).
- If there are multiple speakers, we must all be paid equally (or based solely on talk legnth, if there are different talk-length categories at the event, such as "lightening talks.")
- If I am invited as a "keynote speaker", which is often paid more, I will offer to redistribute my "celebrity fee" to all speakers.
- A ticket for myself for the full event, plus up to 1 (one) additional ticket for a travel companion, if I have one (I generally do not, but when I do, I like them to be able to attend as well.)
- You must have a dedication to protecting the most marginalised and minoritised individuals.
- Your CoC needs to explicitly call out what abuse is with clear examples (not limited to).
- You must have clearly defined methods for dealing with conflicts when they arise with trained staff to address conflicts and be prepared to appropriately handle complaints. CoCs are only as good as their enforcement.
- Both Write Speak Code and JSConfEU provide excellent CoCs that can serve as strong starting points.
- All areas that are part of the conference should be accessible. That means:
- Attendee seating
- Stage, even if you don't think you have speakers who require mobility aids. Because again, it needs to be accessible at all points to be accessible. It can't be conditional. Think about how things come up. Think about how we should not burden people to self-identify and plan as much as we can help it.
- Social events tied to the conference within the venue and outside of the venue must be accessible especially if you use these social events to sell the networking aspects.
- Accessibility of space should follow the criteria of the American Disabilities Act and/or equivalent local standards.
- Ideally conducted by a live-captioning company, but in dire circumstances, using auto-captioning as a "better-than-nothing" option.
- Live captioning helps a vast array of people with disabilities, from Deaf and Hard of Hearing, to neurodivergent folks, to learning language speakers, and people at the intersection of all those things.
- More than 1 non-man of color
- No all-white panels
- For full speaker set, representation across race; gender identity, expression, and orientation; physical and mental disability. The larger your speaker list, the higher my expectations will be of equitable representation.
- If I am on a panel, it must be moderated, ideally by a trained moderator.
- Security should be provided as needed.
- No selling of data/information, especially not to conference sponsors. If contact information is gathered, it must be done with consent and to General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
- Ensure that you have an option that is both gender neutral and accessible.
- If multi-level, please ensure gender neutral and accessible options are not restricted to one floor/location.
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- Gender-neutral parent stalls.
- Provide stickers/pins/printed on/writing space for nametags.
- Pronouns should be optional for attendees to self-identify, but provided nonetheless.
- They, she, and he at the bare minimum. Options should be combinable.
- Pronouns should be listed on website/printed materials (but always optional).
- Confirm with speakers before announcing them on stage.
- Accessible stage (see above)
- Wireless microphone option (handheld or microphone)
- Utilised for all staged aspects of conference (Q&A from audience, workshop speakers, etc).
- Confidence monitor viewable from stage
- Confidence monitors are second screens (outside of my laptop) that present my slides/speaker notes. They're usually only visible to me from the stage.
- If it's a tiny venue without the rigging, my laptop on a small, adjustable table near me should work.
- Timer viewable from stage
- If you are going to be strict about the timeline, then you need to provide this. You can include this with the confidence monitor/my laptop/a small kitchen timer.
- I will allow video recordings/live streams so long as they are accessible (captioned) and free (no paywalls!) with written permission prior.
- No censorship of my content, written, verbal, visual.
- No branding of my content (I will not use branded slide templates, etc.).
- I have different talks in different formats that have developed over the years. It is often a massive amount of work to convert them, so I do not do that any more.
- I personally prefer to present always on my own machine; however, both should be options to be equitable across speaker needs and preferences.
- If for any reason your conference, other speakers, sponsors, attendees, third-party vendors, etc demonstrate inappropriate behaviour/bigotry (determined by the code of conduct and also I reserve the right to determine beyond), I reserve the right to withdraw from the conference at any point without consequence.
- Withdrawal may mean that I no longer want my identity associated with your conference (i.e., videos recorded to be deleted/not published, for example) and ask for commitment of removal as soon as possible in writing.
- The reason for this is that I feel resistance only works if you take meaningful action. Sometimes that meaningful option is opting out of situations.
- You are responsible for reimbursing me for any costs associated with this, not limited to accommodations and travel plan changes.
- I have never had to exercise this right—and hope to never have to. I would imagine no conference organiser would want this either.
- I have never had to exercise force majeure and it will be my last resort if all else fails. In most situations, I feel confident we can collaborate to find an effective, less dire solution to the problem.
If you are interested in having me speak, please provide the following:
- Confirmation you have read this speaker rider with questions/any criteria you are unable to meet
- Conference name, website, date of events, location
- Budget for speaker honorarium
- Tentative/confirmed speaker list
- What you are interested in having me speak about
- Please email all requests to me@sommerpanage.com
Thank you!