Introducing a resource kit to help organizers handle event safety incidents

Organizing events is difficult. Keeping on top of everything requires a great deal of forward planning, whether it’s a small edit-a-thon in a local library’s reading room or a large, international conference.
In an effort to help organizers learn more about how to effectively implement a friendly space policy at their events, we have created the “Keeping Events Safe” resource kit—a short, high-level booklet which documents the most important aspects of event safety.
The content is aimed towards organizers of small to medium-scale events. It is designed to serve as a beginning point or quick-access guide while an event is taking place.
The booklet discusses what a friendly space policy actually is, including a high-level overview of what it covers, as well as steps on how to take action should someone violate it.
It contains checklists of things that can help organizers prepare themselves for a safe event, such as making preparations at the venue, how to handle reports from attendees, and how to evaluate how things went after the event. In the center of the booklet is a table of how to handle incidents of varying severity, along with examples of incidents that would fall into each.
As well as a physical booklet, the resource kit is available on Meta-Wiki and is fully translatable. The kit can also be printed by organizers for their own events. A limited first run of the printed booklet will be available at the Wikimedia Conference in Berlin from April 18–21, 2018.
The kit is the product of a number of teams from the Community Engagement department, including Support and Safety, Community Resources, Technical Collaboration, and Learning and Evaluation. It has been in the works since the finalization of the Support and Safety training modules in July 2017, and is intended to serve as a more easily-digestible supplement to them. We want to thank the experienced volunteer event organizers who provided ideas and feedback throughout the module drafting process.
Joe Sutherland, Community Advocate, Support
Wikimedia Foundation