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BLOG POST

Our Commitment to Accessibility and Inclusion

AI is ready for everyone, but we understand that attending a conference can be more difficult for some people.

We want to be direct about this: You are welcome here.

Below are the facilities and initiatives we have in place to make our events as accessible and inclusive as possible, so that everyone has a great time.

1. The Code of Conduct

  • All attendees, speakers and sponsors have agreed to a code of conduct
  • The code of conduct is enforced and we will have representatives visible and present on the day if you need to report inappropriate behaviour
  • The code of conduct extends to our social events


2. Facilities and Accessibility at The Venue

  • The venue is on one level and has step free access from both London Underground and Liverpool Street Train Station (details here)
  • We have both gender neutral and single gender bathrooms. It is your choice which bathroom you use
  • We have pop up creche at the venue to enable parents of young children to attend
  • The venue has a selection of furniture available if you require a larger seat
  • We can provide a chaperone to support you on the day, let us know what you need help with by dropping us an email [email protected]
  • The venue has a prayer room
  • There is a hearing loop available during the plenaries and in one of the breakout rooms. Unfortunately there will be 2 afternoon breakout rooms without a hearing loop
  • Live closed captioning will be available for all talks. If you find this valuable we recommend sitting near the front close to the closed captioning screens
  • Conferences can be overwhelming and it can be useful to take a timeout during the event, we recommend the cafe on the ground floor for this. You can leave and re-enter as many times as you need

3. The Date

  • The date was selected to ensure it does not clash with half term, allowing more parents to attend
  • The date was selected to avoid clashing with religious festivals and holidays 

4. The Price

  • AI for the rest of us is a fraction of the price of other AI conferences in London which can be as much as £2k
  • We keep prices low so that as many people as possible can attend
  • See below for more information on the financial support we have available if £440 is still out of reach for you


5. Food and Drink

  • When you register for a ticket you will be asked for your dietary requirements
  • By default we will offer vegetarian, vegan, gluten free and halal food
  • If you require a kosher meal or have an allergy we will arrange a separate meal for you
  • There will be delicious non-alcoholic beverages available at socials


6. The Talks

All speakers have been given the same brief...

  • Do not assume any prior knowledge
  • Allow enough time to explain new concepts as you introduce them
  • Avoid jargon and explain things in simple terms
  • It is better to cover less and do it well

The agenda...

  • The conference program is designed in such a way that the talks on Day 2 build upon knowledge gained on Day 1
  • There are a small number of sponsored speaking slots on the agenda. These speakers are given the same brief as everyone else and the sponsors are working with us to ensure their content is in keeping with the ethos of the event
  • All talks are recorded and summarised after the event so there’s no need to feel pressurised to take notes, although you are of course welcome to do so

7. Diversity

It can be daunting to be the only person like you in the room so we are intentional in our outreach and we’re committed to creating a diverse community.

  • We partner with local communities and provide discounted and free tickets to under-represented, under-employed or unwaged people
  • There are no all male panels or tracks at our events
  • Pronoun stickers are provided to all attendees and everyone is encouraged to use them

8. Age

  • We welcome people of all ages
  • Under 18s will need to be accompanied by an over 18


9. Photography

  • There are coloured lanyards for people who do not wish to appear in photographs
  • Official photographers and attendees will be asked to cooperate with your preferences


10. Networking on your terms

  • Not everyone is comfortable talking to strangers and that’s totally ok at AI for the rest of us
  • We provide stickers for everyone to place on their lanyards indicating if you’re happy to be approached by someone you don’t know. It’s like a traffic light system for networking!!
  • We have built a schedule that does not assume any prior knowledge of AI, but of course we will have experts in the room. To avoid mansplaining and encourage learning from each other we will provide stickers for the “experts” in the room so you know where to direct your questions
  • We have “birds of a feather” areas at the venue so you can network with people from your industry during breaks and meals. It’s always enlightening to drop in and meet people who have very different careers too!

11. Financial Support

  • We have diversity and unwaged scholarships available: please apply here
  • We have supporter tickets available for £660. If you can afford to buy a supporter ticket the extra money goes directly towards issuing more free scholarships
  • If you have a fixed Learning and Personal Development budget from your employer please email us at [email protected] with a screen grab of your employers policy and we will try to match this if at all possible

Do you like what you're reading here? Do you want to help create a fun and welcoming event?

  • We need some help on the day to make sure everything runs smoothly. Offer your time as a volunteer and you will get to attend most of the conference for free in exchange for doing a couple of shifts “on duty”
  • Drop us an email [email protected] 

With Thanks...

And finally, I want to thank the amazing team at DevOpsDays London who have been unwavering in their commitment to accessibility and inclusion since 2017 and have taught me so much. My hope is that AI for the rest of us can create a community as gloriously diverse as the DevOps community we’ve nurtured over the past 8 years.

AI for the rest of us is brought to you by Kortensia. Kortensia Ltd is a company registered in England and Wales (Company No.15773675)