INCLUSION AND SUSTAINABILITY POLICIES FOR MLSP 2023

The IEEE Signal Processing Society adheres to the IEEE Code of Conduct and is committed to providing equal opportunity to its members, regardless of ethnicity, race, nationality, disability, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, religion, gender, age, and/or personal identity. The Society is committed to a welcoming and inclusive environment that promotes diversity in the signal processing community.

Inability to travel

The Signal Processing Society values diversity. Authors who anticipate inability to travel to a conference are still encouraged to submit papers. Such papers will be reviewed and accepted on their own merit for publication in conference proceedings, without any knowledge of the author’s travel limitations. During paper submission, authors will indicate any possible inability to travel.

• MLSP 2023 aims to have gender and geographical balance: in the speaker selection, it will be exercised care and attention to guarantee a gender balance and a geographical representativity.
  In addition, the Organizing Secretariat will respect every author and participant regardless of their gender identity (whether it is feminine, masculine, both or neither). In respect of the transgender community, the pronouns of the participants will be asked during the registration on an optional basis. It is also possible that they will be printed on the badges that participants will use during the Conference.
• Safer Space Policy: MLSP 2023 aims to foster an environment of respect, which makes all participants feel welcome – particularly those who are typically marginalized or excluded, whether by religion, ethnicity, sex, gender, or sexual identity and orientation. Differing opinions and perspectives are crucial to effective discussion but all attendees ultimately take responsibility for their own speech and behaviour – in person and on social media – throughout the entire event and associated social gatherings.
• Social sustainability: An event is considered socially sustainable when designed, planned and realized with a strategy that minimizes negative impact on the environment and leaves a positive legacy to the host community.
• We have provided reduced fees to meet the needs of students, retirees and participants from lower and middle-income Countries for which registration fees may be difficult to pay.
• MLSP 2023 proposed venue is entirely wheelchair accessible.

• Ask respectful questions and avoid dominating a presenter’s question time to further any particular agenda. Question time after a talk is intended to give presenters the opportunity to expand on their talk in response to audience questions and is not a platform for the audience to individually reply.

• Be mindful of and understand that intersectionality shapes our lived experiences.

• Actively include all attendees in social gatherings (such as post-conference dinners and social events), particularly those for whom English is not a first language and junior students.

Sustainability 

Over the years Symposia has been implementing a large number of operational best practices for the daily running of its structure and all its events, from the selection of materials according to eco-sustainability criteria and the energy efficiency of the equipment, to the procedures for possible work peaks and for the replacement of absent staff.

MLSP 2023 will be an environmentally-friendly event promoting environmental and social solidarity.

Great care will be put in our Green philosophy that will be applied to the catering services as well as to the choice of all equipment, materials, and gadgets and also thanks to the Food for Good project endorsement.

• Food waste: Thanks to the collaboration with Federcongressi & eventi, the food bank network Banco Alimentare and the Fair Event organization Equoevento, we will collect the surplus food at the end of the Conference meals and deliver it to charitable organizations such as family homes, soup kitchens and refugee centres, in accordance with applicable hygiene regulations and in compliance with Italy’s Good Samaritan lay (Law 155/2003).
• Carbon neutral: MLSP 2023 will be climate-friendly and, in the best-case scenario, carbon neutral. As the Organization Secretariat, Symposia minimises the waste of CO₂ emissions during its work and avoid all CO₂ emissions that arise from any conference-related activities and travels. For this reason, in the website and private correspondence with participants, MLSP 2023 staff will inform participants of different possibilities to reach the venue, such as public transportation and bike routes. MLSP 2023 will also prioritize renewable energy sources and eco-friendly merchandise in the conference kit.