Hi! Cate here, I’m one of the co-hosts of try! Swift NYC. We’re getting really excited to welcome you to the event, and I hope you’re also excited.
There are many things I love about hosting a conference, especially one of Natasha’s 😍 but one of the less fun things is dealing with any Code of Conduct violations that might arise. We do have a Code of Conduct for try! Swift, and we take it very seriously.
try! Swift is about building a welcoming community where people can learn together - regardless of race or gender, and regardless of level of experience. The Code of Conduct is about the standards that we need to adhere to in order to create that welcoming environment - especially for newer developers, and those who are from under-indexed groups within tech.
As organisers, it’s important that we do not just commit to adhering to the Code of Conduct, but that we can have credibility in enforcing it. Inclusion is core to the try! Swift event, and it’s a huge part of try! Swift’s success - once again we have a diverse lineup of people from all over the world, with a variety of backgrounds including differences in cultures, life-experiences, gender (40+% women), race, and other criteria. We are also thrilled to be welcoming several first time speakers to the stage. It’s important that our organisers understand these values of inclusion, because without them we cannot put on the kind of welcoming and inclusive event that is a try! Swift event.
Unfortunately, over the past couple of weeks it has become clear that one of the local organising committee members was not able to adhere to the Code of Conduct. We investigated the concerns, found that they were valid, and he is no longer part of or associated with the event. Our apologies go out to those who were on the receiving end of this person’s poor behaviour - try! Swift should be a positive experience, and this person undermined that.
We’re sharing this in the spirit of transparency, because we believe that having a Code of Conduct is easy, enforcement is harder, and an event that cannot enforce their Code of Conduct would be better off not having one at all. If you have any concerns or questions, please do contact us via the contact mechanisms outlined in the Code of Conduct.
Finally - thanks to our local NYC organising team! We appreciate all the hard work they have been putting in, and their patience and understanding as we have dealt with this situation.