Diversity & Inclusion

MMSys is deeply committed to providing a respectful and inclusive environment for exchanging ideas and networking. Our mission is to make the conference a welcoming and safe place for researchers to present their research results and to spark innovative ideas, regardless of age, sex, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, (dis)ability, physical appearance, race, ethnicity, nationality, marital status, military status, veteran status, religious beliefs, dietary requirements, childbirth and pregnancy-related medical conditions or childcare requirements. We also respect any other status protected by laws of the country in which the conference is being held.

As the organizing committee, we commit to providing a harassment-free and pleasant conference experience with equity in rights for all participants. We do not tolerate harassment of conference participants. Harassment includes but is not limited to overt and/or covert acts of:

• Verbal accusations or bullying
• Deliberate intimidation, stalking or following both in person and online
• Harassing photography or recording
• Sustained disruption of talks or other events
• Interference with a person’s participation or opportunity for participation
• Inappropriate physical contact
• Unwelcome sexual attention
• Advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above behaviour

We expect all interactions between attendees to be respectful and constructive, including interactions during the review process, at the conference itself and on social media. Conference participants violating these rules may be sanctioned or expelled from the conference (without a refund) at the discretion of the conference organizers.

Since MMSys is an ACM conference, attendees, speakers and organizers are bound by ACM's Policy Against Harassment.

Anyone witnessing or subject to an unacceptable behaviour should notify the general chairs (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) or the diversity and inclusion chairs (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

ACM MMSys 2022 Diversity & Inclusion Panel Topic: "Designing Inclusivity in Technologies"

Time/Date: 16:35pm – 17:15pm, 15th June 2022

Description:

Inclusive Design is an approach used in many sectors to try and allow everyone to experience our services and products in an equitable way. One of the ways we could do this is by celebrating diversity in how we design and take into account the different barriers faced by different communities across the globe. This panel brings together experts to discuss what inclusive design looks like for them, the charms of the communities they work with, the challenges they face in designing with and for them and how other communities can learn from the methods they have used in order to build a more inclusive world that benefits all of us.

We are honoured to host three wonderful panellists to discuss topics related to research and practice around “Designing Inclusivity in Technologies”.

• Veronica Orvalho: Professor at Porto University’s Instituto de Telecomunicações and the Founder/CEO of Didimo – a platform that enables users generate digital humans.
• Nitesh Goyal: Leads research on Responsible AI tools at Google Research.
• Kellie Morrissey: Researcher & Lecturer at University of Limerick’s School of Design.

This panel was made possible due to the support received through an SIGMM grant in order to build awareness on the importance of thinking about inclusion in designing technologies for the masses. The Diversity & Inclusion Chairs, Mark Daly, Katrien De Moor and Vinoba Vinayagamoorthy, arranged for this panel for the benefit of MMSys 2022 attendees.

Format: Panellists will each give a 5-7 minutes talk about their field of work and point of view to kick off the hour. The rest of the hour (~30 mins) will be spent discussing various topics, in addition to answering any questions the MMSys attendees put forth to the panel live.

Paper Mentoring

As part of the MMSys 2022 submission process, we are offering the opportunity to receive feedback and guidance from established researchers on your work in advance of submission. Mentors will be able to advise on how to structure papers, give editorial tips, and proofread submissions, but not to offer opinions on methodology or the ideas being presented.

This year’s Paper Mentor program is specifically targeted towards Research track and Special Session track submissions so that those who need additional support in their submission can be assisted. This is primarily aimed at those who are new to submitting an academic paper, those in circumstances which are particularly adverse (e.g. a disability or personal circumstances which impact upon the paper preparation process), those for whom English is a second language or a particularly novel submission which may require additional input. If your application for paper mentoring is successful, we will put you in contact with a specific member of the community who will provide feedback and support on the presentation of your submission.

Those receiving mentoring will be offered (dependent on individual circumstances):

• Opportunity for feedback over a video call from their mentor, or
• A commented draft per each feedback session.

Deadlines for applying for mentoring (research paper track): 10th of January, 2022
Deadlines for applying for mentoring (special sessions track): 21th of January, 2022

Applications for mentoring can be made by email to the diversity chairs at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Applications do not need to be in any special format. However, it can be helpful in finding the right mentor if you include some information about your paper topic when applying. These will be kept confidential and blinded from the reviewing process.