Bilingualism

Canada is a country with two official languages, English and French, and the CES itself is an officially bilingual organization. In keeping with the CES commitment with bilingualism, we will ensure that English and French are promoted and valued in all possible aspects of our Conference planning, delivery and reporting. 

We will live this value by: 

• adhering to the requirements of the CES policy on official languages; 
• giving French and English equal status in all public written communications; 
• requesting that representatives of the conference organizing committee use both official languages in public communications to the extent possible; 
• inviting CES volunteers to participate in meetings in the official language of their choice; 
• contributing to improved bilingualism at future CES conferences through our reflections and learnings.

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

Diversity is the presence of difference within a given setting, such as a diversity of identities including gender identity, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, religion, disability and other identities that are marginalized or at risk of marginalization. Inclusion is about people with different identities feeling and/or being valued and welcomed within all aspects of our conference. We will achieve our diversity and inclusion outcomes through our equity approach; we recognize that not everyone starts from the same place and that advantages and barriers exist. Our aim is to correct and address these imbalances wherever we can so that all identities have the opportunity to grow, contribute and develop through their participation in any aspect of our conference. 

We will live this value by: 

• seeking out the voices of marginalized identities to better understand the imbalances and ways to overcome; 
• using inclusive language in our communications; 
• contributing to improved equity in future CES conferences through our reflections and learnings.

Active Reconciliation

Our commitment to this value will allow us to actively acknowledge and support the self-determination of Indigenous people and take further steps to explore what meaningful reconciliation will look like and how C2024 can contribute to this.

We will live this value by: 

• paying homage to the First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples in the Atlantic Region on whose lands many of us live and on whose lands the conference will be held; 
• working with local Indigenous communities to determine how the conference can contribute meaningfully to active reconciliation; 
• contributing to the active reconciliation of future CES conferences through our reflections and learnings.

Environmental Sustainability

In its 2019-2024 Strategic Plan, CES made environmental sustainability a guiding principle. Because the national conference is CES’s largest and most resource-consumptive event, greening the conference has been a priority. The 2024 conference organizing committee has also selected environmental sustainability as one of its foundational values. Following the lead of prior conference organizing committees and of the CES Sustainability Working Group, C2024 commits to practices that will minimize and offset our environmental footprint. Our objective is to run a carbon-neutral conference and to support the sustainability of the community in which the conference is taking place. 

The main areas of action are: 

• choosing a conference venue that supports sustainability (energy efficiency, waste management, local and sustainable food sources, accessibility); 
• selecting a sustainable conference hotel (energy use, waste reduction, minimized travel); 
• improving the sustainability of the conference transportation (pollution management, identification of alternatives, carbon offsets); 
• incorporating green factors and equity into all conference activities (e.g., waste reduction); 
• using green communications and conference materials (electronic systems, materials reduction); 
• cultivating the participation in and support for greening through communications to delegates. 

Key aspects that will affect delegates directly for 2024 include: 

• Offering of vegetarian cuisine that meets Canada food guide requirements and that is locally sourced (some references: 1, 2, 3); 
• Promoting personal water bottles to avoid one-time use containers (some references: 1, 2, 3); 
• Making all documentation easily available electronically to avoid printing (some references: 1, 2, 3).

Accessibility

CES is committed to holding accessible conferences that are inclusive for all attendees. Whether in-person or virtual, we aim to have functional and reliable services that encourage all persons, regardless of strengths and abilities, to participate in its programs, workshops and activities. 

We will live this value by: 

• ensuring the conference venue is accessible to everyone;
• providing captioning and simultaneous text-based translation in the plenary room; 
• accommodating dietary restrictions; 
• offering accessible hotels and lodging; 
• developing a new CES conference Accessibility Guidance;
• holding a conference orientation session prior to the conference; 

We encourage attendees to contact us with other ways we can reduce barriers at operations@evaluationcanada.ca.