1. Code of conduct for volunteers and participants

The following are a guide to helping create a safe and protective culture for young people, staff and volunteers, promoting good practice and a safeguarding culture.    

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Practice to be encouraged:

• Keep a positive attitude

• Treat others with dignity and respect regardless of race, colour, gender, language, religion, political or other opinion, national, ethnic or social origin, property, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, birth or other status, and accordingly refrain from language or behaviour that is abusive, demeaning, or culturally inappropriate.

• Respect the health and safety of others. This precludes acts or threats of violence, or conduct reasonably likely to endanger the physical or mental health of other persons.

• Never engage in harassment or sexual harassment in any medium (including in person, in writing, or online).

• Never engage in behaviour to shame, humiliate, belittle or degrade others, or otherwise emotionally abuse others.

• Refrain from discriminating against a member or participant on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, creed, or disability.

• Refrain from stealing, damaging or misusing the property or facilities of the event/meeting.

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2. Alcohol policy

All BRYC members and event participants are ultimately responsible for their choices and behavior regarding the consumption of alcohol when it is available at BRYC’s meetings and events. BRYC members should be aware they may be held individually or collectively liable for incidents from the uncontrolled or illegal use of alcohol. Accordingly, BRYC members are expected to act appropriately and comply with the code of conduct.

Alcohol consumption is prohibited during any of BRYC’s meetings or events involving youth participants under the age of 18. Any meeting or event organized by BRYC that involves underaged participants must have a designated person responsible for monitoring that participants follow these rules. This also includes making sure that the following situations are avoided: 

 

• Alcohol consumption by participants under the age of 18

• Alcohol consumption by participants over the age of 18 in front of underaged participants / exposure of alcohol to underaged participants

• Drunkness and inappropriate behaviour during BRYC’s activities

• Avoid organizing activities in places that sell alcohol if there are participants under 18. If parts of a youth event does take place in an area that sells alcoholic beverages, BRYC shall make sure that participants refrain from alcohol consumption if there are underage participants present, and that excessive alcohol use is avoided regardless.

• In case of any unfortunate events, make sure the designated person (e.g. a BRYC board member) is present and able to solve the situation.

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3. Safe use of social media 

No member of BRYC, or any other person affiliated with BRYC, is allowed to publically post images or videos of individuals without their consent. All BRYC members, as well as event and meeting participants, must give BRYC their consent to publically post any images, videos or information with their names. This consent is usually requested in the registration form for an event or meeting.  

 

Encouraged social media behavior:

• If you’re in a public forum, keep it light and positive. If you can’t, keep quiet

• Take care when posting pictures of others

• Be generous, give credit and think before tagging

• If you tag someone, just think of how you would feel if they did the same to you

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4. Anti-bullying policy

Dealing with bullying can be a complicated issue, as it may be unclear what is actually happening. Creating a positive, inclusive and open environment is the key to preventing opportunities for bullying to develop. Proactively including anti-discrimination work in our programme and challenging any discriminatory attitudes will help generate an atmosphere that doesn't tolerate bullying. Rewarding positive and inclusive behaviour (e.g. young people welcoming a new member) further promotes a safe environment for young people.

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5. Complaints policy

BRYC is committed to providing the best possible service to everyone we deal with. This also relates to the organization of our youth events and activities. We acknowledge, however, that on certain occasions, members of our community, partners, event participants, and volunteers may not be satisfied with the quality of practice or conduct of BRYC.

In order to improve our work we need you to give us any comments about our performance, and to tell us when we get things wrong. We want to help you resolve your complaint as quickly as possible. We treat as a complaint any expression of dissatisfaction with our work which calls for a response. We listen to your complaints, treat them seriously, and learn from them so that we can continuously improve our practices.

 

When can I complain?

• If you believe you have been treated unfairly on the grounds of matters like gender, race, ethnicity, nationality, colour, disability, sexual orientation or religious belief

• If you feel we have failed to provide a key service

• In relation to the quality of the workshops, or any other activities during the event

• In relation to a decision made by BRYC during the event

• If you have experienced a significant delay in receiving a response

• If our staff and/or volunteers have been rude or unhelpful

• If you disagree with a decision we have made or a policy we operate

• If you or your child feels that they have experienced bullying and it has not been addressed to your satisfaction

 

How can I complain?
There are two (2) forms of complaint that you can make: these are:

 

Informal complaints
You can make an informal complaint to any member of BRYC. Any member of BRYC will be happy to inform you of the appropriate person to speak to [Please provide the name and contact information of the person responsible for complaints at the given event]. You can make this complaint in person, by telephone or e-mail.

 

Our aim is to:

• Listen to your complaint

• Apologize where necessary

• Agree on a solution

 

Formal complaints
You can make a formal complaint at any time and you do not have to make an informal complaint initially. The process for making a formal complaint will be the following stages:

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• Fill in the Complaint Form

• We will provide our initial response within 2-3 weeks (except at holiday times)

• You have the right to appeal this decision by writing to the Chair of BRYC