SAFER SPACES POLICY

Nuit Blanche Saskatoon is committed to creating inclusive and accessible opportunities open to all people to engage with contemporary art. We strive to ensure that we develop an environment where everyone feels comfortable to freely participate and enjoy art in their own way without any fear of harassment.

To ensure this, we expect attendees and participants to be kind and respectful to each other, the public spaces and environment, our volunteers, our artists, our neighbours and participating neighbourhoods, and to all community members. We will not tolerate: 

  • Any vilifying or hateful language and/or conduct, including but not limited to racist, transphobic/homophobic or sexist language and/or conduct;

  • Any violent, intimidating, anti-social or abusive language and/or conduct;

  • Any language and/or conduct which puts your safety or that of third parties, such as other attendees, artists, or volunteers, at risk.

Disruptive attendees of this nature may be asked to cease their actions immediately, and if continued, may be removed from the festival site. If necessary, police may be called for assistance.

Despite our best intentions, issues can arise due to inconsiderate behaviour or being unaware. Following the below guidelines encourage mindfulness about these possibilities and maintaining a safer space:

  • Respect each other's personal space and boundaries.

  • Respect each other's identities and backgrounds, including pronouns and names.

  • Be aware that your actions and/or words may have unintended effects on others. Their feelings are valid regardless of your intentions.

  • Assume positive intent. If someone says or does something that crosses a boundary, gently let them know but don’t assume they intended harm.

  • Respect the shared public spaces and the environment.

  • Remember we are all in the process of learning.

If you have experienced or witnessed unsafe behaviour, discrimination, harassment or otherwise inappropriate conduct or need support, visit a volunteer NBYXE Information Tent or contact the nearest NBYXE volunteer. They will put you in touch with a member of the NBYXE Board of Directors.

Volunteer First Aid workers are at Nuit Blanche Saskatoon. 

  • In case of a minor medical issue:  visit a volunteer NBYXE Information Tent or contact the nearest NBYXE volunteer. 

  • In case of a major medical emergency: call 911 immediately.

Feedback survey link goes here

Committee application link goes here

Ways to Report an Incident:

  • Contact festival staff, coordinators or volunteers wearing official lanyards or uniforms.

  • Visit the Information Tent or Merch Tent, for assistance.

  • Email us at hello@nuitblanchesaskatoon.ca

  • In case of a major medical emergency: call 911 immediately.

NBYXE Festival Checklist

Before the Festival

  • Check out our lineup of artists online.

  • Familiarize yourself with a map of the festival.

  • Make sure you are dressed appropriately for the weather.

  • Have concerns you want to let us know about before the festival? Contact us at any time!

During the Festival

  • Be kind and respectful to fellow attendees, volunteers, artists, and anyone else.

  • Respect the shared public spaces and the environment!

  • Dispose of trash properly and pick up after yourself.

After the Festival

  • Fill out the feedback survey and let us know how it went.

  • Consider signing up for a committee position or volunteer next year.

  • Continue being an awesome community member to help create a better festival experience for everyone.

If you have any questions about our NBYXE Safer Spaces policies or initiatives, please email hello@nuitblanchesaskatoon.ca

1.  NBYXE Safer Spaces Policy

The mission of Nuit Blanche Saskatoon (NBYXE) is to celebrate contemporary art and culture, with the city as our canvas. By bringing art into public spaces, we aim to remove barriers, spark curiosity, and enable everyone to enjoy art in their own way. The aim of this policy and related training is to further remove barriers and ensure that we create a safe environment that supports the sharing of art, community, and wonder in Saskatoon.

2. Objectives

NBYXE is committed to creating an environment that is welcoming to all individuals by ensuring the festival is accessible, inclusive, and reflective of the diverse backgrounds of our community. This policy aims to communicate these values in a transparent way in both policy and training to reflect the unique and diverse community that we serve.

3. Training Our Volunteers

To uphold our commitment to a festival that is accessible, inclusive, and reflective of the diverse backgrounds of our community, it is necessary to provide training that ensures that board members, committee members, and volunteers are equipped with the tools to reflect the values of this organization. 

NBYXE aims to train all of it’s volunteers on:

  • Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

  • Accessibility and Safety

  • Situational Deescalation

  • Responding to and Reporting Harassment, Oppressive and Harmful Behaviour

This training will help support NBYXE to create an inclusive and safe festival by removing barriers and ensuring that if an incident occurs, our volunteers will have training to handle such situations with tact, humility, and privacy

4. Conduct of Stakeholder Groups

Stakeholder groups composing and affiliated with NBYXE are necessary to uphold the values and principles outlined in this document. All stakeholder groups, including board members, committee members, volunteers, artists, sponsors, and venue businesses, are expected to conduct themselves in a manner that fosters an inclusive and safe environment at all NBYXE events, spaces, and activities. 

NBYXE supports these stakeholder groups to help them fulfill their responsibilities under this policy, and provides assistance in addressing and resolving incidents that may arise.

5. Expectations of Participants and Attendees

It is our collective responsibility to establish secure environments that are accessible, inclusive, and reflective of the diverse backgrounds of our community to remove barriers, spark curiosity, and enable everyone to enjoy art in their own way.

To meet this responsibility, participants and attendees must observe the following guidelines when engaging with NBYXE spaces:

  • Respect each others personal space and boundaries.

  • Respect each others identities and backgrounds, including pronouns and name.

  • Be aware that your actions and/or words may have unintended effects on others. Their feelings are valid regardless of your intentions.

  • Assume positive intent. If someone says or does something that crosses a boundary, gently let them know but don’t assume they intended harm.

  • Respect the shared public spaces and the environment.

  • Remember we are all in the process of learning.

6. Reporting Harassment, Oppressive and Harmful Behaviour

If you witness any harassment, oppressive or harmful behaviour at a Nuit Blanche Saskatoon event, please bring it to the attention of a NBYXE volunteer immediately.  Do not wait until after the event has ended.  The volunteer will put you in contact with a member of the NBYXE Board of Directors, who will hear and address the issue to the best of their ability.  

  • In case of a major emergency, including major medical emergencies, security emergencies, and acts of physical violence: call 911 immediately and follow their directions.

7. How We Respond to Violations

Reports of harassment, and oppressive and harmful behaviour are all taken seriously by the Board of Directors of NBYXE.  We take a zero tolerance stance to harassment and oppressive and harmful behaviour.  Our process for responding to violations of this policy follows:

  1. A member of the Board of Directors receives and documents the reported violation.

  2. The Board of Directors assesses the situation, and determines steps to immediately eliminate or mitigate the reported violation.

  3. The Board of Directors will appoint an internal investigator, who will be tasked with conducting interviews with those involved and witnesses, gathering evidence, analyzing their findings, and presenting their findings to the Board of Directors. 

  4. The Board of Directors will review the findings of the Investigator and determine appropriate actions to address the reported violation and ensure that preventative measures are in place to prevent future violations.

For more information, please refer to the Nuit Blanche Harassment Policy.

8. Questions, Concerns, FeedbacK

If you have any questions about our NBYXE Safer Spaces policies or initiatives, please email hello@nuitblanchesaskatoon.ca

This email account is monitored by the Chair of the NBYXE Board of Directors.