LAST UPDATED: MARCH, 2024
Toward JUSTICE
When the Boston Birding Festival was originally conceived (2019), it was not uncommon for many festivals to feature programming that consisted almost entirely of presentations by white men.
Indeed, our earliest conversations about creating a different kind of festival were conversations about including more women, more people of color, people of different ages, and a wider diversity of life histories and perspectives.
Many bird and nature festivals are working hard to eliminate bias, increase representation, and make inclusivity the norm. Many now feature a diverse range of speakers and trip leaders. This is progress.
THE FESTIVAL IS COMMITTED TO INCREASED DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION
Here’s where we are: The Boston Birding Festival is a new nonprofit (2023) organization founded by a very small group of volunteers out of a wish to use our skills in service to conservation, birds and environmental justice.
As we develop as an organization, we are committed to becoming a diverse, inclusive, and equitable organization where staff, volunteers, leadership, and participants feel respected and valued regardless of gender, age, race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation or identity, disability, education, or any other bias. We are also dedicated to making the Festival a partner, ally, and resource for other organizations.
Our 2024-2026 GOALS
Our goals are public. We will provide occasional updates, revisit these goals often, and add new goals as we move forward. We welcome your suggestions, advice, and comments.
Email us at admin@bostonbirdingfestival.org.
DIVERSITY
- By Jan 1 2025, the Board will set a process, goals and deadlines for representation at the board level as well as preliminary targets for programming.
- The current organizing team will conduct and gather research, feedback, survey data from listening sessions to learn more about what diversity means to our audiences.
- The Board will seek guidance from model/mentor organizations and diversity leaders on best practices in preparation for developinga detailed diversity plan for 2025-2026.
EQUITY
- When the Festival is able to hire staff, equity best practices will be built in to all hiring and training processes. We will begin to identify and examine these best practices in 2024.
- The Festival commits to spending a minimum of 20% of its operating budget on BIPOC and women-owned business and service providers.
Inclusion
- The Festival will support the removal of the Audubon name.
- The Festival will seek support and relationships from Funders committed to increaingly equity and accountability.
- The Festival will seek Program Partners commited to equity, environmental justice and diversity.
POLICIES AND PROCESSES
- Sustability and equity concerns will be part of our decision-making processes and policies and we will strive to include a wide range of voices in the development of any policy we decide to implement.
- The Festival will seek to develop an inclusive volunteer program.
- The Festival commits to always be learning how to be a better organization and will include regular time in meetings to discuss this goal and our progress.
