Our commitment:
Palette Skills is committed to ensuring that all of our participants, volunteers, employers, and employees are treated with dignity, civility, and respect. Our programs, communication channels, and classrooms are places for everyone. We are creating a community where all participants can enjoy learning that fuels a passion to build new careers.
As an organization that cares about diversity, and a Canadian platform fostering a vibrant community, we are committed to providing a safe, dynamic, and engaging environment for live interactive experiences as part of our programs. We may not agree with every view or opinion expressed, but we believe in the fundamental right to free speech and assembly.
To help you understand what is acceptable at Palette Skills, and what crosses the line, we invite you to read these community guidelines. Let’s start by talking about the kind of things that make for a great community.
Let’s do more of these things:
Participate, learn, and enjoy the experience
Our programs offer you a pathway to a new career, and they work best when you are fully involved. We encourage you to immerse yourself in the experience. Take the initiative, create dialogue, and build relationships. Take notes, ask questions, listen to feedback. While you’re here, you have the chance to grow as a person, not just as a job seeker.
Be kind and courteous
Building a welcoming environment for everyone doesn’t happen by magic. It requires mindfulness and consideration. Take the time to treat everyone with respect. Healthy discussions are natural, and people can disagree, but we believe that kindness is essential.
Be a good listener
One of the most important leadership skills is the ability to listen. At Palette Skills, we take the idea of active listening seriously. Really listening to another person will not only help you in your career, it will also help ensure that you get the most out of your learning experience.
Share respectful, positive content
We encourage the use of content that celebrates different cultures, countries, and voices. Express yourself and inspire our community with your unique perspective and insight. Be mindful that some content can be hurtful to others. Choose not to share material that may offend people in your group.
Respect privacy
Being part of this group requires mutual trust. Authentic, expressive discussions make groups great, but be aware that often, people share experiences that are sensitive and private. A good rule to follow is that what is shared in the group should stay in the group.
Make sure everyone feels safe
We encourage you to be yourself, and to let your personality shine through. But this should never be at the expense of others. Palette Skills does not tolerate bullying of any kind. Degrading comments about people’s ethnicity, religion, culture, sexual orientation, gender, or identity will not be tolerated. People who make these kinds of comments may be asked to leave the program.
Post your own or properly obtained content
You are welcome to use content that you’ve created yourself, or that you have obtained appropriately. Do not share material that is hateful or explicit in nature, or that violates these guidelines. Respect copyright, and the privacy of others. This includes photos, videos, logos, and written material.
Let’s do less of these things:
You may not use Palette events to post content or engage in conduct that is (in our judgment) offensive, harmful, or inappropriate for general audiences. Palette Skills will not accept content or behaviour we believe constitutes, encourages, or promotes any harmful, violent, or illegal activity. Please take the time to read and think about the kinds of things that go against our community standards.
- Do not distribute any content through our platform that has:
- Overly promotional content
- Political or religious content
- Irrelevant viral posts
- Negative or derogatory content
Don’t Interfere with Palette Skills programming
To maintain the security and integrity of Palette Skills Programs, you may not do any of the following:
- Interfere with or disrupt the operation of the Palette Skills programs;
- Post, transmit, or release into the Palette Skills platform a virus, worm, Trojan Horse, or other malware that is harmful or is intended to damage or monitor any hardware, software or people;
- Access, or program any technology to access our services or use any crawling or scraping technology, for any purpose
- Attempt unauthorized access to our services, accounts, computer systems or networks connected to our services, through password mining or other means.
Don’t disrespect the learning environment
What makes a great learning environment? There are many different answers. Our experience tells us that our programs work best when participants feel safe and free to engage in learning activities. To make sure this happens, be aware of these rules and guidelines:
- Stay focused on the topic being discussed;
- Don’t monopolize conversation or speak over others;
- Share things that are helpful to others;
- Use language that is respectful and professional;
- Use chat and messaging platforms thoughtfully and respectfully;
- Please don’t use all caps in your messages or send too many Emojis;
- Don’t demand that people reply to you right away;
- Don’t add people to your personal groups without their permission;
- Communicate in a way that everyone can understand.
Don’t post hateful, harmful, or illegal content
Palette Skills prohibits content that promotes hate towards people or groups. We expect you to respect the individuals, organizations, and groups that are a part of the Palette Skills community, and the larger Canadian and global community. Do not distribute any content through our platform that:
- Promotes or encourages hate or dangerous content;
- Defames or libels any other person;
- Violates the privacy of others, including using a person’s likeness without their permission;
- Threatens or seeks to intimidate any person;
- Promotes or encourages illegal activity;
- Is fraudulent or deceptive, or
- Is protected by copyright or trademark, unless you have consent from the owner.
Don’t violate intellectual copyright rules
Don’t upload or distribute content you do not have a right to use. This includes images, logos, videos, and written text.
Don’t post explicit content
Palette Skills platform is not a place for pornography or for explicit, violent and/or graphic content.
Let us know: How to flag for review
Our goal is to promote a safe and respectful community. While we make every effort to monitor what happens in the programs we offer, there may be times when instructors are not aware of behaviour and activities that violate our guidelines. If you encounter anything that makes you uncomfortable, or that you think has crossed the line, please contact us right away. We will always respect your privacy, your safety, and your right to learn and grow in a secure environment.
Here’s how to contact us: help@paletteskills.org
Violations of our community guidelines
If we think that a person’s behaviour violates our community guidelines, and poses a risk to others, the learning environment, or to the Palette Skills community generally, we may suspend or terminate that person’s participation with Palette Skills.
If we believe there is a legitimate risk of physical harm to someone or a group of people, or if we become aware of direct threats to public safety, we will contact law enforcement as appropriate, and at our discretion.
Content that violates our community guidelines may be removed or moderated by Palette Skills at our discretion and without warning. We may remove only the relevant content, or take alternative action that Palette Skills determines to be appropriate. If we find that a person’s content seriously violates our guidelines, we may ask the person responsible to leave the program and they may be banned from interacting on our communications platforms.
Harassment and cyberbullying
When people harass others through social media, messaging platforms, applications and other places on the internet, it’s called “cyberbullying.” Even when it takes place on the internet, it’s often the same kind of behaviour that we call bullying in real life. Cyberbullying can involve behaviours such as:
- Sending unsolicited and/or threatening e-mail;
- Spreading rumours or making offensive comments about a person online;
- Harassing a person during a live chat;
- Leaving abusive messages online, including on social media sites; and
- Sending the victim pornography or other graphic material that is knowingly offensive.
If you experience ANY of these or similar behaviours from anyone in your Palette Skills group, do not hesitate to contact your instructor, or someone else at Palette Skills. Our job is to make sure that you can learn and thrive in a safe and respectful environment. We will always respect your privacy, your confidentiality, and your passion for learning.
Online Resources:
- https://www.bullyingcanada.ca/get-help/
- https://www.canada.ca/en/public-safety-canada/campaigns/cyberbullying.html
- https://www.mhfa.ca/en/general-resources
- https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/mental-health-services/mental-health-get-help.html#a2
- https://uwaterloo.ca/human-rights-equity-inclusion/anti-racism
- https://www.crisisservicescanada.ca/en/
- https://ccdi.ca/resources/
