Merge pull request #1 from girlgunner/patch-2

Update diversity.md

my-project/docs/diversity.md

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 # Diversity and Inclusion Chair
 
+The D&I Chairs at *CL conferences are responsible for promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion by ensuring accessibility, fostering a welcoming environment, and addressing the needs of underrepresented groups within the conference community. Additionally, they must address special requests, such as wheelchair rentals and childcare, and collaborate with the local chairs to ensure these needs are met. 
 
+The regular duties are as follows:
 
+- **D&I Subsidy Allocation**: This role involves managing the call for D&I subsidies, creating and preparing the application form, and making decisions on subsidy allocation—one of the D&I Chairs' most essential responsibilities. D&I subsidies provide financial assistance to individuals from underrepresented or disadvantaged groups, helping to cover expenses such as travel, registration, and accommodations, thereby fostering greater participation and inclusivity at the conference. The suggested working timeline is as follows:
+  - **Before the paper notification**, the D&I Chairs should start by creating an _online application form_ (e.g., using Microsoft Forms or Google Forms) to gather essential information from applicants, including personal details, paper information (e.g., main conference/Findings/workshop papers, long/short papers), first-time attendance status, student status, financial situation, and whether a visa is needed to attend the conference. They can design the structure and content of the form based on the information they consider important for determining subsidy allocation and refer to forms from previous conferences to identify additional useful details to include in the application process.
+  - **After the paper notification**, they can put the _call-for-page for D&I subsidies_, ensuring it is published after the notification of acceptance (so authors know they will have the opportunity to present their work). The page should clearly specify the types of expenses covered by the subsidies, such as travel costs, registration fees, membership fees, and pre-paid accommodations (arranged by the ACL business team). The page should also include a link to the online application form, the email contact information for the chairs, the application deadline, and the notification date. It is recommended that the notification be sent out before the early-bird registration deadline, allowing applicants who do not receive subsidies to still register at the discounted early-bird rate. For guidance, the chairs can refer to call-for-pages from previous conferences. Once the page is finalized, the D&I Chairs can collaborate with the Website Chairs to publish it on the conference website and seek assistance from the Publicity Chairs to promote the call.
+  - **While waiting for the applications**, the chairs should coordinate with the ACL business team to determine the _subsidies available for the conference_, which can be funded through two sources: ACL and conference sponsors. They can also discuss within the D&I team to establish _a policy for allocating the subsidies_, such as providing partial support to a larger number of applicants or offering full support to fewer individuals. 
+  - **After the application deadline**, the chairs should review all applications and shortlist candidates for D&I subsidies allocation. The chairs need to estimate the costs of registration, membership, travel, and pre-paid accommodations. Travel costs are determined based on the applicants' locations, while membership and registration fees depend on student status and geographic location (e.g., ACL provides Reduced Rate Memberships: https://www.aclweb.org/portal/content/membership-fees). The hotel pricing for pre-paid accommodations should be provided by the ACL business team. The pre-paid accommodations typically include shared rooms, and the D&I chairs are responsible for pairing awardees for shared accommodations. When making decisions, the D&I chairs are encouraged to collaborate with the Student Volunteer Chairs to determine if a D&I awardee has already been granted a student volunteer position (allowing the registration fee to be excluded from the subsidies).
+  - **At the time of sending notifications**, The chairs should send out three types of _notifications_: a rejection letter for applicants who were not awarded subsidies, an award letter for recipients who do not require pre-paid accommodations, and an award letter for recipients who require pre-paid accommodations, requesting scanned passport pages for the ACL business team to arrange hotel bookings. Since travel costs are provided through reimbursement, the award letters should clearly specify the reimbursement cap, excluding the cost of pre-paid hotels, registration, and membership fees, if applicable. The excluded components are part of the subsidy package but will be directly waived rather than reimbursed. It is recommended that the chairs set a deadline for awardees to accept the subsidies to ensure better utilization of funds (e.g., subsidies declined by awardees can be reallocated to other applicants).
+- **Discounted Virtual Registration**: It is designed to make ACL events accessible to researchers who would otherwise be unable to attend in person and offers an additional opportunity for those who did not receive D&I subsidies to participate virtually. Authors with accepted papers to the conference do not qualify for this program. Students needing financial assistance can apply for D&I subsidies and volunteer grants. The virtual subsidy is available to those in greatest financial need, except in the case of special circumstances. This additional funding is not intended for employed individuals and funded students from the USA, Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and higher-income countries in Asia and the Middle East. Standard student registration rates (including those from these regions) are already substantially discounted. The proposed working timeline is as follows:
+  - The chairs first post a _Call for Discounted Virtual Registration_ accompanied by an online form for applicants to submit their information (similar to the process for D&I subsidies). The chairs can also refer to the call from previous conferences to better understand what should be included in the application form. Similar to the D&I subsidies, it is recommended to issue notifications before the early-bird registration deadline, allowing unsuccessful applicants to register at the early-bird rate.
+  - The chairs should then _shortlist the awardees and assign varying levels of discounts_. Unlike the D&I subsidies, there is no quota or funding cap as long as the list is approved by the  ACL executive committee. However, the chairs should determine the level of discount for each awardee—for instance, $0, $50, or $100 for virtual registration—based on factors such as student status and geographic location. They can also decide whether to waive the membership fee.
+  - After shortlisting, the chairs should share their recommendations with the ACL Equity Director to seek approval from the ACL Executive Committee. They can refer to this page (https://www.aclweb.org/adminwiki/index.php/ACL_Officers) to identify the appropriate points of contact. Once the shortlists are approved, the D&I chairs can proceed with sending notifications accordingly.
+- **D&I Activities Management**: The chairs should organize D&I activities, such as Birds of a Feather (BoF) sessions and affinity group meetings at the conference. The suggested timeline is as follows:
+  - First, check with the Local Chairs regarding the _availability of rooms for D&I activities_.
+  - Then, publish the _Call for D&I Activities_ on the conference website (with assistance from the Website Chairs) to collect requests from attendees interested in organizing D&I activities, such as Birds of a Feather (BoF) sessions and affinity group meetings. The call should include the application submission deadline and an online application form to gather details such as the activity name, organizers, preferred time, and the expected number of participants.
+  - After the application submission deadline, _schedule the D&I activities_ based on the available room resources and the organizers' preferred times.
+  - Finally, _inform both the organizers and the business team_ to include the activities in the conference program.