Code of Conduct

1. Why this Code exists

SparkleUp Events ("SparkleUp", "we") produces international events — festivals, retreats, competitions, and gatherings. Every one of these spaces depends on the same thing: people arriving, feeling welcome, and being free to enjoy themselves without worrying about their safety or dignity. This Code sets out how we make that possible. It translates our values — care, curiosity, respect, safety, and courage — into the everyday practices, expectations, and protections that hold across every event we run. This is version 3.0. It replaces the earlier Tunisia Bachata Festival–specific code and elevates the framework to the SparkleUp level so that it applies uniformly across our full programme, and — where partners have signed on — across their events too. The core commitments are unchanged; what has changed is the scope and the enforcement architecture.

2. Where and to whom this Code applies

The events it covers

• Every event produced by SparkleUp Events, including the Tunisia Bachata Festival and Rebirth.
• Partner events that have signed a written mutual recognition agreement with SparkleUp ("partner events").

The people it covers

Every person present at, or engaged in the production of, an event covered by this Code: attendees, artists, teachers, DJs, staff, volunteers, photographers, vendors, sponsors, and organisers.

The places and moments it covers

For the full duration of each event, and in every space connected to it:

• Workshop rooms, party venues, pool and beach areas.
• Partner hotels, shuttles, and organised excursions.
• Our official online spaces — event pages, community chats, comment sections.

Agreement to this Code is a condition of registration and of engagement in any capacity.

3. Our shared commitment

We ask every participant to:

• Be respectful — Treat others with kindness, regardless of age, background, gender, sexuality, culture, body, nationality, faith, or ability.
• Ask first — Get clear consent before dancing closely, adjusting someone's frame or posture, taking photos, or starting conversations that may be personal.
• Be curious, not careless — Explore new styles, cultures, and people with an open mind, not assumptions.
• Respect boundaries — "No" is a complete answer. Anyone may stop a dance at any point.
• Stay aware — If you notice someone feeling unsafe or out of place, gently check in or alert the Safety Team.
• Dance safely — Avoid moves that could injure others. Dips, lifts, and drops only ever happen by mutual agreement, and never in a crowded space.
• Look after yourself and others — Nobody should be pressured into drinking. Our team will step in if someone appears unable to give clear consent.
• Carry your own identity, not pressure others about theirs — You are welcome to express who you are, where you come from, and what you stand for, within the limits set out in Section 4.

4. Identity, expression, and the limits of the shared space

Our events bring together participants from every part of the world, including from countries and communities that are, or have been, in conflict with one another. This section sets out how we hold that reality without losing either our voice or our shared space.

4.1 What SparkleUp itself says

SparkleUp takes clear positions on questions of human dignity, war, and oppression. Those positions are set out in our public statements. Attendees are not asked to share them or sign on to them — only to have read them and to know where the organisation stands.

4.2 What participants may do

Participants are welcome to express their identity, heritage, and solidarity. This includes:

• Wearing cultural, national, religious, or political symbols of belonging.
• Speaking openly about who they are and where they come from.
• Sharing their experience in conversation with others who are interested.
• Grieving, mourning, or expressing solidarity quietly and personally.

4.3 What participants may not do

The event space is a shared one. The following behaviours move from expression into confrontation, and are not acceptable:

• Confronting, cornering, or following another participant to debate politics, nationality, or war.
• Demanding that anyone denounce, defend, justify, or explain their country, government, military, or community as a condition of dancing, talking, or sharing space.
• Mocking, ridiculing, or dehumanising any nation, people, faith, or community.
• Distributing material or organising activity that calls for violence, dehumanisation, or the denial of any group's right to exist.
• Recording or broadcasting other participants in ways that expose their identity, nationality, or political position without their consent.

4.4 The principle

Expression is welcome. Confrontation is not. We judge what people do, not where they come from. No participant will be required to denounce, defend, or explain their nationality or government as a condition of participation. This protection applies to every nationality, without exception.

5. Extra care where there is a power difference

Artists, teachers, DJs, staff, and volunteers represent the event and are held to a higher standard than guests. Even in the informal and social moments of the festival, people in these roles should remember that their position may carry influence, visibility, trust, or access that other participants do not have. Having a role at the event does not prevent anyone from forming friendships, social connections, or consensual romantic relationships. We do not seek to police private relationships between adults. We do, however, expect people in positions of trust or influence to recognise the power difference that may come with their role and to act with additional care.

That position must never be used to pressure someone, obtain romantic or sexual attention, gain private access or favours, or create the impression that someone’s participation, opportunities, treatment, or standing at the event depends on their personal response. Consent and boundaries must be respected without exception.

Being off shift does not entirely remove this responsibility. Throughout the event, those who represent SparkleUp should remain conscious of their role and uphold the standard of conduct and care that comes with it.

6. Behaviours we will not accept

In addition to the limits set out in Section 4, we will not accept:

• Harassment, bullying, or discrimination — verbal, physical, or online.
• Unwanted physical contact or sexual attention.
• Repeated pressure or approach after someone has declined.
• Hate speech, slurs, or mocking of identity, body, culture, faith, or belief.
• Dangerous or reckless dancing, including unsafe dips, lifts, or drops.
• Filming or photographing someone who has said no, or in private spaces.
• Taking or circulating images that focus on someone's body without their agreement.
• Following, cornering, or intimidating another person, at the venue or outside it.
• Theft, vandalism, or damage to venue property or another participant's belongings.
• Possession or distribution of illegal substances on event premises.
• Any criminal act under the law of the country in which the event takes place.

7. Photography and filming

Official photographers and videographers are engaged at most of our events. They are identifiable while working. Their images may be used to promote SparkleUp events.

• If you would rather not appear in official media, let the videographer / photographer know about it.
• If you appear in an image and want it removed after the event, write to the address published for that event and we will take it down.
• Personal filming is welcome in social areas, but ask before recording an individual or a couple dancing.

8. Report something to the Safety Team

If something happened to you, or you saw something that worried you, tell us. You can report with your name or completely anonymously — either way, a member of our Safety Team reads it and responds. There are three ways to reach us:

• In person — approach any visibly identified member of the Safety Team.
• Through the reporting tool — every event has its own confidential online reporting tool, shared with all participants before the event opens and available throughout; the link for each event is listed in Appendix A. Every question in the form must be answered — where you do not know or would rather not say, the field itself tells you what to write. Anonymous reports are reviewed and acted upon to the extent the information allows.
• By writing to the Conduct Committee directly — the committee's contact channel is published alongside the roster of committee members for each event.

Our response commitment

During event hours, the Safety Team acknowledges every report within two hours and takes immediate protective action where needed. Reports made outside event hours are acknowledged within five working days. Substantive review follows the timelines in Section 14.

Practical help

You can ask us for medical care, a quiet safe space, help getting back to your accommodation, or support in contacting the local authorities. We will arrange it.

Confidentiality

A reporter's identity is not shared with the respondent or the wider community without the reporter's consent, except where local law requires disclosure to authorities.

9. How enforcement works

Every SparkleUp event operates a two-layer enforcement structure: an Immediate Response Team that acts in real time, and a Conduct Committee that reviews every report.

9.1 The Immediate Response Team

The Immediate Response Team — referred to around the venue as the Safety Team — is drawn from each event's own volunteer teams, together with designated safety leads and at least one organiser on call at all times. Looking after guests is these volunteers' everyday role; responding first when something goes wrong is part of it. Which team carries this role at each event is set out in Appendix A. Its members are identifiable at the venue.

The team is authorised to act on its own, without waiting for the Conduct Committee, in order to:

• Separate parties in active conflict.
• Ask a participant to step away from a space, activity, or person.
• Issue a temporary suspension from any activity pending full review.
• Call medical assistance or contact local emergency services in cases of injury or serious risk.
• Remove a participant from the venue in the case of immediate danger, violence, or a serious breach. Removal at this stage is provisional and reviewed by the Conduct Committee within 24 hours.

Every action is documented in writing the same day and passed to the Conduct Committee.

9.2 The Conduct Committee

Each event appoints its own Conduct Committee under a shared framework.

Composition

A Conduct Committee has three to five members. Quorum for any decision is three.

• Independent members (majority). At least two members must be independent of the event's main organisers. Independent members may be drawn from the wider organisation, the broader dance or events community, or qualified individuals from outside the event.
• Organisational representative. One member may come from the

organisation's wider team but must not be one of the event's main organisers.

• External advisor (optional, reserved seat). One seat is reserved for an external safety, ethics, or community-care partner when such a partner is available. The committee functions without this seat filled.
• Alternates. Up to two alternates are appointed to step in when a primary member is unavailable or must recuse themselves.

What members commit to. Confidentiality, impartiality, familiarity with this Code, and the willingness to recuse from any case where they have a personal connection to the reporter or the respondent.

Powers

The Conduct Committee may:

• Review every report received before, during, and after the event.
• Interview the reporter, the respondent, and any witnesses, separately and confidentially.
• Uphold, modify, or reverse any provisional action taken by the Immediate Response Team.
• Determine the appropriate outcome from the list in Section 11.
• Escalate a sanction to a SparkleUp network ban (Section 10).
• Hear appeals (Section 13).
• Recommend changes to the Code, safety practices, or the contracts of staff, instructors, or vendors.

Recusal

A committee member must recuse themselves from any case where they:

• Have a personal, romantic, professional, or financial relationship with the reporter or the respondent.
• Witnessed the incident directly.
• Have publicly expressed a position on the specific incident.
• Feel, for any reason, that they cannot judge the case impartially. When a member recuses, an alternate steps in. If quorum cannot be reached even with alternates, the committee appoints a temporary independent reviewer for that case alone.

10. Cross-event and partner enforcement

A person who is unsafe at one SparkleUp event is unsafe at all of them. Section 10 sets out how SparkleUp carries sanctions across its events, and how partner events plug into the same protection.

10.1 The three levels of ban

When a Conduct Committee decides that exclusion is warranted, it also decides at which level the exclusion applies:

• Event ban — exclusion from future editions of the specific event where the breach took place.
• SparkleUp network ban — exclusion from every event produced by SparkleUp Events. Used where the breach is severe enough that a shared risk exists across our full programme.
• Full network ban — exclusion from every SparkleUp event and from every partner event that has signed our mutual recognition agreement. Reserved for the most serious breaches, including proven sexual assault, physical violence, or a pattern of repeated harm across multiple events.

10.2 The central register

SparkleUp Events maintains a confidential register of network and full-network bans. The register records the individual's name, the level of ban, the effective date, the duration (or that it is permanent), and the reference of the deciding committee. It does not record the details of the incident.

The register is consulted at registration and at entry. Access is limited to a small number of SparkleUp officers and, for full-network bans, to the safety leads of partner events.

10.3 How partner events plug in

Partner events opt into the network by signing a written mutual recognition agreement with SparkleUp. The agreement commits both sides to:

• Adopt this Code (or a materially equivalent code) as the basis of enforcement at their events.
• Recognise and enforce full-network bans issued by any signed party.
• Notify the network in a timely way when they issue a full-network ban of their own.
• Respect the confidentiality of the shared register and use it only for its stated safety purpose.

Without a signed agreement, no reciprocity applies. SparkleUp does not maintain informal blacklists.

10.4 Rights of individuals on the register

A person against whom a network or full-network ban is issued is:

• Told in writing of the ban, its level, its duration, and the general nature of the breach.
• Given the appeal path set out in Section 13, on the same terms as any other sanction.
• Entitled to have the ban recorded only for as long as it is in force.

10.5 Data and privacy

The central register is a record of personal data. SparkleUp processes it under the lawful basis of legitimate interest — the safety of participants at events under this Code. The register is stored securely, access is logged, and the data is not used for any purpose beyond enforcement of this Code. Individuals on the register have the rights available to them under applicable data protection law, including access, correction, and appeal.

11. Outcomes the Conduct Committee may decide

Outcomes are matched to the seriousness of the breach and to the goal of restoring safety and trust. They may include, in increasing order of severity:

• Restorative conversation: a facilitated conversation between the parties, where both consent, focused on understanding harm and repairing trust. Not used where there is a power imbalance or where the reporter does not wish to engage.
• Reminder of the Code: a private conversation with the respondent restating the relevant expectation. Used for minor or first-time breaches without serious harm.
• Behavioural conditions: specific conditions the respondent must observe for the remainder of the event (e.g. avoiding a person, refraining from a specific activity).
• Temporary time-out: removal from a particular activity, space, or session for a defined period.
• Removal from the event without refund: loss of access to the remainder of the event. No refund of fees.
• Event ban: exclusion from future editions of the specific event where the breach took place, for a defined duration or permanently.
• SparkleUp network ban: exclusion from every event produced by SparkleUp Events, for a defined duration or permanently.
• Full network ban: exclusion from every SparkleUp event and every partner event under mutual recognition, for a defined duration or permanently.
• Referral to local authorities: for conduct that is both a serious breach of this Code and a crime under the law of the country in which the event takes place (e.g. sexual assault, physical violence, theft). The event cooperates with local authorities as required by law.
• Support for victim-led pursuit of charges abroad: reserved for cases of sexual assault that the committee has substantiated, and only at the victim's explicit written request.

A note on referrals outside the event country. Where conduct may constitute a criminal offence, the appropriate authorities in the country where the event takes place may become involved in accordance with local law. SparkleUp does not additionally report a person to authorities in another country simply because of their nationality, citizenship, or residence, and does not act as an international law-enforcement referral body. In the exceptional case of a substantiated sexual assault, we may support a victim who wishes to pursue the matter with authorities in another country, but only at the victim's explicit written request. SparkleUp will not initiate such a referral independently.

12. Conflict between participants from regions in tension

SparkleUp events draw participants from countries and communities in tension with one another — including, but not limited to, Russia and Ukraine, Israel and Palestine, and others. We apply the following principles:

12.1 Behaviour is judged, not nationality

No participant faces any consequence under this Code because of where they are from. Consequences follow conduct. A peaceful participant from any country is welcome. A participant who confronts, harasses, or pressures another — regardless of their own nationality — is in breach of this Code.

12.2 The Code is applied uniformly

The same standards apply to every participant. The committee does not weigh which side of a conflict a participant comes from when deciding whether a breach occurred.

12.3 Separation as a first protective tool

Where tension between participants rises in a shared space, the Immediate Response Team's first action is to separate the parties — without assigning blame. Separation is a protective measure, not a finding of fault.

12.4 Mediation is offered, never imposed

Where both parties freely request it and the committee judges it appropriate, a mediated conversation may be offered. Mediation is not used to resolve breaches involving harassment, assault, or significant power imbalance.

12.5 No participant is required to hold a position

No participant is required to denounce, defend, or explain their country, government, military, or community. No participant is required to apologise for being who they are. The committee process is not used to extract political statements.

13. Appeals

Reporters and respondents may appeal a Conduct Committee decision. Appeals apply equally to event-level sanctions and to network and full-network bans.

Grounds

• New evidence not available at the time of the original decision.
• A procedural error in how the case was handled.
• A finding that the outcome was disproportionate to the breach.

How to appeal

An appeal is filed in writing within 30 days of the decision being communicated, addressed to the committee chair, stating the grounds and providing any supporting material.

Who hears the appeal

Appeals are heard by committee members who were not involved in the original decision. Where this cannot be achieved from the existing committee, alternates and, if necessary, a temporary independent reviewer are convened. The appeal panel must include at least one independent member.

Outcomes

• Original decision upheld.
• Original decision modified (made more or less severe).
• Original decision reversed.

The appeal decision is final within our process.

14. Timelines

• Acknowledgement during the event: within two hours of receipt by the Safety Team.
• Acknowledgement outside the event: within five working days.
• Immediate protective action: without delay, where safety requires it.
• Committee initial review: within 24 hours during the event; within 10 working days afterwards.
• Full committee decision: within 30 days of the report, unless the case involves criminal proceedings or new evidence requiring extension. Any extension is communicated to both parties.
• Appeal window: 30 days from communication of the decision.
• Appeal decision: within 30 days of the appeal being filed.

15. Transparency and confidentiality

We hold transparency and privacy in tension on purpose: our community deserves to know how the system works, and every person involved in an incident deserves to be protected from public exposure. We resolve this tension in three layers.

15.1 Before the event

Fully public. We publish:

• This Code in full.
• The names of the Conduct Committee for the edition.
• The reporting channels and how to use them.
• The full list of possible outcomes.
• The appeals path.

15.2 During the event

Private by default. We do not publish, broadcast, or post about specific incidents while the event is running. Reporters and respondents are kept informed about their own case. Identities are not shared beyond what is strictly necessary for safety and process.

15.3 After the event

Within 60 days of the event's close, we publish a short public report:

• The number of reports received.
• The categories of incident, without identifying detail.
• The categories of outcome, without identifying detail.
• Any structural changes we are making in response (e.g. changes to a venue layout, training, vendor or instructor contracts).
• Any changes coming in the next version of this Code.

No participant is named, quoted, or described in a way that would allow identification.

16. Protection from retaliation

Retaliation against anyone who reports in good faith, supports a reporter, or takes part in a review, is itself a serious breach of this Code. It is treated with the same gravity as the original breach.

Good faith means reports made honestly, even if the committee ultimately decides no breach occurred. Knowingly false reports are themselves a breach.

17. False reports and abuse of the reporting system

Anonymous reporting exists so that people can raise genuine concerns without fear of exposure or retaliation. Anonymity must not be used as a shield to deliberately harm, intimidate, or target another person.

A report made honestly and in good faith is not a breach of this Code simply because it cannot be substantiated, contains incomplete information, or ultimately results in no action. We recognise that people may report situations based on what they experienced, witnessed, or reasonably understood at the time.

Knowingly fabricating allegations, deliberately providing materially false information, impersonating another person, submitting reports with the purpose of harassing or damaging someone, or repeatedly misusing the reporting system is itself a serious breach of this Code.

Where the Conduct Committee has reasonable grounds to believe that the reporting system has been deliberately abused, it may investigate that misuse under the same standards of fairness, confidentiality, and review that apply to any other alleged breach. The fact that a report was anonymous does not, by itself, create any presumption that it was made in bad faith.

18. About this Code

This Code supports a safe and respectful environment across every SparkleUp event and every partner event that has adopted it. It reflects shared values and best practice; all activities and responses remain subject to the law of the country in which each event takes place.

The Code is updated as needed to reflect legal guidance, local context, and community feedback. The version in force for an event is the version published 30 days before that event opens.

Version: 3.0 (May 2025 / rev. 2026)

Issued by: SparkleUp Events Supersedes: TBF Code of Conduct V2 This Code may be developed further in collaboration with external safety and community-care partners. Our enforcement structure functions independently of any external partnership.

Appendix A — Appointed committees and event teams

The Conduct Committee and the event teams appointed for each edition, and each edition's confidential reporting tool, are listed in the PDF version of this Code and on the event's website before the event opens.