The handling of individual cases at Fastaval
Have you been exposed to an unpleasant experience or felt unsafe at Fastaval?
– This is what you can do and how we handle it!
Do you feel unsafe on Fastaval or have you been exposed to an unpleasant experience in connection with another person at Fastaval (or in relation to Fastaval)? Please know, that you always have the possibility to contact Fastaval as an organization and its main organizers, if you need help and support. If it is difficult for you to meet the organization alone, you are more than welcome to get someone else to establish contact. In that case, we need some kind of power of attorney from you, to be sure that you want the incident reported. A power of attorney can be a text message or an email to let us know, that you consent to another person reporting your case.
The board of Alea (the organization behind Fastaval) decides whether your case belongs within Fastaval, whether it is a case for the Danish justice system, or whether it is about other parts of the roleplaying or board game communities, not affecting Fastaval. We can only deal with the cases which directly relate to Fastaval, but if you don’t know where to get further help, we will aid you – if we can
Fastaval is a private event; all organizers in Fastaval and Alea are unpaid volunteers. According to Danish law, this means that we have a duty to notify and inform the authorities about any illegal activities. It also means that we have every right to assess who is welcome to attend Fastaval!
Below here, you can read about how Fastaval handles individual cases and who to contact!
WHO IS FASTAVAL
Fastaval is Denmark’s largest board game and role-playing game convention and takes place in the city of Hobro every year at Easter. Everyone involved in Fastaval is a volunteer. The primary organizer(s) at Fastaval are called Generalen and they have gathered a group of people to work with as the Main Organizer Group.
The Safety Hosts are a group of adults who, from morning to night during Fastaval stand ready to help if you feel unsafe or have been exposed to an unpleasant experience. You can read about the Safety Hosts here (link coming soon).
Alea is the organization, in charge of creating Fastaval in the long stretch and works towards a cohesive future for the convention. Among other things, Alea appoints The General each year, just as Alea is the highest authority when it comes to handling individual cases. The members of Alea’s Board are elected at the annual general assembly. You can read about Alea here.
WHO TO CONTACT
First and foremost, you can always write to Fastaval’s special SAFEMAIL
When Fastaval is ongoing during Easter, please contact The Safety Hosts on +45 93 90 35 67.
You can also write directly to Alea’s board at alea@fastaval.dk.
If you contact us on Fastaval’s safemail, your message will be processed by different parts of the Fastaval organization, depending on which time of year you write us. In this way, we ensure that you are seen and heard as quickly as possible.
- If we receive your inquiry while planning Fastaval September to Easter): The Main Organizers will handle your case.
- If we receive your inquiry during Fastaval (Easter)The Safety Host will handle your case – but can refer you to The Main Organizers if you want it.
- If we receive your inquiry in the time after Fastaval and up until next year’s planning begins (from Easter to around September): Alea’s board will handle your case.
Alea is ’the end station’
If your case cannot be resolved immediately by Fastaval’s Main Organizers group, or your case has been going on for more than a year, it will automatically be transferred to Alea’s Board. This is done to ensure that you don’t have to start over with a new Main Organizer group. Alea’s board has been elected for several years, and there will always be at least one board member who knows you and the details of your case.
You can always choose Alea
You can at any time, also during Fastaval, choose that only Alea will process your case. Use the safemail or write directly to Alea’s board here
HOW YOUR INQUIRY IS PROCESSED BY ALEA
Plan of action
When you write to Alea’s board (or your case is passed from Fastaval’s Main Organizers to Alea’s board), you will be given a date for the processing of your inquiry. At the very latest your case will be processed at the next board meeting. Alea’s board meets every other month, but if the matter is urgent, we will have an extraordinary meeting, after which you will receive a plan of action, to let you know what is going to happen and when.
Confidentiality
Alea’s Board is founded on the principle of confidentiality. This means, that we never tell outsiders about who has approached us. In the case of any accusations against named persons, we will out of principle hear out both parties – if necessary also any witnesses in the case. This step is necessary for us to make an informed decision.
Alea’s board will under no circumstances comment on personal matters in public, but we maintain the right to notify Fastaval’s General about ongoing cases.
The principle of confidentiality also means that you cannot expect special insight into the handling/outcome of a case - even if it is a third party report.
Risk assessment
When the board processes a personal case, we make a risk assessment of the person you have named in your inquiry. We assess whether it is likely that the person will repeat his unwanted action at Fastaval. Among other things, we look at:
- If there is an ongoing criminal case, or is there a previous conviction?
- If the reported person has a history of other reports and bad behavior?
- The severity of what you have experienced or what you are afraid might happen.
- Any wish you might have to enter into a dialogue in order to find a solution (such as participating in conflict mediation, see below)
We see it as aggravating circumstances when an organizer has crossed the line or if a minor is involved.
Our decision
Once a decision has been made in your case, you will receive a written notice from Alea about our decision.
ONLINE DEBATES
From time to time, we see cases on Facebook or other social media that lead to a passionate discussion. As a rule, you cannot expect Alea or the main organisers to follow or be obliged to take a public stand in these situations. This is mainly because some of these discussions end up in personal cases that need to be handled by Alea. The handling of these cases is confidential, and it is important that Alea is objective. It is therefore inappropriate if Alea is already part of the public debate.
Conflict mediation
Depending on the seriousness of the case, Alea’s board will offer conflict mediation between parties, to try and find a solution where both parties can participate at Fastaval safely. Both you and the other party have the right to an assistant or a deputy.
Conflict mediation can take place both physically or digitally, depending on your wishes.
If Alea’s board assesses that a person is exhibiting behavior, making them unwanted at Fastaval, you will both be notified. A consequence might be, that the person is banned for a number of years, or that the person is only welcome at Fastaval under special circumstances. For example, it is conceivable that the person in question may participate, but may not drink alcohol. Or that the person may participate, but can not have an organizing post or is banned from certain areas of the convention.
Alea’s decision to ban or limit participation in Fastaval, as a result of a personal case, is upheld for a minimum of three years. Afterward, the Board is obligated to re-discuss the matter and make a new risk assessment. You will of course be contacted, to know the outcome of this decision.
Failure to comply with participation under special circumstances will result in a ban from Fastaval for three years or more.
How long can we archive you case?
Alea complies with Danish law and the GDPR rules. Therefore, once your case is closed, it will be deleted from Alea’s archive.
