Dear event organisers,

Please could I make a plea to you all?

If you are organising any in person events or conferences during the summer months, and if the event falls during hot weather or a heatwave, could you please ensure that the venue you plan to hold the event in has air conditioning and plenty of water available?

Believe it or not, this will actually make your event much more inclusive as while the summer months are great for most people, there are many of us who suffer from heat sensitivity. To get an idea of how this impacts me and many others with the condition, especially those of us who are neurodivergent, here is an article that I wrote about it.

While there are the physical things that those of us with heat sensitivity suffer from during hot weather, from a sensory overload perspective it can also trigger dysregulation and meltdowns for those of us who are neurodivergent. There are SO many things I would love to go to this time of year, but so much that I can’t go to during the summer months. For example, I had to knock going to SteelCon on the head last weekend due to the hot weather we had, and I’m currently weighing up whether I can go to BSides Cheltenham this Saturday because the venue doesn’t have air conditioning in favour of staying at home to keep cool. I have invested in air conditioning in my house, which has been an absolute lifesaver and game changer for me. I have lots of hot weather kit that I can take with me to events such as gel cooling mats, a neck fan, misting spray etc, but all of this just doesn’t cut it compared to air con.

I am also making this plea in light of an article on the BBC News website yesterday – as the Met Office has said that extreme weather and hot temperatures are more likely to be the UK’s new normal. Our infrastructure was built to keep the heat in, so during hot weather most places are like furnaces unless air conditioning has been installed. But it really will make your events much more inclusive and more people will be able to get to them if you can source venues that have air conditioning.

By contrast, I’m aware that some people have cold sensitivity as opposed to heat sensitivity and will feel the cold much more than feel the heat, so I appreciate that finding a middle ground is going to be tricky. It is likely easier in the winter to turn the heating up, and if you feel cold it is easier to pull on extra layers, although again I also appreciate there is an extra cost to turning the heating up. That said, there will be an extra cost to running air conditioning in the summer. I invested in solar energy in 2022, so running my air conditioning is quite cost effective. 

But in the summer there is no escape from the heat. It is not like winter where it is easier to warm up by turning up the heating and pulling on extra layers if needed. I don’t like feeling the cold either, but it is much easier for me to warm up than it is to cool down. In the heat, no matter what you do unless you’ve got decent air conditioning, you can’t get away from it.

So please do think about all this when planning events and finding venues for them, especially in the summer and especially when temperatures get to around the 30 degree mark, which they seem to be doing more often now.

With thanks,

Lisa – Cyber Geek Girl