Acquaint Platform Guidelines

1. Community Guidelines

These guidelines outline the conduct and procedures for using the Acquaint platform.

2. Mission, Vision, and Values of Acquaint

  • Mission: A platform where anyone can develop collaborative skills and intercultural understanding.
  • Vision: A world where our differences no longer hinder our ability to collaborate.
  • Values: Listening, Appreciation, Curiosity, Equality, Non-Judgement.

3. Requirements for volunteering:

  • Internet connection
  • Must be 15 years of age or older and legally allowed to volunteer in their country of residence

4. Signing up:

Please go to https://www.acquaint.org/u/c_g_signup to register for our onboarding.

5. What it's not:

  • The Acquaint platform is not a tool to be used for:
    • Attempting to form long-term or romantic relationships (see Session code of conduct below)
    • Selling anything or otherwise soliciting
    • Promoting political, religious, or other beliefs
  • No monetary compensation is provided
  • No travel is involved

6. Cultural Networking Volunteer Roles and Responsibilities

  • Connect for 1-on-1 virtual intercultural dialogue sessions with other volunteers around the world.
  • Goal is to have the most meaningful, positive, and impactful conversation between session partners by making an effort to connect with and learn from each other.
  • Attempt to improve communication skills through practice.
  • Enter "availability" to be paired for sessions
  • Reliably attend sessions to the best of their ability
  • Follow Acquaint's "Anyone, Anywhere" commitment to treat all fellow Acquaint Volunteers with equal levels of respect, regardless of their location, dialect/accent, personality, identity, beliefs, or perspectives.
  • Make an effort to overcome challenges in communication due to differences in perspectives, communication styles, or whatever might arise
  • Optionally, participate in research studies that help identify how we can most effectively connect and communicate with each other.

7. Mentor Volunteers

  • After reaching a certain amount of experience on the Acquaint platform, cultural networking volunteers may be invited to become mentors.
  • Roles include:
    • Welcome new volunteers to the community
    • Provide training to new volunteers including reviewing how sessions work, encouraging curiosity in conversations, and leading by example.
    • Help ensure the safety of the community by ensuring that new volunteers understand the role and are here for the mission of Acquaint, not some kind of material gain.
  • Reliable attendance for mentors is very important as mentors are always in high demand during sessions.

8. Coverage Volunteers

  • Fill in as backup cultural networking volunteer when another volunteer is unable to attend
  • Are typically asked to stay for at least 10-15 minutes after the session start time, and 45 minutes to an hour if they are selected for a session
  • This role is critical for Acquaint's operations and so reliable attendance is critical

9. Intercultural Dialogue Sessions

  • Roles include traveler and guide, each operating slightly differently but with the same objective: to have the most impactful conversation possible by learning as much as possible, sharing about ourselves based on the interests of our session partner, and trying to have a positive interaction.
  • Length of Sessions:
    • Block out at least 45 minutes per session
    • The average session length is around 45 minutes to an hour
  • Instructions: See our volunteer handbook at https://www.acquaint.org/volunteer_handbook for details.
  • Code of Conduct:

    To achieve Acquaint's vision, all volunteers must work to maintain a safe space for intercultural dialogue sessions. To achieve this, we have a few fundamental rules and guidelines:

    • Appreciation: This is one of Acquaint's core values. We ask that every volunteer take a moment to appreciate their session partner for showing up and teaching them something new. A great way to do this is Acquaint's Appreciation Notes feature. Appreciation looks different for everyone. It may involve thanking them silently or aloud, sharing something new that you learned from them, or expressing how they made a positive difference in your day. Connecting with people, especially new people, takes work. We must appreciate ourselves and others for taking the time to do so!
    • No exchange of contact information or personally identifiable information: Volunteers must not share last names, phone numbers, email addresses, or other contact information for any app or device. Volunteers are encouraged to share which country, state, or city they reside in. However, they must never share their home address. If anyone attempts to share contact with you, immediately report it to Acquaint at support@acquaint.org.
    • Topics of conversation: Approach subjects that may be flashpoints for anger, defensiveness, or heated debate with caution. Examples include politics, religious dogma, conflicts between specific groups, conspiracies, or other controversial topics. If you aren't comfortable with a conversation topic, either gently steer the conversation topic to something you want to talk about or politely but clearly indicate you do not want to talk about the subject and would prefer another topic.
    • Feedback: We encourage volunteers to give feedback to us and each other. Volunteers must also be OK to receive respectful and constructive feedback from the Acquaint team. Please note that expressions of feedback can be much different in different cultures, where some cultures are more direct than others, which can appear rude. We encourage volunteers to learn about both direct and indirect feedback and anticipate receiving both kinds.
    • Multitasking: Since one of the main goals as a volunteer is to listen and give your session partner your full attention, please do not multitask while connecting on Acquaint. Multitasking may include but is not limited to texting, checking or sending emails, browsing, driving, eating, working, watching videos, running errands, or doing chores.
    • Abuse: Acquaint does not tolerate hate, prejudice, harassment, personal attacks, or any other form of abuse on the platform. If you encounter any abuse, end the session and immediately report your experience to support@acquaint.org. Reporting abuse allows Acquaint to remove offenders from our community, thus protecting other volunteers.
    • Feeling Unsafe: While some degree of discomfort is normal when connecting with new people, you may end the session immediately if you ever feel unsafe. If you do so, immediately report this to the Acquaint team.
    • Soliciting: Acquaint strictly prohibits the use of its platform for soliciting of any kind. Solicitation includes but is not limited to lobbying, promoting goods or services, selling goods or services, requesting donations, or promoting religious ideologies.
    • Beliefs: Acquaint is an opportunity to share and to learn about new people and cultures. It is not an opportunity to convince others of your beliefs. If someone says something you dislike or disagree with, do not challenge them or try to "convert" them. You can simply listen, ask questions, and learn. However, if you believe that something they said qualifies as abuse or an attempt to convert you to believe something, report it to support@acquaint.org.
    • Punctuality and reliability: Arriving on time for your session helps us ensure that we can find a session partner for you. If you are ready to start your session less than 5 minutes after the session start time, we will do our best to ensure you get a session. After 5 minutes, we are less likely to be able to find a session partner for you. Arriving on time for your sessions is a huge help to Acquaint!

10. Session Protocol

  • Confirm: When assigned to a session, volunteers must click "confirm." The confirm button is located in the initial email, as well as on the homepage acquaint.org.
  • Check-in: Volunteers must click "Check-in" on the day of their session, no later than 15 minutes before the start time. The option to check in appears in the reminder email sent out 60 minutes before your session. A "Check-in" button also appears on acquaint.org. Checking in lets the Acquaint team know that you will be ready to connect for your session.
  • Device Test: We recommend arriving at least 5 minutes before the session start time to ensure your device is ready and passes our device test.
  • Join Session: It may take 5-10 minutes for us to get the sessions started.

11. Cancellations

  • Please do your best to keep your availability up to date so that cancellations are not necessary.
  • There is an option to cancel the session in Acquaint's UI right up until the time the session starts.
  • Cancellations at any time have a negative impact on pairings for the sessions, typically resulting in less optimal pairings for volunteers.
  • More advanced notice for cancellations helps a lot with the smooth operations of Acquaint.
  • Frequent cancellations or no shows may affect our ability to pair volunteers regularly for sessions.

12. Tips for not missing your sessions

  • Use WhatsApp for regular text reminders
  • Enable push notifications for session reminders, despite potential annoyances on some devices
  • Regularly check your email and acquaint.org for session schedules
  • Set personal reminders, using available tools like calendar integration

13. Contact Us

If you have any questions or concerns, reach out to support@acquaint.org.