Etiquette & Policies

Our Vibe (The Toronto Society Etiquette Guide)

Toronto deserves the most welcoming and earnest intellectual community in the world.

Society events are a place for our community to learn, make friends, and develop their ideas. Everyone should feel energized, engaged, and most importantly at ease. Here are a few pointers to help build that spirit:

• Put in the effort. The most interesting dialogue you will have all week will be at a Toronto Society event but being part of a sparkling conversation takes work. Pay attention. Really listen. Push your thinking. Try to make the other person laugh. Dress 10% better than you usually would.
• Extend grace to everyone. We’re here to learn together. Learning means being able to make mistakes. No one knows everything and no one should ever be made to feel bad about their ideas. This also means holding each other to high standards. We want to show others the respect of expecting the best from them.
• Prioritize Love. We do this because we love to learn, we love the world and believe we can make it better together, or because we simply love to spend time with our friends. Whatever the motivation, we want to make things better. This means bringing a spirit of optimism, however tentative, and not cynicism, nihilism or the desire to outsmart or undermine.

Tickets

Toronto Society events are always welcoming to the curious. If you wish to attend but are not able to afford a ticket at its listed price we have volunteer roles and other options available for discounts.

First, every event has a number of volunteer roles that do not interfere with watching the lecture itself. This includes ticket scanning and audience directing, setup and tear down, support to help the speakers with any questions or requests they have and more. If you are open to a volunteer role at an event we can send you the specifics of the roles available for it and their responsibilities.

Second, we are open to in-kind work. This is flexible but to give the most common example we will very commonly offer a discounted press pass in return for a full review of the event >500 words published to an active social media account. We would also be thrilled to talk about creative in-kind offerings including: photography, filming, or hosting events that happen alongside the core Toronto Society programming and support the Society’s mission.

Third, in cases of serious need where volunteering or in-kind work is not possible due to physical limitations or otherwise we will always consider fully comped tickets if you are unable to afford them. Though in these cases we hope you will be able to share the exact nature of the circumstances and how the Society will help you.

Our events take serious effort and we expect Society members to care about the health of the organisation but our first rule is hospitality. We never want to turn anyone away if we can help it.

Refund Policy

We can issue a full refund for valid reasons up to one day before the event. This includes work requirements, medical appointments, and religious observation. However, we can only accept cancellations less than one day prior to the event in the case of illness, or family / home emergencies. If you need to cancel please email host@thetorontosociety.com with the reason for your cancellation, and the email associated with your account and we can process your request. We cannot issue refunds after an event is completed.

Notice of Filming and Photography

When you attend a Toronto Society event, you enter an area where photography, audio, and video recording will occur. By entering the event premises, you consent to this recording and its release, publication, exhibition or reproduction.