[diversity] Meeting venue influences inclusivity

Hi,

I agree with Hank that certain countries such as the UAE should be excluded
from the list of potential venues in the future.
However, short of having all RIPE meetings on Svalbard (
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_policy_of_Svalbard ), there is no
perfect country in terms of ease of travel and visas and such.
But by having the meetings in the Schengen area, I think it would be the
best since that includes the most amount of people.
For example, me being a transgender woman, I would never go to a RIPE
Meeting in the UAE, Russia and a few more countries.

- Cynthia


On Mon, Oct 21, 2019 at 9:30 PM Sasha Romijn <sasha at mxsasha.eu> wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> Hank, I share your opinions about meetings in Dubai. It is one of several
> countries in the RIPE region that I absolutely can not enter. In fact, many
> countries in the RIPE region that are not in Schengen or EU, are complex
> for me to travel to.
>
> While the Schengen region does not explicitly ban entry to citizens of
> certain countries, it is difficult for many people to get a visa. This is
> unfortunately harder to quantify, but when I was responsible for this in
> other conferences, we’ve definitely run into difficulties. So although I
> don’t disagree with your views on Dubai, there are no countries where
> everyone from the RIPE region will have the ability to access sufficiently
> freely (either due to visa issues, safety concerns, or similar
> difficulties). There is no option that is entirely inclusive.
>
> Sasha
>
> > On 21 Oct 2019, at 20:16, Ella Titova <etitova at mts.am> wrote:
> >
> > Hello
> > In this case I can also raise my concern.
> > A lot of non EU citizens are rejected to receive Shengen visa and are
> not able to participate in Ripe Meetings in person.
> > What should say COC in this matter?
> >
> > Best Regards
> >
> > Ella Titova
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: diversity [mailto:diversity-bounces at ripe.net] On Behalf Of Hank
> Nussbacher
> > Sent: Monday, October 21, 2019 9:50 PM
> > To: diversity at ripe.net
> > Subject: [diversity] Meeting venue influences inclusivity
> >
> > I have read over the draft V3 CoC and notice an aspect that has bothered
> me and which precludes me and others from attending general RIPE meetings
> in certain venues.
> >
> > RIPE 75 took place in Dubai, UAE.  Any Israeli citizen is not allowed to
> enter Dubai:
> > http://www.dubaifaqs.com/israeli-stamp-passport-dubai.php
> > "Israeli citizens are not permitted to enter the UAE on an Israeli
> passport or apply for a UAE visa"
> >
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel%E2%80%93United_Arab_Emirates_relations
> >
> > "As the UAE does not officially recognize Israel, and does not allow
> Israeli citizens or those suspected of being Israeli citizens entry into
> the UAE, including Israeli passport holders, except for transit."
> >
> > If a CoC is being drafted and the intent is to be inclusive as possible
> and to eliminate discrimination based on nationality, I would like to
> suggest that it include a section that the venue of any general RIPE
> meeting cannot take place in a country that forbids certain people from
> attending.
> >
> > Regards,
> > Hank
> >
> >
> >
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