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<p>Folks,</p>
<p>Coming back and capturing our thoughts on this topic. I've added
a section in our FOSS4G Handbook:</p>
<p><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/FOSS4G_Handbook#Selecting_locations_which_align_with_OSGeo_principles">https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/FOSS4G_Handbook#Selecting_locations_which_align_with_OSGeo_principles</a></p>
<p><i>We should select locations where OSGeo principles and Code of
Conduct align with the laws and practices of the location where
the conference is being held.</i><i><br>
</i><i>At FOSS4G 2018 in Tanzania we discovered that local laws
decree that same-sex sexual acts are crimes punishable by the
state. This is contrary to the OSGeo Code of Conduct and is
something we should try to avoid when selecting future
conference venues.</i><br>
</p>
Feel free to suggest alternative words if I haven't captured our
thoughts correctly.<br>
<br>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 10/3/18 5:44 am, Cameron Shorter
wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:c87fb3a6-be69-3b5f-3460-c90fc7335cba@gmail.com">
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8">
<p>Mark and others on this list,</p>
<p>I'm seeing significant agreement here in promoting diversity
within OSGeo. I encourage anyone who feels strongly about this
should consider starting to craft revised text for OSGeo policy
documents. Until that happens, we are all talk, no action, no
impact.<br>
</p>
<p>The process: Write draft changes to our policy documents,
invite review, get rough consensus on wording, get the
conference committee to vote to accept the proposed changes,
update the official documents.</p>
<p>Documents that I think need reworking are:</p>
<p><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://svn.osgeo.org/osgeo/foss4g/rfp/"
moz-do-not-send="true">https://svn.osgeo.org/osgeo/foss4g/rfp/</a><br>
</p>
<p><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/FOSS4G_Handbook"
moz-do-not-send="true">https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/FOSS4G_Handbook</a></p>
<p>Warm regards, Cameron<br>
</p>
<br>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 8/3/18 1:16 am, Mark Iliffe wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:C5206F04-6952-4E92-AAC0-01CF641C11CB@gmail.com">
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charset=utf-8">
Dear María,
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">Thanks for the update on this, we as FOSS4G DLOC
will follow and further participate with interest.</div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">With regard to holding this conversation slowly,
may I kindly counsel that we proceed as quickly and as openly
as possible - to be clear, I do not view this as a point of
debate for Dar es Salaam, but for our community as a whole -
the ripples of this conversation go far beyond FOSS4G this
year. </div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">The views and their number expressed have
reinforced my (personal) view that to our credit, we have a
great appetite for discussion on this within our community
regarding diversity and inclusion - to proceed slowly in
limited forums may provide the signal that we are not taking
this seriously - we know this is <u style="font-weight:
bold;" class="">not</u> the case!! - but there is a
difference between fact and perception unfortunately. </div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">I am not asking for people to come out of the
closet to engage in this discussion; Personally, I am not
LGBT+, however, I have a direct interest in making our
community to be as inclusive and representative of our world
as much as possible, this includes those in our community in
relative and/or absolute poverty (ie. those that utilise QGIS
to digitise their communities), or from under-represented
communities - I believe that we can participate in this
discussion not based on our race, creed, gender, sexual
orientation but on the basis as we as a community stand weaker
if one of us is disadvantaged - can we not engage
independently as a member of humanity working towards
inclusivity and acceptance, instead of categorising
ourselves? </div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">This maybe a tone deaf view - and if so, please
accept my humble apologies - but we clearly have a challenge
here and while we cannot change the laws of any nation that we
are working on, we can send the message to the OSGeo community
that we are listening and through the CoC/diversity
statement/working groups on LGBT+ etc. that <b class=""><u
class="">YOU ARE WELCOME IN THIS COMMUNITY!</u></b></div>
<div class=""><b class=""><u class=""><br class="">
</u></b></div>
<div class="">This reinforces my personal view that we need to
ensure that all are kept aware of these discussions -
accordingly, I kindly request that we keep this in the OSGeo
discuss board and make the F2F discussions in Bonn accessible
for all and that the board takes appropriate action to ensure
that this message is heard loud and clear throughout.</div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">Many thanks,</div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">Mark</div>
<div class="">
<div><br class="">
<blockquote type="cite" class="">
<div class="">On 7 Mar 2018, at 02:37, María Arias de
Reyna <<a href="mailto:delawen@gmail.com" class=""
moz-do-not-send="true">delawen@gmail.com</a>>
wrote:</div>
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline">
<div class="">
<div class="">Dear Mark,<br class="">
<br class="">
Thank you very much for your email.<br class="">
<br class="">
I agree we should continue the discussion in the open.
Now we have a<br class="">
clear view of the current situation from the board
(and people<br class="">
following that list). A reason why I personally
haven't moved this<br class="">
quicker more open is because I don't want OSGeo to be
responsible of<br class="">
people coming out of the closet on the community and
then travelling<br class="">
to Tanzania and having problems because of that. The
risk is very low,<br class="">
as you have confirmed, but this is a very sensitive
issue in many<br class="">
countries. Everyone should be aware of this before
starting to point<br class="">
personal experiences, especially people coming from
privileged<br class="">
countries where being LGBT+ is not only legal, but
socially accepted.<br class="">
<br class="">
We have an OSGeo meeting in Bonn very soon and I think
that is a<br class="">
proper place to discuss this, as it will be face to
face and some<br class="">
people will be able to discuss this without having to
write their<br class="">
names anywhere. I agree there should be an LGBT+ group
inside OSGeo,<br class="">
and maybe we should provide the tools to allow members
from sensitive<br class="">
countries/personal situations to participate
anonymously. (How? I<br class="">
don't know yet.) And we should promote also some kind
of diversity<br class="">
advice group, where all kind of discriminations can be
addressed.<br class="">
Maybe merge this idea with the CoC team? Maybe a
separated dedicated<br class="">
team? I don't know.<br class="">
<br class="">
Thanks for this and if you need some immediate action
from the board,<br class="">
just let us know.<br class="">
<br class="">
Regards,<br class="">
María.<br class="">
<br class="">
<br class="">
<br class="">
<br class="">
On Wed, Mar 7, 2018 at 12:11 AM, Mark Iliffe <<a
href="mailto:markiliffe@gmail.com" class=""
moz-do-not-send="true">markiliffe@gmail.com</a>>
wrote:<br class="">
<blockquote type="cite" class="">Dear OSGeo Board,<br
class="">
<br class="">
On the 20th of February I wrote in response to a
concern raised on LGBT+<br class="">
concerns in Dar es Salaam. To this, set out the
following four action<br class="">
points:<br class="">
<br class="">
<blockquote type="cite" class="">To help move
forward on this, we will 1. Ensure that we provide
guidance<br class="">
to those in our community on this issue; 2. Seek
dialog within our community<br class="">
on this issue, I am personally contactable on this
and fully welcome any and<br class="">
all people who wish to discuss this on a
face-to-face (over VC) or any other<br class="">
medium that the community would feel better with;
3. Recommend that the<br class="">
board puts in place guidance for future OSGEO
conferences other this issues;<br class="">
4. Support the formation of an LGBT+ grouping
within OSGEO to better support<br class="">
appropriate guidance on this issue.<br class="">
</blockquote>
<br class="">
<br class="">
To update on this:<br class="">
<br class="">
1. We are collaborating with Humanitarian
OpenStreetMap Team on this issue,<br class="">
to ensure that the response to our mutual
communities are in lock-step on<br class="">
this issue. Guidance will be published for
consultation for the conference<br class="">
shortly;<br class="">
2. I have reached out to members of the LGBT+
community that I know<br class="">
personally on a bilateral basis. I would welcome
further dialogue with the<br class="">
OSGeo LGBT+ community on a bilateral, private basis
for people to voice<br class="">
their concerns in confidence;<br class="">
<br class="">
Points 3 and 4 are of specific interest, in the view
of the LOC of FOSS4G<br class="">
2018, as we can set policy direction for our
conference, but have no mandate<br class="">
nor mechanism to set policy across OSGeo. To this
end, I would formally<br class="">
request, in my role of Chair of FOSS4G for the OSGeo
Board to provide<br class="">
direction to future FOSS4G conferences and to
further support and service<br class="">
this community within our wider community.<br
class="">
<br class="">
Clearly, there is a desire for LGBT+ to be
considered further in our<br class="">
community - as noted in the transcript of the
previous board meeting [1],<br class="">
but I think this needs to be communicated to our
wider community - I see the<br class="">
discussions on the OSGeo board mailing list, though
this may not have the<br class="">
widest circulation. I am also available to have a
video conference with the<br class="">
board, at their earliest possible convenience if
such an invitation was<br class="">
extended.<br class="">
<br class="">
Finally, I really want to stress this for our
conference in Dar es Salaam<br class="">
this year to our community: We want to have the most
inclusive conference<br class="">
that we can possibly have. In the same way that
previous FOSS4G events in<br class="">
Boston and North Carolina have demonstrated, our
conferences have dealt with<br class="">
challenges within the wider legislative framework of
their host country, we<br class="">
as a community are welcoming to any and all with
open arms. We will publish<br class="">
guidance for those travelling, and if you still wish
to participate but<br class="">
cannot come to Dar es Salaam, get in touch with us -
we will help you get<br class="">
involved! Our FOSS4G will only be successful due to
ALL the people in our<br class="">
OSGeo community; we are a big and dynamic family -
we will reflect and live<br class="">
that this year in Dar es Salaam, and I hope in the
many years to come.<br class="">
<br class="">
Best,<br class="">
<br class="">
Mark<br class="">
<br class="">
[1] <a
href="https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Board_Meeting_2018-03-01"
class="" moz-do-not-send="true">https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Board_Meeting_2018-03-01</a><br
class="">
<br class="">
<br class="">
---------- Forwarded message ----------<br class="">
From: jorge.dejesus <<a
href="mailto:jorge.dejesus@geocat.net" class=""
moz-do-not-send="true">jorge.dejesus@geocat.net</a>><br
class="">
Date: 21 February 2018 at 08:26<br class="">
Subject: Re: [OSGeo-Conf] LGBT in Tanzania<br
class="">
To: <a href="mailto:conference_dev@lists.osgeo.org"
class="" moz-do-not-send="true">conference_dev@lists.osgeo.org</a><br
class="">
<br class="">
<br class="">
Hi to all<br class="">
<br class="">
I was following the LGBT in Tanzania discussion,
and I am happy to see the<br class="">
question added to the next RfP.<br class="">
<br class="">
The discussion on LGBT rights and safety requires a
bit of common sense, I<br class="">
am LGBT it is one part of my live as being OsGEO
member is another (one of<br class="">
many) part(s), normally these two don't intercept
much, personally I think<br class="">
this is why the LGBT community is present in OsGEO
but very invisible.<br class="">
What?? No LGBT birds of the feather in FOSS4G ???<br
class="">
<br class="">
Having a code of conduct that is non discriminatory,
we must take into<br class="">
consideration the rights of minorities and safety of
ALL the participants of<br class="">
and a OsGEO conference, the LOC have to do their
best for the safety. LOC<br class="">
should also informed participants on what are the
real problems that<br class="">
participants may have to face, then is up to the
participants to decide if<br class="">
they fell comfortable to to attend the conference.<br
class="">
<br class="">
Again, nice to see this topic discussed and remember
these comments are my 2<br class="">
cents<br class="">
<br class="">
Enjoy your day<br class="">
Jorge<br class="">
<br class="">
<br class="">
<br class="">
On 21-02-18 10:30, Till Adams wrote:<br class="">
<br class="">
Darrell, @ohers,<br class="">
<br class="">
thanks for the sum up, I agree in including such a
question in the next<br class="">
RfP. In order to preserve your proposal, I've added
your questionTill here:<br class="">
<br class="">
<a href="https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Rfp" class=""
moz-do-not-send="true">https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Rfp</a><br
class="">
<br class="">
I will add this to the next RfP-text.<br class="">
<br class="">
<br class="">
Till<br class="">
<br class="">
<br class="">
<br class="">
Am 20.02.2018 um 18:32 schrieb Darrell Fuhriman:<br
class="">
<br class="">
"FOSS4G attracts a global, diverse community. Are
there any laws, or<br class="">
social norms, in your proposed location that would
make members of our<br class="">
community feel unsafe or unwelcome? That could
include, but is not<br class="">
limited to, anti-LGBTQ+ policies, policies that
would prevent the free<br class="">
exercise of religion, restrictions on certain
activities based on<br class="">
gender or other factor, etc?”<br class="">
<br class="">
_______________________________________________<br
class="">
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href="https://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/conference_dev"
moz-do-not-send="true">https://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/conference_dev</a><br
class="">
<br class="">
<br class="">
<br class="">
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</blockquote>
</div>
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</blockquote>
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</blockquote>
<br>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
Cameron Shorter
Technology Demystifier, Learnosity
Open Technologies Consultant
M +61 (0) 419 142 254</pre>
</blockquote>
<br>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
Cameron Shorter
Technology Demystifier
Open Technologies and Geospatial Consultant
M +61 (0) 419 142 254</pre>
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