[OSGeo-Conf] LGBT in Tanzania

Cameron Shorter cameron.shorter at gmail.com
Tue Feb 20 07:25:42 PST 2018


I'm of the opinion that international conferences such as FOSS4G have 
the potential to positively influence equality issues within countries 
around the world.

Tourism departments from within countries around the world vie with each 
other to attract tourists via conferences and other big events. I think 
that our FOSS4G selection criteria should include a statement along the 
lines of:

"The OSGeo Foundation is committed to equality as per our Code of 
Conduct. Please explain how the laws within your country ensure that ALL 
members of our OGeo community will be welcomed and safe within your 
country."

I suspect we could reach out to WIT and LGBT communities to help provide 
better wording and reference material.


On 20/2/18 11:02 pm, María Arias de Reyna wrote:
> Hi Steven,
>
> This is a complex issue and there is no clear answer. There is no 
> win-win here. Whatever we do is going to be a problem to someone.
>
> In the WIT (women in tech) field we have discussed this several times 
> and usually the topic ends with the following question: Should we ban 
> racists/misogynist/... even when they are majority to allow 
> discriminated people to participate? Or should we allow them to 
> participate... making life more complicated for discriminated people? 
> What is more important here?
>
> I have a strong personal opinion in this matter, but sure, I am not 
> objective here. There are countries I can't visit. And there are even 
> more countries I can't visit and be fully myself, but I can visit if I 
> risk and keep a low profile.
>
> Getting FOSS4G to "close" countries may help them open. Or not. But 
> what is sure is that if we organize FOSS4G in some specific countries, 
> some of us can't go. Not Tanzania, not this year. But this is an issue 
> we will have to face sooner or later. Or we may even want to avoid 
> travelling to some countries because, you know, we don't want to be 
> discriminated: 
> https://qz.com/1166305/world-chess-champion-anna-muzychuks-stand-against-saudi-arabias-misogyny-will-cost-her-two-titles/
>
> This is no minor issue and I am happy we are facing it.
>
> Regards,
> María.
>
>
>
> On Tue, Feb 20, 2018 at 12:43 PM, Steven Feldman <shfeldman at gmail.com 
> <mailto:shfeldman at gmail.com>> wrote:
>
>     We have never thought about this in the selection process. Should
>     we? I am not sure.
>
>     There are so many countries that have legal and societal norms
>     that are discriminatory against one group or another - think
>     LGBTQ, religion, visa restrictions on entry - the list will be
>     quite long.
>
>     Just on the LGBTQ legislation there are 73 countries that are
>     shown at
>     https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_by_country_or_territory
>     <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_by_country_or_territory> Should
>     we be excluding these countries from hosting FOSS4G or should we
>     be providing guidance to our community on the constraints of
>     attending an event in these countries? We are committed to
>     promoting diversity but it could be that in doing that we limit
>     diversity.
>
>     No answers, just some questions.
>
>     For 2018 we can ask the LOC to provide security information to all
>     delegates (ideally in advance of registration). For future years
>     we need guidance from the Board as to how to proceed.
>     ______
>     Steven
>
>
>>     On 20 Feb 2018, at 08:36, María Arias de Reyna <delawen at gmail.com
>>     <mailto:delawen at gmail.com>> wrote:
>>
>>     Hi,
>>
>>     At least, I would consider this as a factor: security.
>>
>>     I am used to not being able to travel freely everywhere, but
>>     maybe... Maybe I shouldn't have to skip conferences because of
>>     this. What is more important, getting the conference venue on
>>     sensitive places or having everybody allowed to travel freely?
>>
>>     At least for Tanzania I plan to go, but I already assumed I am
>>     not going to do any tourism or any walk around besides the hotel,
>>     airport and conference venue. It's just going to be the
>>     conference, which is not as bad as it may sound :) At least I
>>     "only" have to hide my body (as suggestions from
>>     https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/tanzania/local-laws-and-customs
>>     <https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/tanzania/local-laws-and-customs>
>>     ), which is going to be more difficult than you think. I am not
>>     used to hiding arms and legs when there are hot temperatures :)
>>
>>     Anyway, this kind of advices are better if they are made by the
>>     conference organization than if they are made by some embassy. It
>>     is not the same travelling to a big city than travelling to a
>>     small town.
>>
>>
>>     On Tue, Feb 20, 2018 at 9:03 AM, Bart van den Eijnden
>>     <bartvde at osgis.nl <mailto:bartvde at osgis.nl>> wrote:
>>
>>         Shouldn't this be part of our selection criteria for the next
>>         conferences?
>>
>>         Best regards,
>>
>>         Bart
>>
>>
>>         On 19-02-18 22:48, María Arias de Reyna wrote:
>>>         Thanks Mark, any further information will be very helpful :)
>>>
>>>         El 19 feb. 2018 10:45 p. m., "Mark Iliffe"
>>>         <markiliffe at gmail.com <mailto:markiliffe at gmail.com>> escribió:
>>>
>>>             Hi Maria,
>>>
>>>             Yes, it is partly. Our LOC is formalising a partnership
>>>             with HOT currently, as per an earlier email to the list,
>>>             and this is our first topic of discussion. With regard
>>>             to the legislation, it is unfortunately a legacy from
>>>             the colonial times, as someone who had lived there for 6
>>>             years in a vibrant international community, I am yet to
>>>             see an instance where these laws have been applied -
>>>             however, I stress, this is my personal view.
>>>
>>>             Our plan is to hold further consultations with the OSGEO
>>>             LGBT+ community and I have personally reached out to
>>>             those in a position of responsibility within this
>>>             intersection for further advice. I assisted HOT with
>>>             drafting their initial response [1] to this concern also.
>>>
>>>             As the FOSS4G 2018 co-chair, I would welcome that people
>>>             share their concerns publicly, or if they wish,
>>>             privately with myself. But on behalf of the LOC, I
>>>             stress that our stated vision in both our proposal and
>>>             now, through our website, is to the most inclusive
>>>             FOSS4G that we can be. We, as a LOC, are firmly
>>>             committed to equality, regardless of sexual orientation,
>>>             gender, race, and creed. We want to provide the safest
>>>             possible space at this year's FOSS4G, setting this out
>>>             in both our vision and Code of Conduct [2].
>>>
>>>             We will be discussing this in our weekly LOC meeting
>>>             tomorrow and I will, in due course, feedback to this list.
>>>
>>>             Best,
>>>
>>>             Mark Iliffe
>>>             2018 FOSS4G Co-Chair
>>>
>>>
>>>             [1]
>>>             https://lists.openstreetmap.org/pipermail/hot/2018-February/014201.html
>>>             <https://lists.openstreetmap.org/pipermail/hot/2018-February/014201.html>
>>>
>>>             [2] http://2018.foss4g.org/code-of-conduct.html
>>>             <http://2018.foss4g.org/code-of-conduct.html>
>>>
>>>             On 19 February 2018 at 16:00, María Arias de Reyna
>>>             <delawen at gmail.com <mailto:delawen at gmail.com>> wrote:
>>>
>>>                 Hi,
>>>
>>>                 I'm following this conversation on HOT:
>>>
>>>                 https://lists.openstreetmap.org/pipermail/hot/2018-February/014199.html
>>>                 <https://lists.openstreetmap.org/pipermail/hot/2018-February/014199.html>
>>>
>>>                 Is this real? Do this year's organisation have a
>>>                 plan? Is it legacy deprecated laws or are they being
>>>                 applied? Do we have a problem with LGBT+ next
>>>                 FOSS4G? Should we warn the community? Can we do
>>>                 something about it?
>>>
>>>                 Regards,
>>>                 Maria.
>>>
>>>                 _______________________________________________
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>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>
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-- 
Cameron Shorter
Technology Demystifier, Learnosity
Open Technologies Consultant

M +61 (0) 419 142 254

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