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Tech Conferences Moving North as Trump Policies Turn Off Attendees (financialpost.com)
The Collision Conference, one of North America's most influential technology gatherings, tweeted on Tuesday: "We've got some news. It's about Toronto. But we'll let Justin Trudeau tell you about it." What followed was a video in which the prime minister announced that Collision, which typically boasts 25,000 attendees, will be coming to Canada in 2019. From a report: "I'm happy you chose Toronto to host North America's fastest growing tech conference for the next three years, but I have to say, I'm not completely surprised," Trudeau said. "Toronto is a key global tech hub and an example of the diversity that is our strength." And Collision is not alone in coming north. At least two other major technology conferences have recently made the decision to relocate to Canada, lured in part by Toronto's burgeoning tech sector, but also driven by travel restrictions imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, policies that have left organizers scrambling to accommodate those who can't visit the United States.
In mid-April, Creative Commons, an international non-profit dedicated to the legal sharing of digital content, held their global summit in Toronto for the second year in a row. "The political climate in the U.S., specifically the open hostility from the current administration towards many international communities, and the anxiety from those we work with about how they might be treated was definitely a deciding factor," said Ryan Merkley, CEO of Creative Commons. "What's most unfortunate is that this approach is so inconsistent with the views of the many collaborative communities we work with every day in the U.S."
At Access Now, a non-profit that organizes the RightsCon digital rights conference, Trump's travel ban on seven predominantly Muslim countries hit close to home. "One of our interns at the time was an Iranian citizen with a U.S. green card, and she wasn't able to leave the country to go to Brussels to help us organize the (2017) event," RightsCon director Nick Dagostino said. For years, RightsCon has alternated between San Francisco and a series of global venues, and after last year's event in Brussels, heading back to California would have been the natural choice. But then, people started telling Access Now that if the event happened in the U.S., they wouldn't show up.
In mid-April, Creative Commons, an international non-profit dedicated to the legal sharing of digital content, held their global summit in Toronto for the second year in a row. "The political climate in the U.S., specifically the open hostility from the current administration towards many international communities, and the anxiety from those we work with about how they might be treated was definitely a deciding factor," said Ryan Merkley, CEO of Creative Commons. "What's most unfortunate is that this approach is so inconsistent with the views of the many collaborative communities we work with every day in the U.S."
At Access Now, a non-profit that organizes the RightsCon digital rights conference, Trump's travel ban on seven predominantly Muslim countries hit close to home. "One of our interns at the time was an Iranian citizen with a U.S. green card, and she wasn't able to leave the country to go to Brussels to help us organize the (2017) event," RightsCon director Nick Dagostino said. For years, RightsCon has alternated between San Francisco and a series of global venues, and after last year's event in Brussels, heading back to California would have been the natural choice. But then, people started telling Access Now that if the event happened in the U.S., they wouldn't show up.
It's not even Trump. Companies have been trying to convince people to move conventions out of the US since the Obama administration.
The bottom line is that the TSA and ICE makes attempting to attend anything in the US far too annoying to deal with. Not to mention that the weather in the majority of the US is, at best, inconvenient. More conventions should move to Canada.
But don't blame Trump. This is something that's been in the works for a long time, and it's not Trump's fault. It's the US's fault in general.
I lived in the US (studied, then worked); I have good friends there; I have a Swiss passport, so no problem for me at all entering the US. But I have chosen not to go there anymore, for the past two years (that includes at least one technical conference per year).
Two reasons for me: #1) I don't feel safe anymore in a country that has such an unpredictable and authoritarian police force, and #2) I don't think it is ethical of me to condone the current US policies towards foreigners (of which I am one), even though I would personally (probably) would have not problems while visiting.
I would love to go back, but will not do it while these conditions last.
Well, people are voting with their feet -- or at least their dollars.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
The fact is that people almost all muslim countries on earth can travel to the USA. The ban is on a handful of countries that are rife with radical terrorists. If we were banning muslim countries we'd have banned the other 43 countries. idiots
The real idiocy here is that the much lauded Trump Muslim-ban is not on Lebanon, Egypt, the UAE and Saudi Arabia whose citizens actually conducted and financed the 911 attacks. Iran? It is actually fun to watch Trump supporters try and explain that one away, it's like watching a severely constipated person holding their breath and pushing really hard while seriously contemplating digging it out with a stick.
This day in Slashdot history : US Losing its Scientific Dominance Posted by CowboyNeal on Monday May 03, 2004.
So as much as I hate Trump, this is not something new. He is just the one that sees that the bucket is filled faster and wil be the one that causes it to overflow.
But do not kid yourself. This is not a Trump problem, this is an American problem that is caused by both the right and right of right bi-party system.
Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
It's not really punishment, it's looking out for the safety of the attendees.
Crossing the US border is dangerous. You have few rights and your possessions can be searched or confiscated. You can detained for long periods of time without warning. Plus, the travel ban affects a lot of people who might want to attend, and it's hard to predict what the situation might be by the time the conference actually happens.
If they don't move they will lose out to conferences in other places.
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SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
Oh well, then. I guess the easiest solution is to hold conferences in Canada. Thanks for the insight.
I'm guessing you haven't actually come back into the US in a while. It *is* dangerous. My wife and I came back from a lunch in Ontario's Fort Erie, and the Border Patrol person didn't hear what my wife, in the passenger seat, said in reply to one of his questions. I repeated what she said - for his benefit - and he jumped all over us, threatening us with federal prison for lying to a federal agent. I just repeated her answer - that's it. These fuck-tards can have your ass thrown in jail for the most trivial of things, in addition to what the OP said. That just about makes it a form of Russian Roulette. I consider that dangerous - to the point where if I don't have to come back into MY OWN COUNTRY, I'll take a pass on it.