Subject: [Venue-selection] Paris Montreal Copenhagen - input on locations

From: Corinne Cath <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 26 Apr 2016 14:06:47 +0100

​Dear sir, or madam,

In response to the ​email sent out on April 18th I am sending you some
suggestions regarding the sites under consideration. Depending on which
specific hotels or conference venues these meetings will take place at I am
concerned about their accessibility for people who are not 'able-bodied'
(this term is a more sensitive version of the more colloquial term 'people
with disabilities').

During the plenary meeting of the IETF95 it was clearly stated by the
meeting committee that it considers accessibility for not-able bodied
individuals to fall under the rubric of  a 'should' instead of a 'must',
when considering locations. I believe this decision needs to be addressed.
Not only because it goes against what is accepted practice in relation to
ensuring that meeting venues are accessible for all for many conference
organizers, or because not ensuring access for non-able bodied people is a
direct violation of the law in the jurisdiction of some of the suggested
venues, but also because no real justification for this decision was
presented other than 'it is very difficult to find such venues in certain
locations'.

I hope that you will agree with me that in order to ensure that
participants who are not able-bodied can participate in the IETF's physical
meetings this policy needs to be updated. Some examples of good policies
regarding accessibility for non-able bodied individuals can be found here:

http://www.e-accessibilitytoolkit.org/toolkit/annexes/Tips_on_conducting_accessible_meetings_and_conferences
http://www.sigaccess.org/welcome-to-sigaccess/resources/accessible-conference-guide/
http://www.esdc.gc.ca/eng/disability/arc/inclusive_meetings.pdf

​I thank you for your time and effort in updating the policy. Please feel
free to reach out to me if you have any further questions or if any of the
suggestions I made are unclear.

Best,

Corinne Cath