Re: Consultation on IETF LLC Draft Strategic Plan 2020

[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

 




I'm not enough an insider in this community to really appreciate all the implications of this document, though I like the idea of some organized medium and long term planning. (I must confess that when I read that "The LLC will uphold the values and policies of the IETF/IRTF/IAB" I wondered where I could find the values of the IETF; it doesn't seem to be immediate.)

However, I noticed that in the transformations section there are references to making the IETF more welcoming to newcomers, but I found nothing about increasing the diversity of the participants in several possible dimensions (gender, geography, language, age, employer, stakeholder group...) This is a standard objective for almost any organization claiming a global role, and normally translates into specific organizational measures and programs, building on the assumption that diversity is necessary to legitimacy, fosters better results, promotes participation and helps build tomorrow's leadership, keeping the organization successful in the long term.

While I fully agree with you, in the absence of any community guidance we did not want to assume a particular path.  If there is such guidance or you think adding something as you suggest would be uncontroversial then please let me know.


There are practical things that can be done with some investment; for example, I don't expect the IETF to start translating its sessions into multiple languages, but automated closed captioning of the presenter would be quite useful for non-native speakers;

I have added the suggestion about closed captioning as an issue in GH.  While it is a bit specific, it is a useful placeholder for a wider point about accessibility.


or, one could imagine outreach sessions in local language towards Internet communities in target countries, to explain what the IETF is, what it does, and how to participate.

That is something that ISOC does and does well.  I would prefer we left it to them (as a formal role) as they have the organisation and resources to do that and replicating that is both very costly and unnecessary.  Informally, there are many community members who do this and we are looking more at supporting them.  I have added this last point as an issue in GH as something that could be explicitly stated.

Jay

-- 
Jay Daley
IETF Executive Director
jay@xxxxxxxx


[Index of Archives]     [IETF Annoucements]     [IETF]     [IP Storage]     [Yosemite News]     [Linux SCTP]     [Linux Newbies]     [Mhonarc]     [Fedora Users]

  Powered by Linux