IETF Meeting in South America

[The IAOC <[e-mail]>]

As you may know the IAOC has been investigating the feasibility of having an IETF
meeting in South America.  There was a site visit to South America last February. 
We have found two venues that we believe will support a successful IETF meeting
and we would like to get feedback from the community.

The venues are in Buenos Aires.  They meet our requirements for the meeting
space, networking, nearby restaurants and bars, hotel room rates in the mid $200
dollar range, nearby alternate hotels at a broad range of prices, nice area in the
city, safe, direct international flights, and accessible visas.  The IAOC thinks we
could have a successful IETF meeting in Buenos Aires and that attendees would
like the venues.

There has been a consistent level of IETF participation from South and Central
America, and it has been growing since IETF82.  The data on this is posted at 

   http://iaoc.ietf.org/documents/IETF-Regional-Attendance-00.pdf.  

The current meeting regional rotation (announced at IETF79) allows for an
occasional IETF meeting outside of our main regions (Europe, North America,
Asia/Pacific).  

IETF standards are made more valuable the more relevant they are and the more
uptake they get.  IETF standards are also made more robust when all perspectives
are represented during their development.  Encouraging growing participation
will help strengthen the Internet, further encourage participation from those areas
that will see the most growth in the coming years, and will help advance the IETF
in political and international circles which is becoming more of an imperative.

We have asked the IESG for their feedback and they are supportive of a meeting in
South America if there is community support and active participants attend.

Things to consider are that it will be a long trip for the majority of IETFers and the
air fares are more expensive (about 10% to 20% higher than average), though
restaurants are less expensive.  This would be a case where most IETFers would
bear more travel pain and expense.  

The IAOC would like to understand if the IETF community thinks that the IETF
should have a meeting in the next few years in Buenos Aires.  The IAOC would
also like to get feedback on how we can ensure the meeting is as successful as
possible and on ways to grow participation in the region.

We have set up a survey at  https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/NWYLQCD  where
you can indicate your likelihood of attending, and we encourage you to send your
general feedback to the IETF list <[e-mail]>.

Thanks,
Bob Hinden
IAOC Chair