[IRTF-Announce] Update on IETF 108 Planning

[IETF Chair <[e-mail]>]

IETF 108 is scheduled to be held 25-31 July 2020 in Madrid, Spain. However, based on current conditions in Spain and around the world, we are actively planning for a virtual version of the IETF 108 meeting. 

We will announce on 15 May if we are confident that conditions have improved enough for an in-person meeting in Madrid to be held, or if we will be having a virtual meeting instead. While that date is still some time before the meeting, we believe it is important that we make this decision far enough in advance for all of us to make proper plans. 

The IESG, the LLC, and the IRTF Chair are working together on documenting the decision-making criteria we will use to make this decision. We will share that with the community when it is ready.

We will not begin working group scheduling on 27 April nor will we open registration during the week of 4 May as originally planned. We will update the meeting web site and the important dates as our planning progresses. Alternative plans will be made for the Applied Networking Research Workshop (ANRW) scheduled for 27 July if IETF 108 is held as a virtual meeting.

We expect to start a survey soon that will help us understand the community’s preferences about many aspects of future virtual IETF meetings. Your participation in that survey will provide critical feedback we will need for planning purposes.

Sincerely,
Alissa Cooper, IETF Chair
Colin Perkins, IRTF Chair
Jay Daley, IETF Executive Director