X.Org's XDC2020 May Abandon Poland Conference To Find More Welcoming European Location

Hopefully you didn't yet book your tickets to XDC2020 as the annual X.Org conference as the venue -- and host country for that matter -- may change.

The annual X.Org Developers' Conference flips each year between different venues in North American and Europe. Last year it was announced XDC2020 would be hosted in Gdansk, Poland by a local Polish crew at Intel. But now that decision is being reassessed over finding a more welcoming and inclusive country for the event.

It was brought to the attention of the X.Org Board of Directors by one of their members that some local municipalities recently enacted "anti-LGBT zones" within Poland. These LGBT-free zones are deemed unenforceable and symbolic (details on Wikipedia) but may cause a change in the XDC2020 location.

Gdansk as the XDC2020 host city isn't within one of these unwelcoming zones or near one for that matter, but the X.Org board is currently weighing options and is considering moving the venue outside of Poland as a result. No decision has been made yet, but they are contacting other possible organizers/venues, including going back to XDC2018's location of Spain that was organized by Igalia.

The X.Org board is currently drafting a public statement to condemn discrimination against the LGBTQA community while also urging the Gdansk organizers to make a similar statement.

So take this as notice the venue (and dates for that matter) could potentially change depending upon their decision, should you already or be planning to soon book your travel arrangements for this annual event focused on X.Org, Wayland, Mesa, and similar open-source graphics/input projects. More information within the X.Org meeting minutes.