Really good to see this post, Cameron. I recall we had someone from Sudan at the FORCE11 Scholarly Commons workshop in San Diego a few months back. He wouldn't have been able to attend the workshop had it taken place today. Not only that, he and FORCE11 might have lost money if travel bookings had been made. And this was just a small workshop for 40 people. It's staggering to think about how many people and organisations must be feeling the jolt of the travel ban and the feelings of discrimination and injustice rippling through the directly affected countries - the United States included - and beyond.

The iron hand of European and American visa regulations has always been a reality for people in developing countries. Even visit visas for the Schengen territory, UK and US involve a huge amount of paperwork - after a point it gets tiring to fill out your 10-year travel history. And now there's the US travel ban for people from some of the countries with the weakest passports. Yet Europeans and Americans have the world's strongest passports allowing visa-free travel to most of the world: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/lists/The-worlds-most-powerful-passports

So isn't it time we start meeting up in the developing world if we really
care about having discussions with global stakeholders?

You may remember that during the Scholarly Commons workshop we had a 'Global South unworkshop' session where some of us broached the idea of holding a future workshop in a place like Nairobi. I can say from experience that there are excellent hotels and conference venues in Nairobi, the weather is pleasant year-round, and it's surprisingly easy to get to - just a few hours away from the major airport hubs in the Middle East. Entry into Kenya is quite the opposite of the US travel ban: visa is given on arrival to people from most countries. Often the immigration officers don't ask a single question and might even greet you with a smile.