[dpdk-dev] DPDK Events Plan - Current Thinking/Proposal

["St Leger, Jim" <jim.st.leger@intel.com>]

DPDK Community:

The Tech Board has provided great input on their preferences for a Userspace event. Some weeks back (I'm late getting the minutes out; my apologies) a small team (Bruce, Honnappa, Thomas, Jim, Ashley, Jill, Rachel, and Emily) met to discuss the options and come up with a plan. Here's what has been agreed to.

Userspace:
1. Userspace Co-located in Brussels after FOSDEM.
The preference is very strong to have an in-person event, not another hybrid event. The consensus was that the community really wants to get together in-person, face to face. We discussed whether it would be the week before FOSDEM or after. There is a conflicting event the week prior, thus the week after was chosen. As of today that would be February 7-8, 2022.

2. What if FOSDEM is Again Virtual?
In the case of FOSDEM being a virtual event for 2022 we will NOT hold Userspace after it. Instead we will aim for some time in the early summer, likely June. The location is TBD but is likely still somewhere in Europe.

3. What about other DPDK Summit Events?
Our first decision is when to hold the Userspace event. There will not be a 2021 Userspace event. There will be a 2022 in-person Userspace event. But whether it's in February or June is contingent on what FOSDEM does. Once we know that outcome we can start planning other events. We will need community feedback as to when we should hold an Asia/China event as well as a North America event. We will also need input on location preferences.

As of today FOSDEM has reported their event will be February 5-6. But it is not clear from their post https://twitter.com/fosdem/status/1447889564874457093 as to whether the event will be virtual on in-person. We are seeking more clarity from the FOSDEM organizers. If it is in-person then DPDK Summit Userspace will be in Brussels on Feb 7-8 (specifics to be determined based on site availability, etc.)

We will keep you posted on updates as the situation and planning develops.

Thanks,
Jim