[community] The Where, Why and What of DEEP 2019

[Treviranus, Jutta]

Dear DEEP Community members and potential members,

We look forward to seeing you on October 18th.

This year the one-day DEEP<https://deep.idrc.ocadu.ca/> event will be the beginning of a series of challenge workshops that extend throughout the year. These workshops will address challenges that are important to all of us, but that don’t receive enough attention or investment because they are too complex or because the people that are most affected don’t have enough influence or power.

We also hope you will get involved in many new and ongoing inclusive design projects. Our new projects are Code Learn Create<https://www.codelearncreate.org/> and Project We Count. Code Learn Create is building inclusive educational coding tools, so that everyone can participate in this “new literacy”. We Count makes sure that people are not excluded from the data economy, and that data-based decisions are not biased against minorities, diversity and complexity.

We are gathering our international partners to help us plan the next iteration of our Social Justice Repair Kit<https://www.sojustrepairit.org/>, FLOE<https://floeproject.org/> and Platform Co-op Development Kit<https://platform.coop/> projects.

Thus, the topics we will tackle are tough, but also relevant to everyone attending. Among the themes running through our discussions will be:

  *   ownership and agency in a data-driven world,
  *   how truth and value are determined,
  *   reversing rising financial disparity and political polarization, and
  *   the relationship between inclusion and sustainability.

We also intend to have fun and celebrate the opportunity to connect with old and new friends.

Help us prove that what is free can be valued and respected

One of our goals is financial inclusion. Many relevant conferences have become more expensive and exclusive. We are worried that the people most affected by the discussions are excluded from the conversation and the decisions because of cost.

This year DEEP attendance is free to everyone. This goes against advice from anyone running conferences. The popular wisdom is that what is free is not valued or respected. We are told that many people will register because there is no cost; but may not attend because there is no personal investment. We want to show that this doesn’t need to be the case; that a respectful community where everyone is valued has greater ties than money invested.

Please register, but tell us if your plans change. If you don’t come, you will be missed.

Where is DEEP?

This year we will be in a new space. We will be at the Cooper Koo YMCA<https://ymcagta.org/about-us/our-new-ys/cooper-koo-family-ymca>.

OCAD University has been undergoing construction. The space meets our accessibility needs, is close to the subject matter of some of our discussions (the Toronto Waterfront<https://waterfrontoronto.ca/nbe/portal/waterfront/Home>), and is easily reached by transit and other means. But the capacity is limited. This makes it even more important that you tell us if you can’t make it, so we can open up the space for someone else.

I can’t wait to see you at DEEP 2019<https://deep.idrc.ocadu.ca/agenda-2019/>!

Jutta

Jutta Treviranus
Director, Inclusive Design Research Centre<https://idrc.ocadu.ca/>
OCAD University