In light of ongoing news related to the coronavirus we want to provide the community with an update about the Summit scheduled for March 13 in NYC.  The most important update is that the Summit is on and we intend to hold it as planned.  The second most important update is that OSHWA is monitoring the situation.

The Summit is always an important event to open source hardware community. This year’s Summit is doubly special because it is the 10th anniversary of the Summit and we were forced to skip the Summit last year.  In light of those factors OSHWA is committed to holding the Summit next week as long as it is viable to do so. Even a somewhat smaller Summit is an opportunity for the community to come together, discuss open source hardware, and connect in person.

We are aware of concerns related to the coronavirus and do not take them lightly.  We also recognize that this is an evolving situation. We will continue to monitor the situation, as well as guidance provided by authorities,  and may revisit our decision if it is warranted. That will be especially true if our host venue of NYU Law decides to suspend events – a decision they have given us no indication of making as of now.  However, at this point we do not believe that the situation warrants the cancelation of the event. 

We do recognize that many members of our community have purchased tickets to the Summit and now find themselves unable or unwilling to attend.  We ask that you notify us if this is the case so we can accommodate and adjust accordingly. As always, we will stream the Summit live and invite all members of the community who are unable to attend for any reason to join us virtually the day of the Summit.  We are also happy to provide refunds to those ticket holders who now feel unable to attend. If you would like a refund for your ticket, or have other questions about the Summit, please contact us at summit@oshwa.org.

Finally, we look forward to seeing many of you next week.  If you have been considering coming but haven’t purchased your ticket yet, now would be a great time to decide to join us!

3 thoughts on “The Open Hardware Summit Is Still On”

  1. Illogical decision Open Hardware Summit organizer. Events with more than 50 attendees that will take place at NYU campus between now and Friday, May 15, on campus must postpone, or to protect students. Require a confidential travel registry, international and domestic. When COVID-19 outbreak occurs in a place where attendees have been traveling, having this confidential information will help public health teams take effective action.

  2. New York is in the densest city in the United States, with three major international airports and 8.5 million people who do not submit a travel registry to anyone. The Summit will indeed have names and contact information for all its attendees — a contact tracer’s dream — in stark contrast to any subway platform in the city, most of which have more people present at any given time than the Summit will. The nearest Trader Joe’s poses substantially more risk to NYU students (which is to say: still almost none).

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