The WordPress community’s commitment to creating welcoming, inclusive, and accessible events is unwavering. By periodically revisiting our policies and adapting to the evolving needs of our community, we can ensure the continued vibrancy and success of the WordPress events program. In this spirit, I propose we revisit our venue selection policy, specifically regarding the use of venues with religious affiliations.
Currently, our policy restricts the use of venues with any religious affiliation, a guideline initially set with the best intentions to ensure WordPress events are inclusive and welcoming for all attendees — a principle of unequivocal importance. However, this policy inadvertently limits event organizers’ access to various affordable and accessible venues. This challenge is particularly pronounced in regions where the costs associated with venue rentals have surged in recent years. Notably, many universities that could serve as ideal venues are off-limits due to their religious affiliations, despite being open and welcoming to all individuals, events, and groups.
Proposed Policy Update
I propose that we refine our venue selection policy to permit the use of venues owned by institutions with religious affiliations, provided these venues are not used for religious worship and maintain a policy of openness to hosting events for all, without discrimination. This adjustment aims to broaden the pool of potential venues available to organizers, thereby strengthening our community by ensuring our events remain accessible and inclusive, without compromising our core Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. values.
What Do You Think?
Your feedback is invaluable. Please share your thoughts in the comments below, considering the following questions:
- Based on your experience, how do you perceive this change will impact the WordPress events program?
- Are there additional considerations we should be mindful of?
Please share your thoughts in the comments below by Monday, 3 June.
Next Steps
After 3 June, the Community Team will carefully review and synthesize your collective feedback to guide us in making an informed decision about the proposed policy update.
Thanks to @_dorsvenabili @kcristiano and @courtneypk for their review and feedback on this post.