I sent the following by email contact pages to Senator John McCain, Senator Jeff Flake, and Representative Martha McSally of Arizona in regard to Agile Testing Days cancelling their US conference on 13 February.
Agile Testing Days is a top-tier tech conference about software testing and Quality Assurance in Europe. They had planned their first conference in the USA to be held in Boston MA, with a speaker lineup from around the world. They cancelled the entire conference on 13 February because of the "current political situation" in the USA. Here is their statement: https://agiletestingdays.us/
Although I was not scheduled to attend or to speak at this particular conference, it is conferences such as Agile Testing Days where the best ideas in my field are presented, and it is from conferences such as Agile Testing Days that many of my peers get those ideas, and I rely on conversations from those who do speak and attend in order to stay current in my field.
As a resident of Arizona, cancelling such conferences affects me directly. I have enough expertise and skill to live anywhere I choose. I choose to live in Arizona, but my work absolutely depends on the free flow of people and information across national and state borders.
It is shameful that such a prestigious and respected multi-national software organization finds it necessary to cancel their first ever conference in the USA because of the outrageous policies of the current administration. I urge you to take measures to make organizations such as Agile Testing Days and their attendees and speakers feel safe and welcome, as they should be.
Chris McMahon
Senior Member of Technical Staff, Quality Assurance
Salesforce.org
Tucson, AZ
Agile Testing Days is a top-tier tech conference about software testing and Quality Assurance in Europe. They had planned their first conference in the USA to be held in Boston MA, with a speaker lineup from around the world. They cancelled the entire conference on 13 February because of the "current political situation" in the USA. Here is their statement: https://agiletestingdays.us/
Although I was not scheduled to attend or to speak at this particular conference, it is conferences such as Agile Testing Days where the best ideas in my field are presented, and it is from conferences such as Agile Testing Days that many of my peers get those ideas, and I rely on conversations from those who do speak and attend in order to stay current in my field.
As a resident of Arizona, cancelling such conferences affects me directly. I have enough expertise and skill to live anywhere I choose. I choose to live in Arizona, but my work absolutely depends on the free flow of people and information across national and state borders.
It is shameful that such a prestigious and respected multi-national software organization finds it necessary to cancel their first ever conference in the USA because of the outrageous policies of the current administration. I urge you to take measures to make organizations such as Agile Testing Days and their attendees and speakers feel safe and welcome, as they should be.
Chris McMahon
Senior Member of Technical Staff, Quality Assurance
Salesforce.org
Tucson, AZ