It's So Cool To Be In A Place That Looks Like Heaven

I've had more than my share of complaints with conferences that make no effort to expand beyond the single crayon color that is white & male.  Of the many things that makes my heart sing at the NetSquared conference is the global, diverse crowd that has been fostered.

Here's what I posted on the NetSquared blog:

There is a Desmond Tutu quote that I adore:

You need others. But you need others for everything, really. In our part of the world, we have something called ubuntu. Ubuntu. Ubuntu. Ubuntu. The essence of being human. We say a person is a person through other persons. I can't be human in isolation. I need you to be all you can be so that I can become me and all that I can be.

Being at NetSquared captures a sense of the beloved community that I so often yearn for. At lunch today, I sat next to someone from literally half the world away - a person doing extraordinary work to race a scourge of death on the African continent.  She is here, soaking up ideas from others - she is here, to be lifted up and celebrated - she is here, because what she is doing teaches all of us in the "developed" world.  Most importantly, she is here because the NetSquared paid her way to come here. Fully 20% of the 350 people here are present because NetSquared raised the money to have this attendee base reflect the richness of the human race, rather than the mono-culture that one usually finds at conferences.  Christine Herron points out that at typical business, geek or non-profit (or church) conferences, that mon-culture is about 70-90% white males.