SciPy 2023 is scheduled to be held in Austin, Texas, this summer. We understand that not everyone in the SciPy community supports this decision and that it may affect the choice of whether or not to attend this year’s conference.

NumFOCUS would prefer to host SciPy in a location that fully reflects our long-standing commitment to inclusivity, diversity, and belonging. Unfortunately, changing or canceling the contract with our venue for this year would incur a prohibitive financial loss. NumFOCUS is deeply regretful of the difficulty that this situation poses for the SciPy community. We will be changing locations for SciPy 2024 and hope to find a venue in a place that reflects our commitment to an inclusive culture and a diverse community.

We value the participation of each member of this community and want all SciPy attendees to have an enjoyable and fulfilling experience. We will continue to uphold our Code of Conduct, which states: “NumFOCUS welcomes and encourages participation in our community by people of all backgrounds and identities. We are committed to promoting and sustaining a culture that values mutual respect, tolerance, and learning, and we work together as a community to help each other live out these values.”

Our commitment as organizers is to make SciPy 2023 as safe and inclusive as possible for all attendees, and particularly for queer, trans, genderqueer, and non-binary members of our community.

Registration Refunds and Transfers to Virtual Registration

We recognize that those who may have been planning to attend may no longer feel comfortable or safe to do so. NumFOCUS will accept “no questions asked” refunds or conversions to a virtual ticket for any reason, right up to the start of the event. If you registered at any level, including as a presenter, and at any point do not feel safe or comfortable attending SciPy 2023, your registration will be refunded in full. To request a registration refund or a conversion to a virtual ticket, please email [email protected]. If there are other travel arrangements outside of registration that you need to cancel, we will do our best to help you.

Hybrid Conference

We are pleased to again offer a virtual ticket option for the main conference. If you or someone you know would be interested in attending but cannot travel to Austin, a virtual ticket will grant access to general conference talks, lightning talks, conference slack, Birds of a Feather sessions, and exclusive online networking opportunities.

Code of Conduct

We want every attendee to have a safe, educational, and fun time at SciPy 2023. SciPy has a Code of Conduct for all attendees that details how to report an issue or concern. 

We hope to see you virtually or in person this year. If you have any feedback or suggestions for how we can do better, please let us know.