Dear UX Community,
We have received a number of messages from the UX community, including UXPA members, about our choice to have the venue for the UXPA 2024 International Conference in South Florida, and we wanted to provide an explanation of the event location.
As a small, non-profit organization that tries to vary the geography for our annual conference, we are forced to contract our conference venues many years in advance. Our selection of The Diplomat Beach Resort for the 2024 conference took place 4 years ago. The financial penalties for canceling or moving our conference at this late juncture are substantial, and it would put our organization in significant financial distress. Additionally, we believe that by pulling our conference out of Florida, we would directly impact the affected communities. UXPA believes that one way to fight the hatred and bigotry happening in Florida is not to avoid it or boycott the economy of an area of the state that embraces the LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC communities.
We have spoken with the Diplomat (a Hilton property) and the local chamber of commerce about their policies to ensure the safety and inclusion of our attendees. Hilton has joined a pact of over 150 major corporations who are in staunch opposition to the recent legislation in Florida, which you can read here.
UXPA International is committed to holding our conference in Florida, making our attendees feel safe, and partnering with local advocacy and policy groups to get the message out that the UX profession stands for equality and inclusion.
We understand the seriousness of this situation and are committed to the wellbeing of our conference attendees.
Please reach out with questions to office@uxpa.org.
Thank you for your support, and we welcome you to UXPA 2024.
– UXPA International
