The IESG and the IRTF Chair have decided to cancel the in-person IETF 107 Vancouver meeting. This decision is based on input we gathered from Working Group (WG) and Research Group (RG) chairs about our ability to hold productive WG and RG sessions at IETF 107. Our assessment of this feedback is that a majority of sessions would not be viable if we were to hold the in-person IETF meeting. On this basis, we believe we cannot hold an effective in-person meeting.
As a result of this cancellation, the in-person Hackathon, Code Sprint, all other in-person events planned for the weekend of March 21-22, the chairs training scheduled for March 20, and all other in-person sessions during the week are cancelled. The IESG is working on an alternative all-virtual agenda for the week of March 21-27 with a limited schedule adapted to accommodate the time zones of as many participants as possible. We are also planning to support an increased volume of virtual interim meetings during the weeks that follow. We will send another update to the community soon with more information about these plans. The Hackathon organizers are also considering plans for virtual Hackathon support. We have re-opened Internet-Draft submissions, which had been closed on March 9 in anticipation of the in-person meeting. Internet-Drafts may be submitted at <https://datatracker.ietf.org/submit/>. A separate announcement from the IETF Executive Director will follow with details about registration cancellations and refunds. These are unusual times given the circumstances created by the spread of COVID-19. We hope that everyone remains safe and healthy. Regards, The IESG and the IRTF Chair
