[An-lang] Follow-up on ICAL 2027 venue accessibility survey – additional thoughts

[Yuko Kitada]

Dear all,

Thank you for your message and for expressing your confidence in the local team.

I appreciate the reminder that the organizers are weighing multiple factors. However, my original inquiry was simply asking "Is everyone okay with the proposed venue in Hino (Meisei University)?" and "What is the current progress?" — especially since it appeared that even the committee members did not have full shared information at the time. There is no official website yet, and it is not clear who the local team members are, who bears primary responsibility, or who holds the most up-to-date information. That is why I addressed the question to the entire community.

If the local organizers were ready with concrete plans, they would likely respond with details such as "We will provide shuttle buses to the venue" or "The conference is currently scheduled for [specific dates]." The absence of such updates is precisely what prompted the questions.

Although the survey was anonymous, the responses are read by real human beings. If we can exercise the imagination to consider the participation of seniors or those with vulnerabilities, it should be equally easy to imagine that there are sensitive human readers behind those anonymous answers.

I do not believe such basic questions about progress and accessibility are inappropriate or harmful. On the contrary, they are a natural part of preparing for an inclusive international conference.

Declaring the matter "closed" unilaterally does not seem appropriate in an open academic discussion. As long as legitimate concerns remain and information is limited, I — and likely others — will continue to raise them constructively.

I remain hopeful for a concrete update soon and look forward to supporting a venue and arrangements that work well for everyone.

Best regards,
Yuko Kitada

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