RIPE 88 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Tech Session

Date: Thursday, 23 May 18:00 - 19:00 (UTC+2)

Moderator: Vesna Manojlovic, RIPE NCC

Scribe: Karla Liddle-White, RIPE NCC

Status: Draft

Welcome

Vesna Manojlovic, RIPE NCC

Vesna welcomed attendees to the session and went through the agenda. She provided a brief history of the RIPE community’s efforts towards diversity, mentioning past initiatives like the “net girls” group and the Diversity in Tech lunch meetings. She also emphasised the evolution towards structured diversity sessions focusing on inclusion and equity.

An Awakened "Me" as a Key to a Thriving "We"

Natasa Mojsilovic, RIPE NCC

The presentation is available at:
https://ripe88.ripe.net/wp-content/uploads/presentations/104-23MayNatasapresentation-RIPE88.pdf

Natasa guided attendees through a mindfulness exercise to connect with their bodies and surroundings. She spoke on how we can reflect on nature when we think of diversity and inclusion. Natasa highlighted how permaculture does not happen in nature and that diversity is nature and how we can also apply permaculture principles to community building which includes earth care, people care, and sharing fairly. She concluded her talk by encouraging interconnectedness of individuals and discussed how a daily practice of yoga or meditation can bring about more self-awareness and therefore inclusion.

Vesna Manojlovic, RIPE NCC, asked Nasata if she could tell them more about the challenges that exist in other communities that she was part of and what the RIPE community could learn from them.

Natasa said that egos and conflicts naturally exist within all communities. She noted that it was important to create space for differing opinions and to practise non-violent communication. While no community is perfect, she said that having the intention to be self-aware was crucial for accountability in managing conflicts and fostering a supportive environment.

Is It Just Me? Talking About ADHD and Other Neurodiversity

Rob Lister, LONAP

The presentation is available at:
https://ripe88.ripe.net/wp-content/uploads/presentations/117-robl_neurodiversity.pdf

Rob shared his personal journey with an ADHD diagnosis and its implications on his life. He highlighted common ADHD traits such as a short attention span, hyperfocus and disorganisation, and also social challenges that happen along the way. He continued to emphasise the positive aspects like creativity, energy and empathy.

Rob discussed the importance of understanding and supporting neurodiverse individuals in professional settings and in the community. He asked attendees to indicate if they had an internal monologue - highlighting the diversity in cognitive experiences in the room. He also encouraged the community to embrace neurodiversity and remove stigma and suggested practical accommodations like flexible deadlines, quiet spaces, and clear communication as well as suggestions for reading material around the subject. In conclusion, he highlighted the importance of continued conversation and awareness around neurodiversity.

Tom Hill, BT, expressed deep gratitude for the talk on ADHD. During the pandemic, he discovered he had ADHD. Tom emphasised the importance of having a public record of the talk, which provides a valuable reference for explaining ADHD to colleagues, co-workers and bosses. He thanked Rob for the clear and relatable explanation, which helps in articulating the challenges faced by those with ADHD.

Clara Wade, AWS, also thanked Rob for sharing his story. She said that it had been super insightful and appreciated the takeaways for RIPE meetings. When it comes to the workplace, she asked what are things that coworkers and managers could do to help people with ADHD succeed.

Rob said that supporting individuals with ADHD was highly personal and varied from person to person. What works for one might not work for another. He said you don’t have to disclose ADHD, employees could communicate specific needs to their employers to improve focus and productivity. He added that there were many resources available that offer good ideas for accommodations, and that it was important to tailor these to individual needs.

Friso Feenstra, Rabobank, said that he recently joined a neurodiversity network that provides support and safety for neurodivergent individuals. He expressed gratitude for the presentation and recommended the book "When All Brains Thrive" by Saski Schepers. This book is aimed at organisations and companies, emphasising the importance of recognising and valuing neurodiverse individuals for their unique and vital contributions.

Emil Petersen, Fiberby ApS, thanked Rob and said that they had spoken for three hours during a dinner and he didn’t remember his name (one of the possible symptoms of ADHD Rob had mentioned). He pointed out that this was why he asked people for their contact details so that he had a chance of remembering what a person was called.

Michał Kępień, ISC, thanked Rob for a great first RIPE presentation and said that it was the first time he’d ever come up to a mic at a RIPE Meeting and he’d been going for ten years or so.

He shared that he was diagnosed with OCPD two years ago and found the talk highly relatable. He acknowledged the stigma associated with acronyms and disorders but said that these traits define who they are, which is something to embrace. He expressed a wish for the talk to be presented at the plenary session.

Maria Matejka, BIRD | CZ.NIC, said that the internal monologue was in several languages in her situation.

Urban Suhadolnik, TU Graz, thanked Rob, sharing that he was diagnosed with ADHD as a child and often faced negative reactions from others who focused on his problems rather than his strengths. He said he appreciated the talk for highlighting the positive aspects of ADHD.

Niall O’Reilly, RIPE Vice Chair, said that like all the best RIPE talks it was thought provoking and entertaining.

Stephen Strowes, FASTLY, said that he wanted to hyper-fixate on one word that Rob used when he said ‘I’m not normal’. He said that this is a community that cares about the definition of words and normal and abnormal have a value judgement, which is different to typical and atypical.

Rob replied that everyone is on a scale of weird and it’s just finding out where you are on that.

Alexis Lameire, Cegedim.cloud, said that when you have disabilities and you are not straight and you are interested in many things, you sometimes accumulate a weirdo token and you need to deal with it. He explained his concern with a lanyard was that sometimes with a handicap you wish to hide it as much as possible and not to have help from people. He added that he was grateful when people said they didn’t see it and that he was able to cope and be himself.

Desiree Milosevic, RIPE community member, added that there’s science behind doing presentations at the last minute because brains are lazy. She said your brain wants you to start your work at five minutes to midnight because it needs all the time to beforehand think about different ways of doing it so it's a good thing.

Carolien Vos, RIPE NCC, said that she was doing an online course on diversity and inclusion and she’d asked the course professor for examples of how to bring more awareness around neurodiversity and they shared some ideas but she said she got the perfect examples from Rob.

Niels Bakker, Akamai Technologies, added that attendees may like a talk given by Bart de Bruijn called autism and working in IT and he gave that talk last year at an NLNOG Day in 2023.

Rob thanked Niels and said that everyone should keep talking about it as that’s the best thing to do.

Vesna closed the session by thanking the presenters and asked attendees to send their suggestions for the next Diversity and Inclusion session to the RIPE Chair, to herself or to meeting@ripe.net. She also noted the Diversity mailing list where people could continue the discussion from the session.