CanUX 2020 and Coronavirus / COVID-19: An Update

Our thoughts on dealing with the COVID-19 situation

 FOR NOW, STAY TUNED…

Over the past few weeks, we have been closely monitoring the news about the spread of COVID-19 both locally and internationally. Across the UX industry, a number of conferences taking place in the coming weeks and months have chosen to cancel or delay their events, while others have opted to proceed as planned. We (CanUX) are also weighing that situation carefully.

In March, we usually send out our initial newsletter announcing the first wave of speakers, sponsors, and the early bird ticket launch date. Although our event is still months away (CanUX 2020 is scheduled for Nov 12-15) we understand that the current concerns over COVID-19 are changing the usual pattern of attending events, potentially for the rest of the year. Before committing to put anything more into motion for 2020 beyond what we’ve currently done, we are taking some extra time to consider the needs of our participants and our community.

We will therefore hold off selling tickets and making any announcements about this year’s event until we have a better sense of how the situation is unfolding. From our perspective, we would be delighted if CanUX 2020 could go on as usual, but we’ll also take the time to make a carefully informed decision that reflects the reality of the current situation, as well as the projected trends for the near future.

As Ottawa reported its first official case of COVID-19, we will be monitoring the official sources of health information at Health Canada and the World Health Organization alongside the rest of the events world, and we hope to be able to provide you with a definite update on the faith of CanUX 2020 sooner rather than later.

Tanya & Cornelius

For more info, you can follow CanUX on on Twitter @canuxconf

*Image credit: CDC