I think this is a summary of the issues people have mentioned that
discourage participation from LDCs, in rough order of importance.
* People aren't aware the IETF exists, or what it does, or that it has
an open participation model
* People don't read and write English well enough to be comfortable
participating
* People are unaccustomed to and perhaps uncomfortable expressing
overt disagreement
* People don't think they have anything to contribute to an organization
that is mostly people from rich countries
* People don't have adequate Internet access for mail, or to use the
remote participation tools
I have to say that I don't see one or two meetings in South America
addressing any of these. Given that the incremental cost to the
participants, compared to meeting in North America, would likely be on
the order of a million dollars, it seems to me very likely that there
are better ways to spend the money.
For example, if language and net access is a problem, it might be
interesting to set up a remote participation center in B.A. during one
of the North American meetings (it's one time zone off from Toronto)
with screens and cameras, paid interpreters, and a few volunteers to
help explain what's going on.
R's,
John