Fedora DEI Team Meeting (2026-07-09): Mentor Summit Survey Data, Membership Vote, and "Respect the Culture"

Project Discussion
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Hey folks! :waving_hand: Here is the summary of the 2026-07-09 Fedora DEI Team meeting.

The Fedora DEI Team reports directly to the Fedora Council and coordinates diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives across the Fedora Project. Today’s meeting focused on sharing early Flock 2026 survey insights about the Mentor Summit, approving a new team member, and kicking off planning for the 2026 Fedora Week of Diversity.

Topics discussed in this meeting:

  • Early Flock 2026 post-event survey data on the Fedora Mentor Summit
  • Approval of a new DEI Team member
  • Fedora Week of Diversity 2026: format, timing, and theme brainstorming

Note: Claude Opus 4.6 was used to summarize the Meetbot-generated HTML log of the public meeting. I edited the AI-generated output before making this Fedora Discussion topic. If you notice mistakes, please provide a correction as a reply to this topic.

:link: Links to Meeting Logs

:memo: Executive Summary

Justin (@jflory7) opened the meeting by sharing early data from the Flock 2026 post-event survey, specifically regarding the Fedora Mentor Summit. Of 117 survey respondents, 39 participated in Mentor Summit activities (33%). Although it rated 3.2 out of 5 as a session type, the written feedback was more encouraging: the mentor lunch was praised by multiple respondents for its topic-based format and openness to all attendees. The primary criticism was noise, with two respondents independently recommending a quieter, separate room. One respondent suggested a “speed connector” event, and 13 respondents volunteered for the 2027 Mentor Summit Core Team. A full retrospective will follow once Jona (@jonatoni) has time to prepare.

The team then approved Mat H (@theprogram) as a new DEI Team member, closing a request that had slipped through the cracks. Votes were recorded from @lochipi, @jflory7, and @jonatoni. @jonatoni noted that the Forgejo “new member” issue template still needs to be converted from the legacy GitLab format.

The remainder of the meeting was dedicated to initial planning for the 2026 Fedora Week of Diversity (dei/tickets#63). The team aligned on producing a short, 2-3 hour virtual event with scheduled programming. Short talks of 10-20 minutes were identified as the best format for engagement. Hands-on sessions were considered but the team felt virtual delivery would be difficult without highly skilled facilitators. October was the preferred month, though the Fedora Linux 45 release on October 20 may affect contributor availability. @theprogram proposed inviting respected external figures and suggested that Alexandra (bookwar) may be willing to give a talk. @jflory7 pitched “Respect the Culture” as a potential event theme, framing it around Fedora’s evolving community culture and values. The team agreed the theme needs further brainstorming in dei/tickets#63 before execution work begins in the dedicated dei/fedora-week-of-diversity repository.

:white_check_mark: Action Items

:scroll: Detailed Meeting Log

Announcements, News, & Updates

@jflory7 opened the meeting with a quorum of five attendees: @jflory7, @theprogram, @misc, @jonatoni, and @lochipi. @korora and @x3mboy joined later in the meeting.

@jflory7 shared early data points from the Flock 2026 post-event survey on the Mentor Summit:

  • 39 of 117 respondents (33%) participated in Mentor Summit activities, rating it 3.2/5 overall
  • The mentor lunch was praised for its topic-based format and “openness towards all Fedorians”
  • Noise was the main criticism, with two respondents recommending a separate, quieter room
  • A “speed connector” format (5 minutes per table, then rotate) was suggested by one respondent
  • 13 respondents volunteered for the Mentor Summit Core Team in 2027
  • The Contributor Recognition Program was not specifically mentioned in survey feedback

@jonatoni asked whether more survey data would be shared later. @jflory7 confirmed that a more detailed and thoughtful analysis will follow once the Flock planning team completes its retrospective, and noted that Michael Winters (@mwinters) may be able to help with data analysis.

Ticket: dei/tickets#66 (Request for Membership)

@jflory7 noted that this ticket had slipped through the cracks. @lochipi and Nisha Chandila had already voted in the ticket. @jflory7 proposed approving @theprogram’s membership, noting that while the process technically requires nomination by an existing member, “we shouldn’t let process stand in the way of doing what is right.” Votes were recorded from @jflory7 (+1) and @jonatoni (+1).

@jonatoni pointed out that the “new member” issue template on Forgejo still uses the old GitLab format and needs to be converted. @jonatoni also noted that @misc had actually been formally approved as a member 10 months ago, which @misc had forgotten. :grin:

!agreed: Make @theprogram a DEI Team member! Close and process Ticket #66!

Ticket: dei/tickets#63 (Fedora Week of Diversity 2026)

@jonatoni introduced FWD planning and suggested October. @lochipi and @theprogram agreed that October provides a full three months to plan. @jflory7 noted the F45 release on October 20 and suggested timing the event either a month before or immediately after the release.

The team discussed the event format. @jonatoni asked whether the event should include talks, hands-on sessions, or a mix. @jflory7 favored short talks of 10-20 minutes as the best format for virtual engagement. @theprogram suggested hands-on sessions could work if presenters and community come together on a topic, but acknowledged the practical difficulty. @jflory7 noted that virtual hands-on delivery is hard without skilled facilitators and tools like Miro, which may not work well for Fedora’s audience. @jonatoni noted that previous FWD events had a CFP but received few applications.

@theprogram proposed inviting respected external speakers, and mentioned that Alexandra (@bookwar) had suggested a talk on “why it is good to argue with people on the internet.”

@jflory7 pitched “Respect the Culture” as an event theme, describing it as a play on Fedora’s unique online working culture that touches on past, present, and future. @korora liked the theme, noting it reflects that the community is neither fully in-person nor fully online. @theprogram agreed with the concept but noted the slogan may be interpreted differently by different audiences.

@jflory7 briefly floated the idea of a limited-edition swag item for attendees but immediately withdrew it, citing logistics concerns. @theprogram suggested keeping contributor recognition under Mindshare instead.

The team agreed on the organizing process: use dei/tickets#63 to align on the high-level vision (format and theme) first, then shift to the dei/fedora-week-of-diversity repository for detailed execution planning. @jonatoni identified four main volunteer roles:

  • Content and marketing
  • Design (e.g., banners, social media posts, badge design)
  • Event logistics (e.g., Matrix and live-stream)
  • Speaker management

!agreed: Aligned on producing a short, 2-3 hour virtual event with scheduled programming and content. Need more discussion on the content structure and topics for speakers.

!agreed: For our internal process, we will first use dei/tickets#63 to align on the Fedora Week of Diversity big ideas and vision for this year’s event. Once we approve the high-level vision, all work will begin getting planned and organized in dei/fedora-week-of-diversity repo.

Open Floor

@jflory7 noted that @theprogram had wanted to discuss “diversity in this decade” and dei/tickets#64 but time ran short. @theprogram noted the subject has evolved since the ticket was filed, with some wins for open source in California.

@theprogram volunteered to chair the next DEI Team meeting.

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