We had 4 proposals for LCC11: Copenhagen, Maryland, Seattle, and York. We asked for your input on our choice of venue, and received over 100 responses — and we thank everyone who answered.
Taking everything into consideration, the Board viewed Copenhagen and Maryland as the strongest proposals. Both were very well put together, by enthusiastic hosts, in excellent locations.
Maryland had the advantage of faculty and departmental support and proximity to Gallaudet University, and of being back in the United States after a decade (the last was LCC5, in 2013). Copenhagen had the advantage of more people indicating that they could or would attend in person, particularly cross-Atlantic.
Unfortunately, this would likely be our only chance at having an LCC in the D.C. area in the near future — whereas Copenhagen would likely be available next year. However, Maryland had the disadvantage of being in the United States — which many potential attendees, particularly trans people, indicated as a source of concern for safety — and of being on a shorter deadline.
Ultimately, it was an almost exact tie, with Board members leaning both ways (and changing their minds both ways after live discussion with our potential hosts), but we decided in favor of having LCC11 in Maryland — with the intention of holding LCC12 next year, preferably in Europe — and providing detailed resources with a particular emphasis on safety for our European and trans attendees.
We would like to switch to holding LCCs on an annual basis, likely with a broad pattern of switching continents every year. This would allow us to announce the the subsequent LCC’s venue and date at the LCC, have a longer lead time for organizing both hosts and content, and be better accessible for our worldwide audience.