Diversity Scholarships
Introduction
The goal of #include <C++> is to help make the C++ community more inclusive. Our diversity scholarships send people to major conferences and include conference admission (provided for free or at an enormous discount by the conference), accommodation and travel, as well as access to events like speaker dinners.
We will consider any candidate from an under-represented background with regards to the usual C++ conference attendees. For example, under-representation could be:
- gender related (women, trans people, non binary people among others),
- sexuality (LGBQ+),
- heritage (cultural, ethnic and/or racial identity),
- geographical (less represented areas),
- health or body related (attendees with reduced mobility, blind people among others),
- career path related (long time job-seekers, career changers),
- people with specific financial issues.
The applications will be treated as confidential and go to a small selection committee within #include <C++> and they will choose the delegates that will attend.
Travel and lodging expenses can cost between $1,000 and $3,000 USD per attendee, depending on where the candidate is and the accommodations they need.
Past Fundraisers
| Conference | Funds Raised | Scholars Sent |
|---|---|---|
| CppCon 2018 | US $ 4,000 | 4 |
| C++ on Sea 2019 | £ 1,445 | 5 |
| CPPP 2019 | Proceeds of T-shirt sales used | 1 |
| ACCU 2019 | £ 1,644 | 3 |
| CppCon 2019 | US $ 4,694 | 2 |
| ACCU Autumn 2019 | £ 438 | 1 |
| TOTAL | 16 |
Scholar Testimonials
ACCU 2019 Recipient
The first time I heard of #include <C++> was at Meeting C++ 2018. I didn’t buy a T-Shirt then but I joined the Discord Server. First, I just stayed around, reading messages. After a while I started to participate and mostly asking questions about an in-house talk I was about to give. I got a lot of great advice and the talk ended up to be a success.
A while later I read about scholarships for the ACCU 2019 conference in Bristol. I looked up the schedule for ACCU a while ago and it looked very interesting. But since I already went to a conference on my company’s budget in that year, there was no way they could send me to another one. So, I decided to apply for the scholarship (with a little encouragement from the #include people). I was very happy when I got accepted. The scholarship included a full conference ticket, the travel and the hotel. This is really amazing.
I already met some #include people at the airport. And while I have no problem with travelling alone, I felt really nice to already get to know them. I also very much enjoyed the conference and so many people told me that I have I voice and that they want to hear what I have to say, I decided to ask my colleague to do a conference talk with me. He immediately agreed and so we gave our first conference talk at Meeting C++ 2019 and more will follow.
I also got lots of help and really great advice on the #include <C++> discord server, like with the abstract, my speakers bio even with the question what I should wear.
I’m so grateful that I got the opportunity to go to ACCU conference and where it brought me.