Micheal Kabunga, Coordinator of the Kampcon bid to hold the Worldcon in 2028 in Kampala, Uganda had this statement presented at Chicon 8 today.
Statement of intentions to bid and host the 86th Worldcon in 2028 in Kampala Uganda (KAMPCON)
It is with regrets that the KAMPCON bid team is not present in Chicago to announce its intentions to bid host the Worldcon in 2028. This is due to visa challenges to enable the team to travel to the United States of America. Yet not that this came as denial of visas, but absence of interview appointment dates at the USA Embassy in Kampala. This is not an isolated case for people traveling from Africa to many countries on different continents. This saddens the fandom community but we have to respect the rights of any sovereign state wholesomely. This affirms to our intentions to bid and host the Worldcon a global convention in a country with less travel restrictions. Thanks to the World Science Fiction Society site selection committee that has allowed us to have this statement of intentions put forward.
Hence here in on the second day of September 2022, KAMPCON a nonprofit of science fiction, comics Artists and fans in Uganda announce that we are bidding to host the 86th Worldcon in Kampala the capital city of Uganda, East of Africa in August of 2028 at the Speke Resort and Commonwealth resorts Munyonyo.
Speke Resort and Commonwealth resort Munyonyo, lie on the shores of the World’s largest fresh water lake Victoria, spread across 90 acres with 472 accommodation rooms, 6 multi cuisine restaurants, 3 grand ballrooms, 19 state of the art indoor conference rooms and three outdoor spaces which can hold up to 8000 guests within a bespoke Marquee. Overflow accommodations are available within Entebbe and Kampala.
We intend to build a robust global diverse team of volunteers and staff that is committed and confident of not only bidding and hosting not only a fabulous Worldcon in Africa but also a more inclusive global convention averting discriminations of all forms that are not a prerequisite to being a Science Fiction fandom fan. Such a Worldcon can only be hosted in Kampala Uganda the pearl of Africa, the country that hosted the first African writers conference in 1962.
We understand that bidding and hosting a Worldcon is a huge undertaking that requires a lot of capitals not only limited to finances and human resource. We call upon the Worldcon community, science fiction and fantasy fans from around the world to support the Kampcon Bid concept in a verity of forms. We will be glad to hear from you through contacts on our website: kampcon.org. Join the Kampcon team at all levels. Learn more about the bid from our website and media handles.
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I have no Great Thoughts on this, beyond the fact that it ought to be easier for ordinary people doing ordinary things, to travel. The Kampcon team is no more A Threat To Our Way Of Life than Mr. Ekpeki is, and not even being able to schedule an appointment for a visa interview is just ridiculous.
The visa process for people from outside the so-called western world needs to be improved, because things like this happen all too often.And it’s not due to the pandemic either, several African authors were unable to attend the Dublin Worldcon due to visa processing delays. Nor is it only the US that makes getting a visa so difficult. The EU is just as bad.
Otherwise, I wish the bid team from Uganda good luck and hope that I will eventually get to meet them at a con somewhere.
Lake Superior is the world’s largest fresh water lake.
Hey, I live in Michigan, I had to point that out.
Russians would say Lake Baikal is the world’s largest freshwater lake. Like mountain heights, it’s all in how you define “large” or “high”. Height above sea level? Everest/ Chomolungma/ Sagarmatha. Height from the mountain base? Mauna Kea (a lot of it is under water). Distance from the center of the earth? Chimborazo (the Earth bulges a bit at the Equator). So with lakes. Area? Lake Superior. Volume and depth? Lake Baikal. Length? Lake Tanganyika. Lake Victoria doesn’t seem to be the largest in the world by any of those measures, but it is the largest in Africa by area.
@Dennis Howard Thanks for leading me down a rabbit hole! 🙂
Of course, “largest lake” depends on what you’re measuring – Lake Superior is about 15% larger than Lake Victoria by surface area, but has roughly 4 times the volume of water through Victoria being much shallower. On the other hand, Lake Baikal is about 40% the surface area of Superior, but has over twice the volume….
Your point about the relative sizes of Superior and Victoria stands, of course!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_lakes_by_volume
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Apropos of nothing else, we have held entirely too many Worldcons in cities starting with C, D, S, G, and L. K would be a terrific addition.
I am more concerned about Uganda’s harsh laws against people having homosexual relations. This includes a life term for two men having sex. I suggest that President Biden send our Transportation Secretary and his husband over there to test the law and bring it publicity. Barbaric