Last week we reported that the second BlackBerry Devcon Asia this year which was scheduled to take place on December 7-8 in Bangkok may have to be relocated, perhaps to Singapore, due to severe flooding affecting significant parts of Thailand.
Today we received confirmation of the relocation but RIM has yet to announce the new city or dates. Unfortunately for those who have made travel arrangements, RIM has not announced anything to address these concerns. The company has yet to make a decision on whether it will reimburse such expenses by conference attendees.
What is surprising though, is that while the flooding had occurred since the middle of the year and is still affecting parts of the city and the country, RIM had not seem to consider moving or rescheduling the event as well as the consequences of maintaining its course until it was far too late.
Developers who have purchased flight tickets and accommodation are now having to cancel those arrangement and perhaps even reconsider attending the event due to the impending financial burden. It seems only fair for these enthusiastic band of loyal RIM supporters to have their losses covered by RIM.
Read on for the full email from the company
From: Developer Conference <[email protected]>
Date: 2011/11/21Subject: DevCon Asia to be Relocated due to Flooding in Bangkok
*Important Notice:* Due to the current high levels of flooding in Bangkok,
Research In Motion (RIM) has decided BlackBerry DevCon Asia will not takeplace in Bangkok this year. The decision was made following advisoriesthat warn of ongoing dangers related to the serious impact of rain andfloods on the local infrastructure in Bangkok, where the conference wasscheduled to take place. The safety of attendees at any BlackBerry event is of utmost importance to RIM.******
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RIM is committed to the developer community in Asia and we are currentlyevaluating new locations and possibly new dates for the conference. Furtherdetails will be communicated in the coming days. We regret not being ableto hold the conference in Bangkok this year, but we look forward to returning the event to Bangkok in the future.******
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RIM apologises to all current registrants for the late notice andinconvenience this may have caused, but we appreciate your understanding due to the unforeseen circumstances that Bangkok is currently suffering. ******
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Existing registrations will remain active pending confirmation of the
location and timing for the DevCon Asia event.******
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Sincerely,******
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Event Management****
BlackBerry DevCon Asia****
