RSA Conference 2021 Day Two with Poet, Rives

## Overview

This is a community-focused address by spoken word artist Poet Rives, delivered from his backyard in New York state during RSA Conference 2021. As he notes, this is his fifth consecutive year speaking at the conference. Rather than a technical cybersecurity talk, it reflects on the human connections within the cybersecurity community and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on conference culture and collaboration.

## Rives' Interactive Conference Traditions

Rives shares his history of engaging attendees through participatory activities. In 2019, he circulated a cardboard box labeled "more betterer" where attendees wrote index cards describing their strengths. In 2020, he stationed himself at conference escalators with blank buttons and gel pens, inviting attendees to customize identity buttons. He expresses deep nostalgia for bringing these collected items backstage for the broader community to experience together.

## Community Message

The core of the talk features a video segment with multiple members of the RSA Conference community—attendees, advocates, advisors, speakers, and one of the conference founders—collectively expressing what they miss about in-person gatherings. Their message emphasizes face-to-face collaboration on security challenges, spirited debates during keynotes, informal networking ("the Bash"), and lifelong friendships. They frame the cybersecurity community as "one family" united by shared commitment, noting that while attendees and speakers may be competitors and colleagues, their "fates are intertwined" and they "rise and fall together."

## Key Themes

The speakers acknowledge that the pandemic year has fundamentally changed how people work, think, and live. They frame the community's response as one of adaptation, perseverance, and collective survival. Central messages include calls for unity in facing "the 21st century's biggest threat to humankind" and emphasis on human resilience. The repeated refrain "we miss you" underscores the emotional and professional value of in-person connection.

## Takeaways

The overarching message stresses resilience, community cohesion, and hope for future in-person reconnection. Rives urges the audience to "hold on, to hang on, and to hang in." The talk closes with calls for bravery and unity as the community faces challenges ahead, expressed through collective gratitude and acknowledgment that next year they hope to meet in person again.