Re: Barcelona report

[David Neary <dneary free fr>]

Hi Leslie,

Leslie Proctor wrote:
> I was part of the fundraising team for GUADEC when
> User Day and the government/business speakers were
> added.  They were added in response to the fact that
> we were getting firm "no"s from potential sponsors. 
> Those same companies came on board later on that year,
> as a result of us adding the enhanced User Day.  These
> companies have come back as speakers in large part
> because of the bigger focus of GUADEC.  

I actually agree that the sessions which are currently planned on user 
day are useful (at least some of them - I would prefer about half as 
many, of higher quality). However, having them all on a special day is 
not a good idea.

We should be working on integrating business and government, and 
integrating them into our community. As it is, GUADE User day is 
considered a wash-out by both presenters and attendees. The only people 
attracted by User Day as it is are sponsors. I would prefer spreading 
user day throughout the conference, maintaining sponsor interest with 
good names, and perhaps move the focus of GUADEC more to outreach of the 
community kind.

User day as it stands does nt serve either our community or the people 
who come to GUADEC to interract with it.

Cheers,
Dave.

--
Dave Neary
bolsh gimp org
Lyon, France