Guadec Planning Meeting Notes - 20th January 2007

[Thomas Wood <thos gnome org>]

Below are my notes from the Guadec planning meeting that took place on 
the 20th January. Please feel free to comment on any of the points made.

-Thomas



Guadec Planning Meeting Notes
=============================

20th January 2007


Attendance

Paul Cooper
Bastien Nocera
Thomas Wood


Budget

    * Board has requested some form of budget
    * Would be difficult to produce a detailed budget
    * It would be useful to produce a list of things that we know we
      need to spend money on and have a rough idea of how much it might
      cost

Catering

    *  Do we include lunch with registration if possible?
    *  Venue has set caterers, and is not flexible on this. We need to
       know what they provide and if it is suitable.
    *  Another possibility would be to ask a nearby hotel if they could
       do any catering at a reasonable cost
    *  Packed lunch style catering may be another option if we run out
       of other options.
    *  Lunch might only be provided during core days to keep costs down,
       and to allow more flexibility. There are plenty of eating places
       nearby ranging from cheap fast-food to supermarkets to more
       expensive eateries.
    *  Lunch will be an hour and a half which should allow plenty of
       time for impromptu meetings and discussions.

Accommodation

    * Still waiting to hear from Aston about availabilities
    * Difficult to live up to 2006 "village" style accommodation
    * Most cheap places are out-of-town, and would require transport to
      get to the venue
    * Possibility of organising bus or train passes since public
      transport is relatively good
    * Booking out a youth hostel may be a last resort, but there were
      concerns about security.

Sundries

    * Long discussion about what gifts/souvenirs we wanted to give out
    * It was generally agreed that conferences tend to always give out
      lots of literature that is not often useful or read. We would
      like to keep this to a minimum if possible to save the
      environment.
    * It would be nice if sponsors had leaflets at stands so that people
      could pick them up if interested.
    * Gnome branded laptop stickers was one idea of something novel and
      interesting people may appreciate
    * Branded USB drives were another idea
          o These could be pre-loaded with sponsor literature, including
            "interactive and multimedia" content. May be more effective
            than paper literature if done well.
          o Possibility of a small "website" pre-loaded to introduce the
            conference and include other information. Possibility of
            this being created as a community project.
          o Include many other things, such as videos and demos. Perhaps
            even include some good videos from previous conferences.
          o Wacky idea about including a vmware image of GNOME 1.0 to
            remind ourself how far we've come
          o Could use credit-card sized cdrws if usb drives are too
            expensive?
    * Possibility of using Spreadshirt to print t-shirts.
    * Shirt design could be a community project.
    * Only include one t-shirt this year? Lots of people were giving out
      t-shirts last year, so their value and novelty is probably less, 

      especially for anyone who regularly attends conferences.
    * Possibility of polo shirts for helpers?
    * Look at last years budget for some idea of how much to spend on
      attendee packs
    * Flyers/Banners
          o Talk to Conservatoire about having banners attached to the
            building
          o Possibility of back drop banners in the main rooms

Website

    * Front page needs to be organised
    * Minimal approach may help prevent usability problems from last
      year with regards to finding information
    * Replace or remove GUADEC 2006 tab
    * Look at Oscon website for ideas of what information to present
      (their conference is around the same time as ours)
    * Call for papers system needs to be made ready for 2007
    * Information needed (or linked to) from front page:
          o About Guadec
          o Link to last year
          o News
          o Schedule (when available)
          o Keynotes
          o Local Information
    * Use Sponsor Brochure for content
    * Mirror entire website somewhere accessible for development?

Call for Papers

    * Need to make sure there is a clear copyright message and terms and
      conditions message when people submit papers
    * Video agreement also needs to be at the submit stage
    * Box for comments if don't agree to the license (e.g. someone may
      want to add a non-commercial clause)
    * Setting up the papers committee
          o One person will chair and also decide acceptance rules.
          o Ross Burton was mentioned as a possible candidate for this
            role, and Bastien will contact him. Advantages are that he
            is relatively local and well known in the community, as well
            as being very aware of the current topics of interest.
          o Michael Meeks was also mentioned as he has previous
            experience in this role and would be very able to assist the
            chair.
          o Davyd Madely has also expressed an interest in being part of
            the committee, and it would be good to have him involved.
    * Need to be aware of the possibility for half hour/whole hour
      papers.
    * Deadlines
          o Need to factor in Gnome release dates for when people will
            be too busy to work on a paper submission.
          o End of February or mid March may be a possibility for the
            end of the call for papers
          o Ideally would have final list of papers by the end of March.

Sponsorship and Money

    * The lack of an agreed place for sponsors to send money is holding
      up progress
    * Bastien will ask a bank to find out what is the best option for
      us.
    * Paul to find out if there are any other options
    * We need to find an accountant to manage the account
    * Appointed treasurer will authorise expenses
          o General rules would be that items less than £100 would be
            bought and expenses claimed back.
          o  Anything more than £100 would need to be invoiced.

Keynotes

    * Invitations have been sent, and four have already accepted

Visas

    * Paul will deal with any requests that are needed
    * Add a link on the website to British embassy so people can find
      out what they need to do

Advertising

    * Get in contact with magazines, and ask that they mention Guadec in
      any GNOME 2.18 articles