Guadec Planning Meeting Notes - 20th January 2007

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

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Guadec Planning Meeting Notes - 20th January 2007

Thread: Guadec Planning Meeting Notes - 20th January 2007