Forwarding to OSGeo board list, as apparently Peter was blocked from sending to the list.
On 23/02/14 05:17, "Peter Löwe" wrote:
Dear OSGeo board, dear OSGeo marketing committee,
I'm forwarding the following info to you all about an opportunity to launch an OSGeo themed event within the EGU General Assembly, as suggested by Cameron Shorter. Feedback about the feasibility of funding for the event would be very welcome.
Best,
Peter
http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/User:Peter_Loewe
*Gesendet:* Freitag, 21. Februar 2014 um 20:37 Uhr
*Von:* "Cameron Shorter" <cameron.shorter@gmail.com>
*An:* "Peter Löwe" <peter.loewe@gmx.de>, "Margherita Di Leo" <margherita.di-leo@jrc.ec.europa.eu>, jmckenna@gatewaygeomatics.com, "yann.chemin" <yann.chemin@gmail.com>, "Markus Neteler" <markus.neteler@fmach.it>, "Dominik Reusser" <reusser@pik-potsdam.de>, massimiliano.cannata@supsi.ch, "Helmut Kudrnovsky" <alectoria@gmx.at>, "Alessandro Frigeri" <alessandro.frigeri@iaps.inaf.it>, "Jens Klump" <jens.klump@gfz-potsdam.de>, "Jens Klump" <jklump@uni-bremen.de>, markus.metz.giswork@googlemail.com
*Betreff:* Re: EGU General Assembly 2014: FOSS / OSGeo Townhall Meeting - Overview
Hi Peter,
If ok with you, do you mind including board@lists.osgeo.org and marketing@lists.osgeo.org to the email CC list on this thread?
(If you wish sponsorship $$, then these communities need to see the proposal and vote on it).This event looks like a valuable promotional opportunity for OSGeo. The question is whether it is more or less valuable than the many other opportunities. I refer you to consider the board priorities:
http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Board_of_Directors#Board_Priorities
In particular: "Support initiatives which support themselves", and "Packaging and Marketing".
Sourcing a co-sponsor would be compelling, and noting that you will have numerous volunteers already attending the conference helps your case.I note also that the marketing committee is mostly ineffective due to a lack of volunteers to support requests such as these. In particular, we are missing a process for approvals and distribution of funds. (This is a thinly veiled suggestion that you might wish to help out).
On 22/02/14 02:52, "Peter Löwe" wrote:
Hi all,
[cc: Cameron Shorter for the OSGEO Marketing Board]
[cc: Jeff McKenna, OSGEO Prez]
Thank you very much for all your feedback concerning the current
discussion on options for FOSS/OSGeo meetings during the upcoming
EGU General Assembly (Vienna, April 27 –May 2 2014).
Here is an (exhaustive) update on the topic, based on past
experience organising one Townhall and various Splinter Meetings
in the past. Beware - this is a rather long posting.
It boils down to two questions:
- Do we want/need to raise awareness for OSGeo within EGU ?
- Are we willing to invest about 1500 Euro / 2000 USD for a one
hour reach-out event, which will pave the way to make OSGeo a
stakeholder within EGU/AGU ?
*Background Info:*
*What is this European Geoscience Union (EGU) ?*
EGU, the European Geosciences Union, is Europe’s premier
geosciences union, dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in the
geosciences and the planetary and space sciences for the benefit
of humanity, worldwide. It was established in September 2002. It
is a *non-profit international union of scientists* with over
*12,500 members from all over the world*. Membership is open to
individuals who are professionally engaged in or associated with
geosciences and planetary and space sciences and related studies,
including students and retired seniors.
What is this *Americcan Geophysical Union (AGU) ?*
[Wikipedia] The American Geophysical Union (AGU) is a nonprofit
organization of geophysicists
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geophysicist>, consisting of over
*62,000 members from 144 countries*. AGU's activities are focused
on the organization and dissemination of scientific information in
the interdisciplinary and international field of geophysics. The
geophysical sciences involve four fundamental areas: atmospheric
and ocean sciences; solid-Earth sciences; hydrologic sciences; and
space sciences.
*Researchers in the Geosciences can be members of either EGU or
AGU *- a membership in one of the organisations allows to benefit
from from both AGU and EGU offerings, including attending annual
conferences like the EGU General Assembly. In a nutshell: *The EGU
General Assembly is open to the 62,000 members of AGU as well. *
*What is a EGU General Assembly ?*
The annual EGU General Assembly is *the largest and most prominent
European geosciences event*. It attracts *over 11,000 scientists*
from all over the world, *of which more than a quarter are
students.* The *meeting’s sessions*, typically *over 500*, cover a
wide range of topics, including volcanology, planetary
exploration, the Earth’s internal structure and atmosphere,
climate, as well as energy and resources. General Assemblies have
around *4,500 oral presentations* and *over 9,000 posters*. Aside
from disciplinary sessions, dealing with the topics covered by
each scientific division, the meeting also features Union-wide
sessions such as great debates, Union symposia (including the EGU
Awards Ceremony), medal lectures, short courses and education and
outreach symposia.
*What is a Townhall Meeting, what’s a Splinter Meeting* *?*
(http://geolog.egu.eu/2013/11/19/townhall-and-splinter-meetings-at-egu-2014/)
Both types of Sessions are open (only) to EGU participants and be
booked free of charge (*no cost for the venue!*).
*Townhall Meetings* are *meetings open for all participants* in
the conference. During these meetings new initiatives or decisions
are announced to a larger audience following an open discussion on
the matter. Townhall Meetings will be scheduled from Monday to
Friday from 19:00 to 20:00 in the conference centre’s lecture
rooms. *Townhall Meetings last 60 minutes in the evening, fit 50
to 350 people, and are announce in the Information&Schedule Book. They attract large crowds, as they are staged in the evening
after the scientific sessions. Usually people linger after the
official ending of the Townhall to discuss the topics raised and
to network. *During this informal part, *beverages* and *finger
food* are consumed by the attendees (*this has to be funded *–
*Splinter Meetings* are *side meetings* on non-commercial purposes
organized by participants. They can be organized during the course
of the conference and they can be public or by invitation only.
*Splinter Meetings last up to 90 minutes and are held during the
day. Scientific sessions are held in parallel, which can prevent
interested people from attending. They fit 36 to 60 people and are
announced in the Programme (Information & Schedule Book) if booked
early.*
*OSGeo related background:*
*Since 2012*, there have been “*FOSS in Earth Sciences*” themed
events at the EGU General assembly, hosted by *OSGeo/FOSS
volunteers*. This started with an improvised Splinter Session
which drew a surprisingly large crowd.
References to OSGeo software can be spotted rather often every
year during the poster sessions (> 9000 posters!). Last year we
had the first session on FOSS in the Earth and Space Science
Informatics (ESSI). *This year there will be two independent FOSS
sessions *(ESSI and Hydrology). *This is a significant step
ahead.* *By now, researchers can apply to attend the conference,
to showcase the FOSS aspects of their work.* Before this,
everything “FOSS” had to be relabelled/closeted since there was no
recognition for this kind of scientific work.
While we have two FOSS sessions this year, I strongly believe that
*many people already doing FOSS-based research, or wanting to
learn about OSGeo, have not been reached.*
FWIW: ESR! and Microsoft Research usually have nifty booths at EGU.
*Options for OSGeo:*1. We can opt to apply for a *Splinter Meeting on FOSS (GIS) in
Earth Science* like in the past years. This will cause only
moderate effort. We can structure the session as we like.
There can be presentations, show&tell, discussions etc. This
has been done before and it's fun. We will reach an audience
of *30-50 people* (- in comparison to 11,167 attendees in
2013). Since there are FOSS-related sessions, a FOSS-themed
Splinter Meeting is logical, while *a Splinter Meeting title
referring to OSGeo would be difficult to justify - until now
OSGeo has not stepped forward within EGU*.
2. We can apply for a *Townhall Meeting on OSGeo* *and its impact
on Earth Science*. This will allow us to step forward and
officially *put OSGeo on the map within EGU*. The Townhall
could include presentations on what OSGeo is, why it’s
significant for Earth Science, latest developments like
OSGeoLive [option: *OSGeo-Live demo + OSGeoLive-DVDs as
giveaways*], etc., making it a genuine reach out event.
However, *this requires financial support and volunteers*:
1. Putting the *Townhall programme* together would be a
*collaborative effort by OSGeo volunteers* attending the
conference. I am sure *we can easily put together an one
hour show *from existing material + what OSGeo/FOSS people
activists will showcase at the conference.
2. The event *needs to be announced *before and during the
conference. Since the FOSS/OSGeo attendees do their
research in many different fields, *we should be able to
reach out to a large interdisciplinary community*. While
very large Townhalls draw over 350 people, *an expected
size of 100 people* seems more realistic to start with
(this is already twice the size of a Splinter Session). Reality check: In 2012, Alessandro Frigeri and myself were
able to attract at least 40 people by putting up posters
made in a copy shop two days ahead of the Splinter Session
- geoscientists dig FOSS !.
3. *Funding for OSGeo-Live DVDs*: The Townhall would need
reliable funding for the production of OSGeo-Live-DVDs
before the conference.
4. *Funding for beverages/food*: Townhall sessions usally
come with free “refreshments” (softdrinks, alcoholic
beverages, finger food) for the attendees. The is only one
company available for the catering:
1. Their estimate for *limited catering* (water, beer,
some wine. breadsticks) for *100 people* is about
*1500 Euro (ca. 2000 USD).*
2. A “*cash-bar“*, where the attendees (~100people) pay
for themselves, costs about *1040 Euro (1450 USD)*
for labour wages and general effort.
3. Theoretically, having a *Townhall “on a diet”* without
any beverages or food would be *possible*, but is
rather *unusual.*Thanks for reading through all of this!
I hope this overview will help you all to come up with a
"well-informed opinion". Your thoughts would be much appreciated.
Peter
--
Cameron Shorter,
Software and Data Solutions Manager
LISAsoft
Suite 112, Jones Bay Wharf,
26 - 32 Pirrama Rd, Pyrmont NSW 2009
P +61 2 9009 5000, W www.lisasoft.com, F +61 2 9009 5099