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<div class="moz-cite-prefix">Hi Peter,<br>
I'm surprised that board members haven't commented on your
proposal. Your proposal is not a standard request and we don't
have specific guidelines to go buy.<br>
I think the closest is the Code Sprint Guidelines:<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Code_Sprint_Guidelines">http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Code_Sprint_Guidelines</a><br>
<br>
I expect you will have better luck if you can do a bit more ground
work and provide:<br>
1. A list of volunteers willing to help.<br>
2. Source another sponsor, I expect that OSGeo would be able to
provide matching funding.<br>
3. Only request minimal funds from OSGeo. (Ie, it will be
difficult for OSGeo to justify paying for a bar, and likely will
question whether it should pay for food).<br>
4. Once you have that in place, put a motion forward, that OSGeo
should pay $XX for YY, which the board can then vote on.<br>
<br>
On 04/03/14 03:51, "Peter Löwe" wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote
cite="mid:trinity-19873ad2-ef95-4bdd-a46a-f536cfd797a3-1393865480754@3capp-gmx-bs41"
type="cite">
<div style="font-family: Verdana;font-size: 12.0px;">
<div>Hi Cameron,</div>
<div> </div>
<div>can you please give me a hint on how long the decision
processes of the OSGeo usually take ? This is of course a
classic case of RTFM - but I'm not sure where this info can be
looked up. The planning for EGU is progressing and it would be
sensible to request a a timeslot for the OSGeo townhall sooner
than later.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Also, to request money from the marketing committee for the
production of a stack of OSgeo Live DVDs for EGU - does a
semi-formal E-mail request suffice ?</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Best,</div>
<div>Peter<br>
</div>
<div class="signature"><a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:peter.loewe@gmx.de"><peter.loewe@gmx.de></a></div>
<div>
<div>
<div name="quote" style="margin:10px 5px 5px 10px; padding:
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<div style="margin:0 0 10px 0;"><b>Gesendet:</b> Sonntag,
23. Februar 2014 um 04:48 Uhr<br>
<b>Von:</b> "Cameron Shorter"
<a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:cameron.shorter@gmail.com"><cameron.shorter@gmail.com></a><br>
<b>An:</b> "Peter Löwe" <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:peter.loewe@gmx.de"><peter.loewe@gmx.de></a>,
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:board@lists.osgeo.org">board@lists.osgeo.org</a>, <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:marketing@lists.osgeo.org">marketing@lists.osgeo.org</a><br>
<b>Betreff:</b> Re: Aw: Re: EGU General Assembly 2014:
FOSS / OSGeo Townhall Meeting - Overview</div>
<div name="quoted-content">
<div style="background-color: rgb(255,255,255);">
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">Forwarding to OSGeo board
list, as apparently Peter was blocked from sending
to the list.<br>
<br>
On 23/02/14 05:17, "Peter Löwe" wrote:</div>
<blockquote>
<div style="font-family: Verdana;font-size: 12.0px;">
<div>Dear OSGeo board, dear OSGeo marketing
committee,</div>
<div> </div>
<div>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.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Best,</div>
<div>Peter</div>
<div><a moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/User:Peter_Loewe"
target="_blank">http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/User:Peter_Loewe</a>
<div>
<div style="margin: 10.0px 5.0px 5.0px
10.0px;padding: 10.0px 0 10.0px
10.0px;border-left: 2.0px solid
rgb(195,217,229);">
<div style="margin: 0 0 10.0px 0;"><b>Gesendet:</b> Freitag,
21. Februar 2014 um 20:37 Uhr<br>
<b>Von:</b> "Cameron Shorter" <a
moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E"
href="cameron.shorter@gmail.com"
target="_parent"><cameron.shorter@gmail.com></a><br>
<b>An:</b> "Peter Löwe" <a
moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E"
href="peter.loewe@gmx.de"
target="_parent"><peter.loewe@gmx.de></a>,
"Margherita Di Leo" <a
moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E"
href="margherita.di-leo@jrc.ec.europa.eu"
target="_parent"><margherita.di-leo@jrc.ec.europa.eu></a>,
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated"
href="jmckenna@gatewaygeomatics.com"
target="_parent">jmckenna@gatewaygeomatics.com</a>,
"yann.chemin" <a moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E"
href="yann.chemin@gmail.com"
target="_parent"><yann.chemin@gmail.com></a>,
"Markus Neteler" <a
moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E"
href="markus.neteler@fmach.it"
target="_parent"><markus.neteler@fmach.it></a>,
"Dominik Reusser" <a
moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E"
href="reusser@pik-potsdam.de"
target="_parent"><reusser@pik-potsdam.de></a>,
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated"
href="massimiliano.cannata@supsi.ch"
target="_parent">massimiliano.cannata@supsi.ch</a>,
"Helmut Kudrnovsky" <a
moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E"
href="alectoria@gmx.at" target="_parent"><alectoria@gmx.at></a>,
"Alessandro Frigeri" <a
moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E"
href="alessandro.frigeri@iaps.inaf.it"
target="_parent"><alessandro.frigeri@iaps.inaf.it></a>,
"Jens Klump" <a moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E"
href="jens.klump@gfz-potsdam.de"
target="_parent"><jens.klump@gfz-potsdam.de></a>,
"Jens Klump" <a moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E"
href="jklump@uni-bremen.de"
target="_parent"><jklump@uni-bremen.de></a>,
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated"
href="markus.metz.giswork@googlemail.com"
target="_parent">markus.metz.giswork@googlemail.com</a><br>
<b>Betreff:</b> Re: EGU General Assembly
2014: FOSS / OSGeo Townhall Meeting -
Overview</div>
<div>
<div style="background-color:
rgb(255,255,255);">
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">Hi Peter,<br>
If ok with you, do you mind including
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated">board@lists.osgeo.org</a>
and <a moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated">marketing@lists.osgeo.org</a>
to the email CC list on this thread?<br>
(If you wish sponsorship $$, then
these communities need to see the
proposal and vote on it).<br>
<br>
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:<br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Board_of_Directors#Board_Priorities"
target="_blank">http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Board_of_Directors#Board_Priorities</a><br>
In particular: "Support initiatives
which support themselves", and
"Packaging and Marketing".<br>
Sourcing a co-sponsor would be
compelling, and noting that you will
have numerous volunteers already
attending the conference helps your
case.<br>
<br>
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).<br>
<br>
On 22/02/14 02:52, "Peter Löwe" wrote:</div>
<blockquote>
<div style="font-family:
Verdana;font-size: 12.0px;">
<div>
<div>Hi all,</div>
<div>[cc: Cameron Shorter for the
OSGEO Marketing Board]</div>
<div>[cc: Jeff McKenna, OSGEO
Prez]</div>
<div> </div>
<div>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).</div>
<div> </div>
<div>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.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>It boils down to two
questions:</div>
<div>- Do we want/need to raise
awareness for OSGeo within EGU ?</div>
<div>- 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 ?</div>
<div> </div>
<div><strong>Background Info:</strong></div>
<div> </div>
<div><strong>What is this European
Geoscience Union (EGU) ?</strong></div>
<div>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 <strong>non-profit
international union of
scientists</strong> with over
<strong>12,500 members from all
over the world</strong>.
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.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>What is this <strong>Americcan
Geophysical Union (AGU) ?</strong></div>
<div>[Wikipedia] The American
Geophysical Union (AGU) is a
nonprofit organization of <a
moz-do-not-send="true"
class="mw-redirect"
href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geophysicist"
target="_blank"
title="Geophysicist">geophysicists</a>,
consisting of over <strong>62,000
members from 144 countries</strong>.
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.</div>
<div><strong>Researchers in the
Geosciences can be members of
either EGU or AGU </strong>-
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:
<strong>The EGU General Assembly
is open to the 62,000 members
of AGU as well. </strong></div>
<div> </div>
<div><strong>What is a EGU General
Assembly ?</strong></div>
<div>The annual EGU General
Assembly is <strong>the largest
and most prominent European
geosciences event</strong>. It
attracts <strong>over 11,000
scientists</strong> from all
over the world, <strong>of
which more than a quarter are
students.</strong> The <strong>meeting’s
sessions</strong>, typically <strong>over
500</strong>, 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 <strong>4,500
oral presentations</strong>
and <strong>over 9,000 posters</strong>.
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.</div>
<div> </div>
<div> </div>
<div><strong>What is a Townhall
Meeting, what’s a Splinter
Meeting</strong> <strong>?</strong></div>
<div>(<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://geolog.egu.eu/2013/11/19/townhall-and-splinter-meetings-at-egu-2014/"
target="_blank">http://geolog.egu.eu/2013/11/19/townhall-and-splinter-meetings-at-egu-2014/</a>)</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Both types of Sessions are
open (only) to EGU participants
and be booked free of charge (<strong>no
cost for the venue!</strong>).</div>
<div><strong>Townhall Meetings</strong>
are <strong>meetings open for
all participants</strong> 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. <strong>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. </strong>During
this informal part, <strong>beverages</strong>
and <strong>finger food</strong>
are consumed by the attendees (<strong>this
has to be funded </strong>–
more on this below).</div>
<div> </div>
<div><strong>Splinter Meetings</strong>
are <strong>side meetings</strong>
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. <strong>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.</strong></div>
<div> </div>
<div><strong>OSGeo related
background:</strong></div>
<div><strong>Since 2012</strong>,
there have been “<strong>FOSS in
Earth Sciences</strong>”
themed events at the EGU General
assembly, hosted by <strong>OSGeo/FOSS
volunteers</strong>. This
started with an improvised
Splinter Session which drew a
surprisingly large crowd.</div>
<div>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). <strong>This year there
will be two independent FOSS
sessions </strong>(ESSI and
Hydrology). <strong>This is a
significant step ahead.</strong>
<strong>By now, researchers can
apply to attend the
conference, to showcase the
FOSS aspects of their work.</strong>
Before this, everything “FOSS”
had to be relabelled/closeted
since there was no recognition
for this kind of scientific
work. </div>
<div>While we have two FOSS
sessions this year, I strongly
believe that <strong>many
people already doing
FOSS-based research, or
wanting to learn about OSGeo,
have not been reached.</strong></div>
<div>FWIW: ESR! and Microsoft
Research usually have nifty
booths at EGU.</div>
<div> </div>
<div><strong>Options for OSGeo:</strong></div>
<ol>
<li>We can opt to apply for a <strong>Splinter
Meeting on FOSS (GIS) in
Earth Science</strong> 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 <strong>30-50
people</strong> (- in
comparison to 11,167 attendees
in 2013). Since there are
FOSS-related sessions, a
FOSS-themed Splinter Meeting
is logical, while <strong>a
Splinter Meeting title
referring to OSGeo would be
difficult to justify - until
now OSGeo has not stepped
forward within EGU</strong>.</li>
<li value="2">We can apply for a
<strong>Townhall Meeting on
OSGeo</strong> <strong>and
its impact on Earth Science</strong>.
This will allow us to step
forward and officially <strong>put
OSGeo on the map within EGU</strong>.
The Townhall could include
presentations on what OSGeo
is, why it’s significant for
Earth Science, latest
developments like OSGeoLive
[option: <strong>OSGeo-Live
demo + OSGeoLive-DVDs as
giveaways</strong>], etc.,
making it a genuine reach out
event. However, <strong>this
requires financial support
and volunteers</strong>:
<ol style="list-style-type:
lower-alpha;">
<li>Putting the <strong>Townhall
programme</strong>
together would be a <strong>collaborative
effort by OSGeo
volunteers</strong>
attending the conference.
I am sure <strong>we can
easily put together an
one hour show </strong>from
existing material + what
OSGeo/FOSS people
activists will showcase at
the conference.</li>
<li>The event <strong>needs
to be announced </strong>before
and during the conference.
Since the FOSS/OSGeo
attendees do their
research in many different
fields, <strong>we should
be able to reach out to
a large
interdisciplinary
community</strong>.
While very large Townhalls
draw over 350 people, <strong>an
expected size of 100
people</strong> 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 !. </li>
<li><strong>Funding for
OSGeo-Live DVDs</strong>:
The Townhall would need
reliable funding for the
production of
OSGeo-Live-DVDs before the
conference.</li>
<li><strong>Funding for
beverages/food</strong>:
Townhall sessions usally
come with free
“refreshments”
(softdrinks, alcoholic
beverages, finger food)
for the attendees. The is
only one company available
for the catering:
<ol
style="list-style-type:
lower-roman;">
<li>Their estimate for <strong>limited
catering</strong>
(water, beer, some
wine. breadsticks) for
<strong>100 people</strong>
is about <strong>1500
Euro (ca. 2000 USD).</strong></li>
<li>A “<strong>cash-bar“</strong>,
where the attendees
(~100people) pay for
themselves, costs
about <strong>1040
Euro (1450 USD)</strong>
for labour wages and
general effort.</li>
<li>Theoretically,
having a <strong>Townhall
“on a diet”</strong>
without any beverages
or food would be <strong>possible</strong>,
but is rather <strong>unusual.</strong></li>
</ol>
</li>
</ol>
</li>
</ol>
<div>Thanks for reading through
all of this!</div>
<div>I hope this overview will
help you all to come up with a
"well-informed opinion". Your
thoughts would be much
appreciated.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Peter</div>
</div>
</div>
</blockquote>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</blockquote>
<pre class="moz-signature">--
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 <a moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.lisasoft.com" target="_blank">www.lisasoft.com</a>, F +61 2 9009 5099</pre>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</blockquote>
<br>
<br>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
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 <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.lisasoft.com">www.lisasoft.com</a>, F +61 2 9009 5099</pre>
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