[Foss4g2012] Re: [OSGeo-Conf] 2012 Status?

Sat Apr 7 16:55:28 EDT 2012

Michael,
Thanks for the clarification. If OSGeo is not financially tied to FOSS4G 
2012, then I'm comfortable with OSGeo's involvement being limited to 
advice and encouragement.
It is the LOC's to make hard decisions - like whether to hire a 
conference organisor to bring the conference back on track.

As a message to the LOC: I think the collective advice from prior FOSS4G 
event organisors like myself is that FOSS4G 2012 needs to step up and 
make some changes very soon if they are to attract an international 
audience.

On 8/04/2012 2:11 AM, Michael P. Gerlek wrote:
> No contract has been signed, so my understanding is that OSGeo will not lose any money -- but not gain any either.
>
> I'm of two minds about hiring a coordinator. I'm not sure we could pull this off without the current LOC team's help, and they don't seem inclined to dialog with anyone. (The reason the first coordinator attempt did not happen was effectively a personal matter, unrelated to the task or location, so I'm not sure it counts.)
>
> I suspect/hope it will be a Asia-regional event, drawing form China, Japan, India, etc. I sort of expected that from the beginning, however, and I'm actually okay with that -- as long as the event does actually happen!
>
> A few of the board members will be meeting informally during the F2F next week, and this is one of the two topics I hope to discuss -- I welcome input from the community here, as it will help guide our discussions!
>
> -mpg
>
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Cameron Shorter [mailto:cameron.shorter at gmail.com]
>> Sent: Saturday, April 07, 2012 4:57 AM
>> To: mpg at flaxen.com
>> Cc: 'Gavin Fleming'; conference_dev at lists.osgeo.org; foss4g2012 at lists.osgeo.org; Arnulf
>> Subject: Re: [OSGeo-Conf] 2012 Status?
>>
>> I similarly have considerable concerns about the progress of foss4g 2012
>> in Beijing, and suggest that we consider what options are available to us.
>>
>> Current lack of progress is, or very soon will be, triggering a
>> confidence vacuum amongst the international community. This will result
>> in lack of attendance from a large portion of the international
>> attendees. I'm guessing that international attendance will drop from ~
>> 300 international delegates to ~ 40 delegates, unless some major changes
>> happen to the organisation right away. This will mean foss4g Beijing
>> will be drawing primarily upon Chinese attendance only, which will make
>> the conference a regional event rather than an international event.
>>
>> So here is information I would like to know, and see considered from the
>> LOC. (The following information may be sensitive, and may be better to
>> share with individuals in the first instance.)
>>
>> 1. Will OSGeo loose money if the conference only attracts a small number
>> of people (say 100)? How much money would be lost?
>>
>> 2. How much money would OSGeo loose if the conference was cancelled?
>>
>> 3. Would we save money by hiring a professional conference organisor to
>> bring coordination back on track, and in turn build confidence, and
>> attract delegates? (I realise this has fallen through once before, and
>> it will be harder to follow this path a second time around.)
>>
>> I suggest that within 2 weeks, by 23 April 2012, the Beijing LOC should
>> make some hard decisions about the future of the foss4g 2012 conference.
>> * Either work out a way to find more people to get the conference back
>> on track - addressing the many fundamental issues which make a
>> conference work, and which the international community have been
>> complaining about.
>> * Or, face the reality that there will be very few international
>> delegates at FOSS4G 2012. Then ask whether the LOC has the connections
>> to draw local Chinese delegates to the conference if there are only a
>> handful of international drawcard delegates.
>> * Then estimate how much money will be earned or lost, and whether it
>> might be better to cancel the conference to mitigate losses.
>>
>>
>> On 7/04/2012 1:02 PM, Michael P. Gerlek wrote:
>>> We've tried a repeatedly to engage them, but the LOC seems to be pretty unresponsive -- and we don’t have any leverage to bring
>> to bear on them. And there is no contingency plan that I'm aware of: I don't think it’s something anyone's seriously thought of in prior
>> years, given the amount of up-front work needed for an effort like this. I suspect the 2013 selection team will be thinking about it this
>> time, though.
>>> Having been a guest of the Chinese delegation a few years ago when they started their chapter, I was impressed by their hospitality.
>> But unfortunately that experience has not carried over into planning for the 2012 event.
>>> As Paul mentions, they are listing Google and ESRI as major sponsors: I suspect this is a copy-paste from the 2011 pages, and if was
>> Google or ESRI I'd not be pleased to be so associated with this 2012 effort.
>>> And as a possible attendee, after seeing the numerous problems just with the website itself after all this time, I'd be very reluctant
>> to spend the time and money to go to Beijing for fear the conference would not be well-run.
>>> As of this writing, I think we (the conference selection team and the board, I guess) did not do well in choosing the 2012 committee
>> to represent our organization and host this event. There are lessons to be learned here, when this is over.
>>> (on the bright side, I'm very pleased to see the discussion and engagement of the 2013 LOI submitters! and I'm looking forward to
>> FOSS4G-NA next week!)
>>> -mpg  [speaking personally, not on behalf of the board]
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: conference_dev-bounces at lists.osgeo.org [mailto:conference_dev-bounces at lists.osgeo.org] On Behalf Of Gavin Fleming
>>>> Sent: Friday, April 06, 2012 7:04 AM
>>>> To: conference_dev at lists.osgeo.org
>>>> Subject: Re: [OSGeo-Conf] 2012 Status?
>>>>
>>>> On 04/04/2012 05:37, Paul Ramsey wrote:
>>>>> FOSS4G 2012 team, are you there?
>>>>>
>>>>> - When will there be a call for workshops?
>>>>> - When will there be a call for papers?
>>>>> - When will the web site stop being utterly incorrect?
>>>>>      - Sub-note, my 2011 workshop is listed there.
>>>>>      - Sub-note, sponsors (ESRI, Google) are listed there. Are they really?
>>>>> - Should I get a VISA?
>>>>>
>>>>> Thanks
>>>>>
>>>>> P.
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> Conference_dev mailing list
>>>>> Conference_dev at lists.osgeo.org
>>>>> http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/conference_dev
>>>> I'm just as concerned and sent a similar message to
>>>> xiongjie666 at gmail.com a few days ago.
>>>>
>>>> If the wiki is anything to go by, milestones are slipping by rapidly.
>>>> But I doubt it is anything to go by since the few 2012 pages that are
>>>> there have not been touched in ages.
>>>>
>>>> Does anyone here have personal contacts on the LOC, who could perhaps
>>>> shed some light on progress or reasons for a lack thereof?
>>>>
>>>> Do we have a contingency plan and if so what's the threshold for acting
>>>> on it?
>>>>
>>>> Gavin
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Gavin Fleming
>>>> t: 0218620670
>>>> c: 0845965680
>>>> f: 0866164820
>>>> Paarl
>>>> South Africa
>>>> 18°59'19.6"E 33°44'46.1"S
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>> Conference_dev at lists.osgeo.org
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>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Conference_dev mailing list
>>> Conference_dev at lists.osgeo.org
>>> http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/conference_dev
>>
>> --
>> Cameron Shorter
>> Geospatial Solutions Manager
>> Tel: +61 (0)2 8570 5050
>> Mob: +61 (0)419 142 254
>>
>> Think Globally, Fix Locally
>> Geospatial Solutions enhanced with Open Standards and Open Source
>> http://www.lisasoft.com

-- 
Cameron Shorter
Geospatial Solutions Manager
Tel: +61 (0)2 8570 5050
Mob: +61 (0)419 142 254

Think Globally, Fix Locally
Geospatial Solutions enhanced with Open Standards and Open Source
http://www.lisasoft.com