<div dir="ltr"><div>Hey Folks</div><div><br></div><div>First, apologies for the late update on this. I had something drafted, and then it slipped off the side of my desk for a bit!</div><div><br></div><div>The OSGeo Oceania Board didn't receive any proposals to host this year's regional event. Also, the OSGeo Board has suggested that regional chapters consider running events 
early in the year, and leaving space around the global event, which is scheduled for late August/early September.</div><div><br></div><div>There are some other local events running in November, namely Locate and the AEO Forum. And the Pacific conference, PGRSC, is running in November as it always does.</div><div><br></div><div>While the OSGeo Oceania Board won't be leading the delivery of a large event this year, we are intending on supporting PGRSC, and are already talking with their team.</div><div><br></div><div>Please consider if your local crew might like to run the next FOSS4G SotM Oceania in May/June 2027. We'll likely do a call for proposals later in 2026.</div><div><br></div><div>And if you're thinking of running a smaller local event in 2026, please reach out, as we can help with financial, logistics or process support too.</div><div><br></div><div>Kind regards,</div><div><br></div><div>Alex</div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Sat, 6 Dec 2025 at 10:37, Alex Leith <<a href="mailto:alexgleith@gmail.com" target="_blank">alexgleith@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr"><div>Hey Everyone</div><div><br></div><div>The OSGeo Oceania Board is excited to invite interested groups to submit a proposal to host the FOSS4G SotM Oceania Conference for 2026.</div><div><br></div><div>You can find an up-to-date RFP here: <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1M97HYlenjtO8x6p6w8h6l1qbCvM-mYq9yhjgGR4Mr2A/edit" target="_blank">https://docs.google.com/document/d/1M97HYlenjtO8x6p6w8h6l1qbCvM-mYq9yhjgGR4Mr2A/edit</a></div><div><br></div><div>The full RFP is copied below.</div><div><br></div><div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:3pt" id="m_-1626461199843359556m_-707331018772447022gmail-docs-internal-guid-895c9e2c-7fff-c3a7-1d84-7f7184a7ce4f"><span style="font-size:26pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">FOSS4G SotM Oceania Conference </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:16pt"><span style="font-size:15pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(102,102,102);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">2026 Request for Proposals</span></p><h1 dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:20pt;margin-bottom:6pt"><span style="font-size:20pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Overview</span></h1><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">With the </span><a href="https://2025.foss4g.org/" style="text-decoration:none" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(17,85,204);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:underline;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Global FOSS4G Auckland</span></a><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> now out of the way, it’s time to start thinking about our regional conference for 2026.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Letters of intent will be accepted from potential Conference Committees from anywhere in Oceania. Letters will be reviewed by the OSGeo Oceania Board and that group will engage with the potential committees to develop a draft budget and more detailed proposal. Proposals will be voted on by the Board before the decision is made and announced at the conference in Auckland.</span></p><h1 dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:20pt;margin-bottom:6pt"><span style="font-size:20pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Important Dates</span></h1><ul style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px"><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" role="presentation"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Release RFP</span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">: December 6th, 2025</span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" role="presentation"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Letters of intent due</span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">: January 16th, 2026</span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" role="presentation"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Questions and proposal development</span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">: January 16-31 2026</span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" role="presentation"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Decision announced</span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">: 2nd Feb 2026.</span></p></li></ul><h1 dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:20pt;margin-bottom:6pt"><span style="font-size:20pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Letters of Intent</span></h1><ul style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px"><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" role="presentation"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Limited to maximum of 2 pages containing:</span></p></li><ul style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px"><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:circle;font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" role="presentation"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Who is/are chair(s) and the initial members of the organising committee?</span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:circle;font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" role="presentation"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">What is the experience of your committee members with similar events?</span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:circle;font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" role="presentation"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">What is your proposed venue and dates?</span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:circle;font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" role="presentation"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">What makes your location and your team compelling?</span></p></li></ul><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" role="presentation"><a href="https://gist.github.com/dwsilk/1ee1f0347a0c386438504c3e20022df7" style="text-decoration:none" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(17,85,204);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:underline;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Example from 2019</span></a><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> Oceania event</span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" role="presentation"><a href="https://trac.osgeo.org/osgeo/browser/foss4g/proposals/2022/FOSS4G_2022_LOI_Firenze.pdf" style="text-decoration:none" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(17,85,204);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:underline;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Example from 2022</span></a><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> Global event</span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" role="presentation"><a href="https://lists.osgeo.org/pipermail/oceania-board/2022-October/000291.html" style="text-decoration:none" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(17,85,204);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:underline;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Example from 2023</span></a><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> Oceania event</span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" role="presentation"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Email to <a href="mailto:oceania-board@lists.osgeo.org.au" target="_blank">oceania-board@lists.osgeo.org.au</a></span></p></li></ul><h1 dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:20pt;margin-bottom:6pt"><span style="font-size:20pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Important notes</span></h1><ul style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px"><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" role="presentation"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">FOSS4G SotM Oceania will be supported by the OSGeo Oceania Board including financial and technical infrastructure (email, ticketing, marketing and so on)</span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" role="presentation"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">The event should aim to deliver a modest surplus with sponsorship and ticket sales delivering break even as a worst case</span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" role="presentation"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">A travel grant program will be supported with finance/admin from OSGeo Oceania</span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" role="presentation"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Previous events have run in-person and hybrid-remote with over 200 registrations</span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" role="presentation"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">November should be avoided (due to Locate Conference and AEO Forum)</span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" role="presentation"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Late August/Early September should be avoided (due to FOSS4G Hiroshima).</span></p></li></ul><br></div><br><span class="gmail_signature_prefix">-- </span><br><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><font face="verdana, sans-serif"><b>Alex Leith</b><br></font></div><font face="verdana, sans-serif">m: +61 419 189 050</font><div><a href="https://auspatious.com" target="_blank"><font face="verdana, sans-serif">https://auspatious.com</font></a></div></div></div></div>
</blockquote></div><div><br clear="all"></div><br><span class="gmail_signature_prefix">-- </span><br><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><font face="verdana, sans-serif"><b>Alex Leith</b><br></font></div><font face="verdana, sans-serif">m: +61 419 189 050</font><div><a href="https://auspatious.com" target="_blank"><font face="verdana, sans-serif">https://auspatious.com</font></a></div></div></div>