[Board] EGU General Assembly 2014: FOSS / OSGeo Townhall Meeting - Overview

[Cameron Shorter]

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 at gmail.com>
> *An:* "Peter Löwe" <peter.loewe at gmx.de>, "Margherita Di Leo" 
> <margherita.di-leo at jrc.ec.europa.eu>, jmckenna at gatewaygeomatics.com, 
> "yann.chemin" <yann.chemin at gmail.com>, "Markus Neteler" 
> <markus.neteler at fmach.it>, "Dominik Reusser" <reusser at pik-potsdam.de>, 
> massimiliano.cannata at supsi.ch, "Helmut Kudrnovsky" <alectoria at gmx.at>, 
> "Alessandro Frigeri" <alessandro.frigeri at iaps.inaf.it>, "Jens Klump" 
> <jens.klump at gfz-potsdam.de>, "Jens Klump" <jklump at uni-bremen.de>, 
> markus.metz.giswork at googlemail.com
> *Betreff:* Re: EGU General Assembly 2014: FOSS / OSGeo Townhall 
> Meeting - Overview
> Hi Peter,
> If ok with you, do you mind including board at lists.osgeo.org and 
> marketing at 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 *–
>     more on this below).
>     *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

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