[OSGeo-Conf] Comments on Bonn FOSS4G 2016 letter

[Jeff McKenna]

Thank you for your Letter of Interest for Bonn, Germany.  Here are
some comments from me, to consider if you proceed to the next stage:

- Although some past FOSS4G bids have proposed a shared conference chair 
role between 2 individuals, the reality is that one single face is 
needed for the role of chair of the event (here you are proposing 3). 
My experience is that more than one will not work, that you must have 
one single goto for external visibility.  I have noticed that 2 chairs 
for FOSS4G cause also internal confusion (who in the end must make the 
hard decisions), and for that reason I have noticed that all FOSS4G 
events eventually officially begin with one single chair.  This is not a 
rule, but it is a strong recommendation, that you may consider.

- You do mention the issue of language (as FOSSGIS being the German 
speaking chapter of OSGeo); in your next stage bid you may 
explain/propose how to handle the demand for English sessions and local 
German sessions.

- You might also discuss in your bid how you plan to schedule the annual 
FOSSGIS event, for 2016 (will FOSS4G be the FOSSGIS event that year).  I 
believe many conference committee members will wonder this.

- Possibly highlight the use of Open Source geospatial in Germany in 
your bid (I am thinking of the Seoul 2015 team and how they explained a 
recent mandate by the Korean government to use Open Source solutions)

I hope these brief comments help you with your bid.

-jeff



-- 
Jeff McKenna
President, OSGeo
http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Jeff_McKenna