<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div dir="auto" style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class="">Ravi<div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">This could be misinterpreted as some criticism of the volunteers who have staged outstanding FOSS4G events in the last years or even of the attendees who are able to afford to attend. I hope that is not the case?<div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">I’m not going to comment further on the challenges of hosting a 1000 person conference and the associated costs, I think Jeff has summed this up well. This discussion has gone round the conference, board and discuss lists for several years. If we want a large event we will have to accept the costs, the ticket price is typically a lot less than the travel, accommodation and meal costs that “out of country” visitors incur. </div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">The answer, IMO, is to encourage the growth of regional and national FOSS4G to enable lower cost access and to extend our outreach. I have seen little or no evidence presented to support the idea that local and regional events need funding from the centre but if a case can be made then the board should give that consideration and/or delegate that responsibility to the conference committee</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Let’s celebrate the success of our global events and their attendees who do a lot more than “hang out”. These events, through their generous sponsors, provide a lot of the funds for the OSGeo board to use in outreach, code sprints and other activities<br class=""><div class="">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">______<br class="">Steven<br class=""><br class=""></span>
</div>
<br class=""><div><blockquote type="cite" class=""><div class="">On 16 Oct 2017, at 07:59, Ravi Kumar <<a href="mailto:manarajahmundry2015@gmail.com" class="">manarajahmundry2015@gmail.com</a>> wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><div class=""><div dir="ltr" class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div class="">Hi List,<br class=""></div>happy to note that 'FOSS4G being Costly/Unaffordable', is discussed.<br class=""></div>To make it fun, spice is added on the TERM HANGOUT.. <br class=""><br class=""></div>May be the next board will have FOSS4G for Business, where in 5* comforts that might make business easy for OSGeo.<br class=""></div>Will also have, 'FOSS4G Developers', where in young students/Reserchers can have a great conference.<br class=""><br class=""></div> Some fine tuning may make, Say , 1st 2 days 5 Star.. Next two affordable.<br class=""></div>But in a world where, 'COST some times means Efficiency', may not, 'play ball', with this Idea.<br class=""><br class=""></div>Cheers.. and All the best to the Hopefuls<br class=""><br class=""></div>Ravi Kumar<br class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><br class=""></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br class=""><div class="gmail_quote">On Mon, Oct 16, 2017 at 11:19 AM, Jody Garnett <span dir="ltr" class=""><<a href="mailto:jody.garnett@gmail.com" target="_blank" class="">jody.garnett@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br class=""><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr" class="">Okay I checked that the report is not published yet (sigh). I really appreciated Jeff's answer, and agree that regional foss4g events are seeing great success and are much more affordable.<div class=""><div class=""><br class=""><div class="">To answer your question:</div><div class=""><span class=""><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><span style="font-size:12.800000190734863px" class=""><i class="">'Do you agree that FOSS4G is turning out to be a hangout for those who can afford it'</i>.. </span></div><div class=""><span style="font-size:12.800000190734863px" class=""><br class=""></span></div></span><div class=""><span style="font-size:12.800000190734863px" class="">I have never agreed that FOSS4G is a hangout - I continue to view it as our most effective outreach event.</span></div><span class=""><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><i class=""><span style="font-size:12.800000190734863px" class="">costs (of participation) are </span><span style="font-size:12.800000190734863px" class="">so high that many might not afford.. </span></i><br class=""></div><div class=""><i class=""><span style="font-size:12.800000190734863px" class=""><br class=""></span></i></div></span><div class=""><span style="font-size:12.800000190734863px" class="">I very much agree with this, indeed I was only able to attend the Lausanne event by the kindness of people letting me sleep on their hotel floor. I have tried to return the favour each time the event took place in my home city.</span></div><div class=""><i class=""><span style="font-size:12.800000190734863px" class=""><br class=""></span></i></div><div class=""><span style="font-size:12.800000190734863px" class=""><i class="">If selected to the board HOW do you wish to correct this...</i></span><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">This is a tricky one, in part because I do not have to imagine - here is my own recommendation from the <a href="mailto:board@osgeo.org" target="_blank" class="">board@osgeo.org</a> email list thread: <a href="https://lists.osgeo.org/pipermail/board/2017-August/010526.html" target="_blank" class="">f2f meeting follow up</a>:</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><div class="">On 21 August 2017 at 11:23, Jody Garnett <jody.garnett at <a href="http://gmail.com/" target="_blank" class="">gmail.com</a>> wrote:</div><div class=""><br class=""></div></div></div></div><blockquote style="margin:0px 0px 0px 40px;border:none;padding:0px" class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><i class="">I saw this thread get into the details of the RFP - for that we have</i></div></div></div></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><i class="">volunteers on the conference committee. My goal as a board member is to</i></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><i class="">work on strategy, as the conference committee knows best about the RFP</i></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><i class="">wording and process.</i></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><i class=""><br class=""></i></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><i class="">*Q: *Based on the affordability report, and resulting discussion, did we as </i><i class="">the board have any direction to ask the conference committee to steer in?</i></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><i class=""><br class=""></i></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><i class="">My own feedback:</i></div></div></blockquote><div class=""><div class=""><br class=""></div></div><blockquote style="margin:0px 0px 0px 40px;border:none;padding:0px" class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><i class="">1) I was pleasantly surprised that the ticket cost of foss4g has not </i><i class="">changed significantly over the course of the events (indeed our most </i><i class="">expensive event was Sydney and our cheapest Korea).</i></div></div></div></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><i class=""><br class=""></i></div></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><i class="">I do not see any guidance to provide here (this was surprising to me).</i></div></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><i class=""><br class=""></i></div></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><i class="">2) Attendance continues to increase limiting appropriate venues</i></div></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><i class=""><br class=""></i></div></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><i class="">I do not see any guidence to provide here, our community and event is </i><i class="">growing. I think once we get around 3000 people we may be forced to settle </i><i class="">down to consider a fixed location, but at 1000-2000 we can still move it </i><i class="">around.</i></div></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><i class=""><br class=""></i></div></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><i class="">3) regional events are killing it</i></div></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><i class=""><br class=""></i></div></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><i class="">I do not see any guidence to provide here, our community and events is </i><i class="">growing. </i><i class="">The hope is this takes some of the strain from the global event, allowing </i><i class="">it to focus on outreach and advocacy more.</i></div></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><i class=""><br class=""></i></div></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><i class="">4) hard for students to attend (also journal, etc...)</i></div></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><i class=""><br class=""></i></div></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><i class="">There was a strong hope that travel grant program could help out a lot </i><i class="">here, that would make me sad as this was intended to work towards </i><i class="">diversity.</i></div></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><i class=""><br class=""></i></div></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><i class="">While there may be guidance here I am not close enough to the academic </i><i class="">world to provide useful direction.</i></div></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><i class=""><br class=""></i></div></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><i class="">5) diversity</i></div></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><i class=""><br class=""></i></div></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><i class="">The original intention of the travel grant was to bring diversity awareness </i><i class="">to our osgeo events (to apply regional events are asked to set a diversity </i><i class="">target which travel grant can help towards). During foss4g I attended a </i><i class="">diversity presentation that advocated creating a safe space.</i></div></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><i class=""><br class=""></i></div></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><i class="">*Guidance: *Trial the use of providing a safe space in the 2018 bid.</i></div></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><i class=""><br class=""></i></div></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><i class="">Similar recommendations online include:</i></div></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><i class="">- make female speakers a priority (not just in selection, but before hand</i></div></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><i class="">in promotion, one-on-one mentoring etc...).</i></div></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><i class="">- providing child care (this helps families attend)</i></div></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><i class=""><br class=""></i></div></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><i class="">Since these haver not been advocated by members of our community I am only </i><i class="">comfortable providing guidance on providing a safe space. Perhaps some of </i><i class="">these ideas can be tried out at regional conferences first.</i></div></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><i class=""><br class=""></i></div></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><i class="">6) time of year</i></div></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><i class=""><br class=""></i></div></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><i class="">The events have moved from September/October to August placing it in the </i><i class="">way of European holidays. With the bulk of our contributors in Europe this </i><i class="">has affected how many of our contributors can attend.</i></div></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><i class=""><br class=""></i></div></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><i class="">*Guidance: *Request September / October event (to maximize contributors who </i><i class="">can attend).</i></div></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><i class=""><br class=""></i></div></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><i class="">I understand next years event has plans to turn this into a holiday for </i><i class="">families which is a cunning plan.</i></div></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><i class=""><br class=""></i></div></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><i class="">7) travel / accommodation</i></div></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><i class=""><br class=""></i></div></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><i class="">I would like to avoid prime tourist season to avoid asking attendees pay </i><i class="">high airfair and accommodation costs. We did not have the number in the </i><i class="">affordability report to back this up (but Michael Smith was going to look </i><i class="">things up).</i></div></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><i class=""><br class=""></i></div></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><i class="">*Guidance: *Request September / October event (to avoid peak tourist </i><i class="">season).</i></div></div></div></blockquote><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><br class=""></div></div><div class="">Followed by:</div><div class=""><br class=""></div></div><blockquote style="margin:0px 0px 0px 40px;border:none;padding:0px" class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><i class="">> 5) diversity</i></div></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><br class=""></div></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><i class="">On reflection I am a bit uncomfortable offering guidance here - lacking the </i><i class="">needed perspective. I would ask that the conference committee consider </i><i class="">diversity as a selection criteria, but would hold off on providing specific </i><i class="">advice listed above. I recognize that the board as a whole is a diverse </i><i class="">body and may be in position to offer guidance.</i></div></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><i class=""><br class=""></i></div></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><i class="">I just don't think it is my place either as a board member (need to trust </i><i class="">the marketing committee) or as a white male (can offer only concern, not </i><i class="">perspective).</i></div></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><i class=""><br class=""></i></div></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><i class="">Aside: This whole discussion has increased my respect for the conference </i><i class="">committee, this is tough stuff. I thank those who contribute positively as </i><i class="">part of the conference committee.</i></div></div></div></blockquote><div class=""><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">The thing to note is that as a board member we can offer guidance, or in extreme cases provide a mandate to a group that wishes to act. I you asked me "<i style="font-size:12.800000190734863px" class="">HOW do you wish to correct this" </i><span style="font-size:12.800000190734863px" class=""> the answer would be to join the conference committe and help out, an ability each of us has as a volunteer.</span></div><div class=""><span style="font-size:12.800000190734863px" class=""><br class=""></span></div><div class=""><span style="font-size:12.800000190734863px" class="">The conference committee has my trust, and as I understand they are deeply aware and concerned about this issue.</span></div></div><div class="gmail_extra"><div class=""><div class="m_1093654049569412329m_1953855406890942866gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr" class=""><div class=""><div dir="ltr" class=""><div class="">--</div><div class="">Jody Garnett</div></div></div></div></div></div><div class=""><div class="h5">
<br class=""><div class="gmail_quote">On 15 October 2017 at 16:56, Jody Garnett <span dir="ltr" class=""><<a href="mailto:jody.garnett@gmail.com" target="_blank" class="">jody.garnett@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br class=""><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div class="">We actually have solid numbers for this, a report was provided at the Boston meeting that kind of answers this to my satisfaction. <br class=""><br class="">I was waiting for it to be shared with the membership, since your question was one I have been asked repeatedly over the last six months, especially at foss4ge.<br class=""><br class=""><div dir="auto" class="">I would really like you to be able to read the report and reach your own conclusion. </div><br class=""></div><div class=""><div class="gmail_quote"><div class=""><div class="m_1093654049569412329m_1953855406890942866h5"><div class="">On Sun, Oct 15, 2017 at 4:45 PM Ravi Kumar <<a href="mailto:manarajahmundry2015@gmail.com" target="_blank" class="">manarajahmundry2015@gmail.com</a><wbr class="">> wrote:<br class=""></div></div></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div class=""><div class="m_1093654049569412329m_1953855406890942866h5"><div class=""><div class=""><br class=""><br class="">Question (would be Board). 'Do you agree that FOSS4G is turning out
to be a hangout for those who can afford it'.. costs (of participation)
are <br class="">so high that many might not afford.. If selected to the board HOW do you wish to correct this..<br class=""><br class=""></div>Ravi Kumar<br class=""></div></div></div>
______________________________<wbr class="">_________________<br class="">
Discuss mailing list<br class="">
<a href="mailto:Discuss@lists.osgeo.org" target="_blank" class="">Discuss@lists.osgeo.org</a><br class="">
<a href="https://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank" class="">https://lists.osgeo.org/mailma<wbr class="">n/listinfo/discuss</a></blockquote></div></div><span class="m_1093654049569412329m_1953855406890942866HOEnZb"><font color="#888888" class=""><div dir="ltr" class="">-- <br class=""></div><div class="m_1093654049569412329m_1953855406890942866m_5086764790311503337gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr" class="">--<div class="">Jody Garnett</div></div></div></font></span></blockquote></div><br class=""></div></div></div></div></div>
</blockquote></div><br class=""></div>
_______________________________________________<br class="">Discuss mailing list<br class=""><a href="mailto:Discuss@lists.osgeo.org" class="">Discuss@lists.osgeo.org</a><br class="">https://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss</div></blockquote></div><br class=""></div></div></div></body></html>