[FOSS4G-UK] Meeting 26th April and Updates

[Nick Bearman]

Hi All,

Many thanks to those who attended the meeting today. We have scheduled 
the next meeting for Wed 24th May, 12-1. A calendar invite will also be 
on it's way shortly.

FOSS4G:UK Meeting
Wednesday, 24 May · 12:00 – 13:00
Google Meet joining info
Video call link: https://meet.google.com/aph-qfxx-iog.

We have confirmed the date for FOSS4G:UK 2023 as Thu 7th Sept 2023.

We have six venues we are going to list on the website: Lancaster, 
Keyworth, London, Swansea, Bristol and Glasgow.

We plan to have fewer venues than last time, with more people 
(volunteers, speakers and attendees) as each venue to avoid spreading 
ourselves too thinly.

There is potential for Geovation to arrange to sponsor the London venue 
(at Geovation) and potentially arrange for a discount at the Engine Shed 
as this is a partner venue for them. NB will speak with Geovation.

St Andrews University (Scotland) also want to be involved. We discussed 
the option of having them as a venue as well as Glasgow, but need to me 
mindful of the need not to spread the volunteers and attendees too 
thinly. For the moment we will stick with just Glasgow, but this is to 
be discussed.

There is also potential for a venue in Ireland (Peter Mooney leading) 
who would like to take part.

There was also slight discussion of support for those with higher 
transport costs and lower ability to pay (e.g. ECRs). This can be 
discussed in the future.

We agreed some provisional deadlines:
     Volunteers confirmed by end of April
     Venues confirmed by end of May
     Registration open June (Ant to manage Eventbrite)
     Call for Talks closed 31st July
     Test event - 2-3 weeks before hand
     Event - Thu 7th Sept

Sponsorship will be available at Local and National level. NB to update 
PDF and circulate to this list, before sharing more widely.

Tech - centrally we will run similar to last time, with Jitsi call being 
used to stream Keynotes to local venue, with YouTube streaming for 
recording and wider sharing. NB to approach Amy at Kartoza.

Each venue will need to be on top of the tech arrangements. Al will dig 
out / put together some guidance based on experience from last year.

We will issue a similar Call for Talks to last year, being open with the 
types of talks. Local Venue Chairs can then adjust based on submissions 
and local preferences.

We will begin and end the day with streamed keynotes. We will also 
ensure a local venue welcome at the top of the agenda.

We plan to have 2 keynotes and 1 panel discussion. Barry leading the 
planning of the panel discussion. Participants will pre-record their 10 
min piece. We will consider how to best arrange the discussion, with the 
different locations of the panel members.

Potential Keynote presenters were discussed. Matt to approach Ujaval 
Gandhi (Spatial Thoughts) and Helen McKenzie (Carto / Helen makes maps). 
We also have a number of others to approach if needed. We need to keep 
in mind gender balance for these.

Women in Geospatial have a speaker list 
(https://speakers.womeningeospatial.org/) which we can consult for 
speakers both for keynotes and individual talks in due course.

Each venue needs a minimum of three volunteers with identified roles 
(Host | Technical | Registration) plus potentially others. NB to 
circulate role information in due course.

NB will setup a shared Google Drive folder to share documents. Access 
will be given to those on this list. (Speak to NB to change email 
addresses etc.)

We will also setup an IM discussion channel. WhatsApp is probably the 
most accessible, easy to use and ubiquitous. An alternative option is 
Matrix/Element. Comments / views / suggestions on this welcome. NB will 
setup in a couple of days time.

Thanks everyone for attending, and for those who sent apologies.

Best wishes,
Nick.

-- 
Nick Bearman
+44 (0) 7717745715
nick at geospatialtrainingsolutions.co.uk

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