[FOSS4G2016] foss4g2016 topics?

[Codrina Maria Ilie]

Hi all,

2 weeks ago, at the irc meeting the matter of whether FOSS4G 2016 should 
have stated topics come up. I took the task of making a short review on 
what happened at previous FOSS4G events, not only global but regional as 
well. Here:[1] I put together a table in my attempt to capture the 
situation in a few previous years.

A few conclusions that I draw from this exercise:
On a general level:
the history of regional FOSS4G events is no quite so well preserved
(webpages no longer exist or they have been replaced with the latest 
regional event; due to various and objective reasons, sometimes regional 
events can/are not annual, which makes it very difficult to track their 
evolution over time, changing names etc.)


Related to topics:
for the purpose of this exercise, I haven't recorded below 2012;
a visible structuring of the event by topics as years pass by;
Academic track is a constant;
Independent of the naming of the topics, I would devise within the 
following categories:  Academic, Development, Use, Big Data/Open Data, 
SDI, 3D/SfM, Web, Standards, Tracks by theme.

Of course, many of the discovered topics can easily fall into more than 
just one category and this separation is intrinsically related to 
expertise, to the understanding of the topic etc.


The idea of topics and calls for topic is related to scientific 
conferences and can be seen when LOC members belong more to the 
academia. However, personally, I consider that there are some great 
benefits in defining topics for foss4g 2016.  Here is a list of pros and 
cons I could think of:

Pros:
- it can be well used in the dissemination of the event over communities
- it shows structuring and organization
- it could be of assistance in the call for the program committee
- it definitely helps when building the final program
- it can offer a guideline in selecting the keynote speakers and the day 
when they'll speak
- ...

Cons:
- requires a considerable effort in selecting the topics; splintering 
too much vs. making it too general
- additional work in drafting pertinent characterizations
- ...


@Till, if this is of interest maybe it can be put on the meeting agenda 
of tonight?


Regards,
Codrina


1:[https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1fol4MAgtkNJOpeDbgggyRwgiZk9QKrYXBu9AQ5dL9XM/edit?usp=sharing]