EGU Townhall 2015

Type of event
Townhalls are "power-networking events" hosted at the European Geosiences Union (EGU) General Assembly (GA) for up to 350 people.

EGU-wording: "Townhall Meetings are meetings open for all participants in the conference at which new initiatives or decisions are announced to a larger audience following an open discussion on the matter raised."

Townhalls are hosted in the evening following the conclusion of all scientific tracks. The events last one hour and usually have presentations / announcements taking up the first 20 minutes, to allow for an open discussion among the attendees. During this phase, refreshments are provided to ensure a lively and convivial atmosphere.

Expected Audience Size
100 - 150 people

Audience: Topical Background
Free Open Source Software from OSGeo projects affects most if not all EGU Divisions. Currently FOSS (OSGeo projects + R, GMT, etc.) is particularly strong in the Hydrology, Atnospheric Sciences, Earth and Space Sience Informatics and Tectonics Divisions.

Attendees are expected from the following fields (Academia, Research and Industry).


 * Atmospheric Sciences
 * Biogeosciences
 * Climate: Past, Present & Future
 * Cryospheric Sciences
 * Earth Magnetism & Rock Physics
 * Energy, Resources and the Environment
 * Earth and Space Science Informatics
 * Geodesy
 * Geodynamics
 * Geosciences Instrumentation and Data Systems
 * Geomorphology
 * Geochemistry, Mineralogy, Petrology & Volcanology
 * Hydrological Sciences
 * Natural Hazards
 * Nonlinear Processes in Geosciences
 * Ocean Sciences
 * Planetary and Solar System Sciences
 * Seismology
 * Stratigraphy, Sedimentology and Palaeontology
 * Soil System Sciences
 * Solar-Terrestrial Sciences
 * Tectonics and Structural Geology

Audience: Professional Level

 * Doctorate Students, PostDocs, Researchers, Activists, Leaders, Visionaries, Decision Makers, Funding Agencies

Venue

 * EGU GA location at the Vienna International Conference Centre, Austria
 * Townhall location: The townhall will be hosted in a dedicated lecture hall on the conference premises. Room capacity: Most likely up to 150 people.
 * Preliminary date and time: April 14 2015, 19:00 - 20:00 hours. The date will be synchronized with the FOSS-themend topical sessions (Hydrology and Earth and Space Science Informatics)

Relevance for OSGeo
how will our participation help OSGeo
 * Continuation and expansion of the "topical bridge head" established within EGU by the first OSGeo Townhall in 2014.
 * Raise awareness at and reach-out to the European geoscience community by hosting a dedicated public OSGeo event at the largest European geoscience conference.
 * Reach out to young scientists starting their careers.
 * Meeting place for people already active in OSGeo ("meta-BoF") as a large number of people congregates every year at the EGU GA.
 * Reach out to decision makers/elders/scientific activists within the EGU Divisions.
 * Culmination of the "FOSS day" (a new concept @ EGU, to be introduced in 2015) at the EGU GA: The organizers are trying to schedule all FOSS / OSGeo - related events on the same day. This will ensure we have a large audience and niceties such as "FOSS flashmobs" can be arranged for poster sessions. The "FOSS day" could and should be finished off with the OSGeo townhall, as a "multiplier/bring them all together" event.
 * Peaceful und friendly coexistence: Propiertary platforms including Microsoft, Google and ESRI are also staging dedicated events during EGU GA.
 * Awareness on the decision maker level: Significance of OSGeo within the emerging Data Science / Open Science debate ("-> OSGeo-tailored research programmes ?")

Budget

 * Venue rental: none
 * Catering: 2000 USD (based on last years experience) [required]
 * Promotional material: 100 USD (Posters/flyers announcing the event) [required]
 * Give aways: 500 USD (OSGeo-live USB-drives ?) [optional]

Support by OSGeo

 * Finacial support
 * Use of Logos
 * Volunteers: Preparation phase, event hosting, presentations during the event.


 * Markus Neteler ?
 * Yann Chemin ?
 * Edzer Pebesma?
 * Madi ?
 * GeoForAll folks ?
 * OSGeo-Live folks ?

Related Documents
Summary Report for the OSGeo Townhall at the EGU 2014 GA

Next Steps
the amount in this email), and point to this wiki page for more details)
 * Upon completion: email request for the funding to the OSGeo Board (list

Preparation Phase
tbd

Team

 * Peter Loewe
 * Volunteers ...

Catering
tbd

Press / Media
tbd

Materials / Give-aways
tbd

Programme
tbd

Speakers
tbd

Execution Phase
tbd