EGU Townhall 2017

Title of the event
[EGU Townhall Session: OSGeo: Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) in the Geosciences]

Type of event
Townhalls are "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
80 - 100 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, Atmospheric 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 19/20 (Tuesday/Wednesday) 2016, 19:00 - 20:00 hours. The date will be synchronized with the FOSS-themend topical sessions (Hydrology and Earth and Space Science Informatics) and the OSGeo Training Course which is prepared by members of the OpenGeoScience Committee.

Relevance for OSGeo
how will our participation help OSGeo
 * Continuation and expansion of the "topical bridge head" established within EGU by the first two OSGeo Townhalls in 2014 and 2015.
 * 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" at the EGU GA: The organizers are urged to 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 [|Lessons Learned/Report for 2015] [required]
 * Promotional material: 200 USD (Posters/flyers announcing the event) [required]

Total requested budget: 2200 USD

Proposed Payment Method

 * No seed money required
 * All catering expenses (ca. 2000 USD) can be charged on the OSGeo Credit Card (as since 2014) before and after the event.

Support by OSGeo

 * Finacial support
 * Use of Logos
 * Volunteers: Preparation phase, event hosting, presentations during the event (-> OpenGeoScience Committee).

Timeline
Official EGU 2017 timeline and milestones


 * 2017-03: EGU Programme will become available online
 * Interface with Short Courses, etc.
 * 2017-04: GOAL: All potential guests have been informed ahead of time.
 * 2017-04: GOAL: Advertising material is ready. TODO: new "official" poster for EGU use needed
 * 2017-04: EGU begins: TODO: Personal invites @ the conference booths. TODO: Hang flyers / posters, etc.
 * 2017-04-xx 19:00 - 20:00 hours: Townhall !

Action items

 * Create working group within Open Geoscience Committee
 * Talk to EGU
 * Talk to Scientists
 * Talk to OSGeo communities