FOSS4G2020 Q&A Calgary - Revision history

Wiki-JonathanNeufeld at 23:03, 12 October 2018

2018-10-12T23:03:39Z

Wiki-JonathanNeufeld at 14:09, 12 October 2018

2018-10-12T14:09:53Z

Wiki-JonathanNeufeld at 14:46, 11 October 2018

2018-10-11T14:46:24Z

Tadams at 08:41, 11 October 2018

2018-10-11T08:41:24Z

Wiki-JonathanNeufeld at 16:59, 10 October 2018

2018-10-10T16:59:11Z

Wiki-JonathanNeufeld at 14:29, 10 October 2018

2018-10-10T14:29:27Z

Jmckenna: add missing category for page

2018-10-09T21:42:14Z

add missing category for page

Wiki-JonathanNeufeld at 21:37, 9 October 2018

2018-10-09T21:37:28Z

Wiki-JonathanNeufeld at 16:50, 9 October 2018

2018-10-09T16:50:06Z

Pramsey at 16:29, 9 October 2018

2018-10-09T16:29:05Z

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 To that end we will be soliciting sponsorship to ensure that childcare is available to attendees during the conference.
-We are also in discussions with the Indigenous Mapping Workshop and the Firelight Group  to include the exciting and valuable geospatial work being conducted by those organizations in the conference.
+The organizing committee of the Calgary FOSS4G bid welcomes the opportunity to co-locate with an Aboriginal Mapping Network workshop. This partnership would positively encourage the cross-pollination of ideas and technologies across cultures and geographies. The Aboriginal Mapping Network is delivering workshops with a greater focus on FOSS tools, including QGIS because of the ease of adoption for communities. This partnership will positively benefits both events by building a two way relationship between community technology users and developers of the technologies themselves.
 Calgary is a diverse and multicultural city and FOSS4G is no different, our conference Code of Conduct will reflect the need to accommodate a wide range of values while still remaining true to the foundations upon which OSGeo is based.

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 '''Questions Mark I.:'''
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 * '''What is your commitment to inclusivity, diversity, and ensuring that FOSS4G 2020 is as inclusive and as diverse as possible?'''
 * '''Answer:'''We recognize that in order to foster inclusivity and diversity while hosting a renowned international event such as FOSS4G that we need to start from the ground level locally. That is why we are engaging our city, our economic development organizations, our tourism bureaus, our institutions and our business community to ensure that every individuals within the Geospatial Community here can have the opportunity to participate and influence the conference. To build on our strong local base, we need to ensure that the program development is rich with presenters, sessions, workshops and social programs that will attract individuals from around the world. We intend to work closely with our local tourism bureau to build out social program not just for delegates but for their families as well to generate additional excitement and draw to our destination.
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 * '''early bird registration will be approximately $650.00 US while regular conference fee would be $800.00 US” there has been a lot of discussion about making FOSS4G more affordable, do you have any thoughts on this?'''
-* '''Answer:''' At this point we have very conservatively estimated available sponsorship dollars while anticipating the high end of costs associated with hosting the conference which has allowed us to meet the past registration numbers attained in Boston in 2017. That being said, we anticipate the ability to secure significantly more sponsorship allowing us to pass additional savings on to delegates. It is also worth mentioning that Alberta is the only province in Canada that only has one sales tax that will allow us to stretch dollars further.
+* '''Answer:''' At this point we have very conservatively estimated available sponsorship dollars while anticipating the high end of costs associated with hosting the conference which has allowed us to meet the past registration numbers attained in Boston in 2017. That being said, we anticipate the ability to secure significantly more sponsorship allowing us to pass additional savings on to delegates. It is also worth mentioning that Alberta is the only province in Canada that only has one sales tax that will allow us to stretch dollars further. As with previous FOSS4G conferences, we will be setting up a travel grant program to ensure that delegates without the financial means are able to attend. Through the travel grant program we will be offering free and reduced registration for qualified persons.
 '''Questions Till A.:'''
 * '''I would like to stress the point about costs. In the call we say "We hope to keep cost per participant under $650 USD for the conference (plus workshops).". As former chair I know about the difficulties FOSS4G teams have finding the right price for the conference. But can you tell something on how you are planning to enable people, who can not afford the conference fee and/or accommodation costs, to attend to your conference?'''
-* '''Answer:''' Again as we were working through the preliminary budget for FOSS4G we very conservatively estimated the ability to source sponsorship dollars for this conference. We are confident that by engaging our local community we will have the ability to pass cost savings on to our delegates. We can also confidently say that August is a slower period for the city of Calgary which will give the LOC the ability to negotiate lower guest room rates and venue costs as well as provide an abundance of accessible and cost efficient airfare into the city.  We also hope to far exceed the minimum Travel Grant commitment that would allow for costs associated with travel, accommodation and registration to be supplemented for some attendees.
+* '''Answer:''' Again as we were working through the preliminary budget for FOSS4G we very conservatively estimated the ability to source sponsorship dollars for this conference. We are confident that by engaging our local community we will have the ability to pass cost savings on to our delegates. We can also confidently say that August is a slower period for the city of Calgary which will give the LOC the ability to negotiate lower guest room rates and venue costs as well as provide an abundance of accessible and cost efficient airfare into the city.  Calgary has many post-secondary institutions with on-campus housing. We will be consulting these institutions in order to find affordable accommodation for those who do not wish to stay near the venue.We also hope to far exceed the minimum Travel Grant commitment that would allow for costs associated with travel, accommodation and registration to be supplemented or waived for some attendees.
 '''Questions Eli A.:'''
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 * Alberta is a hub of geospatial innovation – since 2009 TECTERRA has engaged with 187 Alberta-based companies including 85 start-ups, investing $45M in 71 industry-led projects and creating $210M of economic impact with over $380M projected by March 2022 (source: TECTERRA)
 * Calgary is the fourth most livable city in the world according to the Economist Magazine [https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/canada-economist-liveability-1.4784524 (source)]
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 '''Questions Venka:'''
 * '''Highlight the contributions (code contributions, documentation, outreach etc.) that the chair/co-chair have made to FOSS4G communities'''
-* '''Answer:'''
+* '''Answer:'''Through our LOC, we have supported previous FOSS4G conferences with sponsorship money and have contributed both code and documentation with repositories like the STAC validator.
 * '''How have the chair/co-chairs been involved in promotion/governance (Charter Membership, involvement in Committees etc.) of OSGeo foundation.'''
-* '''Answer:'''
+* '''Answer:'''Members of the LOC have given presentations on open source technologies at Alberta Geomatics Group events and local post secondary institutions. Our members are actively promoting the OSGeo foundation in order to create a wider community within Alberta.
 * '''Please elaborate on your local committee member's experience in planning OSGeo events (such as involvement in FOSS4G-global event teams, OSGeo local chapter event planning, or OSGeo code sprints). '''
-* '''Answer:'''
+* '''Answer:'''While we have not planned OSGeo events in the past, we have planned and executed hackathons and code sprints using open data. Members of out LOC have attended and sponsored FOSS4G events, including the past conference in Tanzania. We are aware of the immense planning that goes into putting on a FOSS4G event and have experience with similar events.

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:46, 11 October 2018
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	* '''What is your commitment to inclusivity, diversity, and ensuring that FOSS4G 2020 is as inclusive and as diverse as possible?'''		* '''What is your commitment to inclusivity, diversity, and ensuring that FOSS4G 2020 is as inclusive and as diverse as possible?'''
−	* '''Answer:'''	+	* '''Answer:'''We recognize that in order to foster inclusivity and diversity while hosting a renowned international event such as FOSS4G that we need to start from the ground level locally. That is why we are engaging our city, our economic development organizations, our tourism bureaus, our institutions and our business community to ensure that every individuals within the Geospatial Community here can have the opportunity to participate and influence the conference. To build on our strong local base, we need to ensure that the program development is rich with presenters, sessions, workshops and social programs that will attract individuals from around the world. We intend to work closely with our local tourism bureau to build out social program not just for delegates but for their families as well to generate additional excitement and draw to our destination.

← Older revision		Revision as of 08:41, 11 October 2018
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	* '''Is the host city reasonably reachable by something other than flying?'''		* '''Is the host city reasonably reachable by something other than flying?'''
	* '''Answer:''' Realistically, due to our location near the Western Coast, any mode of transport besides flying would be arduous and time consuming. Although bus routes via Greyhound are very common within Canada, delegates from outside of the country are encouraged to fly.		* '''Answer:''' Realistically, due to our location near the Western Coast, any mode of transport besides flying would be arduous and time consuming. Although bus routes via Greyhound are very common within Canada, delegates from outside of the country are encouraged to fly.
		+
		+	'''Questions Venka:'''
		+	* '''Highlight the contributions (code contributions, documentation, outreach etc.) that the chair/co-chair have made to FOSS4G communities'''
		+	* '''Answer:'''
		+
		+
		+	* '''How have the chair/co-chairs been involved in promotion/governance (Charter Membership, involvement in Committees etc.) of OSGeo foundation.'''
		+	* '''Answer:'''
		+
		+
		+	* '''Please elaborate on your local committee member's experience in planning OSGeo events (such as involvement in FOSS4G-global event teams, OSGeo local chapter event planning, or OSGeo code sprints). '''
		+	* '''Answer:'''
		+

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 '''Questions Paul R.:'''
 * '''While 1000 is a fair guestimate for potential attendance, it's important to note that in the past that kind of figure requires a good deal of local attendance. Are there major Alberta corporate / government users of open source geospatial who are likely to attend, present, sponsor?'''
-* '''Answer:'''
+* '''Answer:''' The greater Calgary area has a population of over 1.5M as of 2016, with a median age of 36.8 years old. We are young and populous city with a rapidly growing interest in technology. [https://www.calgaryeconomicdevelopment.com/research-and-reports/demographics-lp/population/ (source)]

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 * '''While 1000 is a fair guestimate for potential attendance, it's important to note that in the past that kind of figure requires a good deal of local attendance. Are there major Alberta corporate / government users of open source geospatial who are likely to attend, present, sponsor?'''
 * '''Answer:'''
 [[Category:Conference Committee]]
 [[Category:FOSS4G]]
 [[Category:FOSS4G2020]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:42, 9 October 2018
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	* '''While 1000 is a fair guestimate for potential attendance, it's important to note that in the past that kind of figure requires a good deal of local attendance. Are there major Alberta corporate / government users of open source geospatial who are likely to attend, present, sponsor?'''		* '''While 1000 is a fair guestimate for potential attendance, it's important to note that in the past that kind of figure requires a good deal of local attendance. Are there major Alberta corporate / government users of open source geospatial who are likely to attend, present, sponsor?'''
	* '''Answer:'''		* '''Answer:'''
		+
		+	[[Category:Conference Committee]]
		+	[[Category:FOSS4G]]
		+	[[Category:FOSS4G2020]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:37, 9 October 2018
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	* '''What is the mission of your respective FOSS4G?'''		* '''What is the mission of your respective FOSS4G?'''
	* '''Answer:'''		* '''Answer:'''
		+	Calgary is a hub for geospatial science and technology, and one of Canada’s leading entrepreneurial hotspots, with this in mind, the Calgary mission for the 2020 FOSS4G Conference is “OpenSource for Business”.
		+	We believe that the business community can learn a tremendous amount from the Open Source community, and has an incredible opportunity to leverage open source technology and build towards the future. Building on the strong base of geospatial knowledge and expertise we would work to highlight the value of open source technology to private and public enterprise, to grow adoption of the technology, and to encourage geospatial innovation across industries and sectors.
		+	Calgary is ideally suited because:
		+	** The City of Calgary was ranked as “Canada’s Most Mature GIS Program” [https://psdrcs.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Press-Release-Calgary-ranks-first-in-study-of-Canadas-most-mature-GIS-programs.pdf (source)] in a 2018 survey conducted by the Public Sector Digest.
		+	** 25% of all Canadian geomatics, navigation and global positioning firms are headquartered in Alberta [https://www.calgaryeconomicdevelopment.com/dmsdocument/225 (source)]
		+	** The Geomatics Engineering Program at the University of Calgary was recognized as #2 in world, behind Hong Kong Polytechnic [https://www.topuniversities.com/forum/general-discussion/best-universities-geomatics-remoote-sensing (source)]
		+	** Alberta is a hub of geospatial innovation – since 2009 TECTERRA has engaged with 187 Alberta-based companies including 85 start-ups, investing $45M in 71 industry-led projects and creating $210M of economic impact with over $380M projected by March 2022 (source: TECTERRA)
		+	** Calgary is the fourth most livable city in the world according to the Economist Magazine [https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/canada-economist-liveability-1.4784524 (source)]
		+	If FOSS4G were hosted in Calgary we would work to knit the business community and the open source community tighter together, so that each can benefit from the opportunity. Alberta is Open for Business and our mission
		+