FOSS4G2025 Q&A 2 Hiroshima

Questions to the LOC from CC

Questions form　María Arias de Reyna

Streaming Services

Does this mean that you will offer streaming services of the conference? And if the answer is yes, will it be paid or for free? I ask because one strategy to encourage people going in person to conferences is not to release the videos until after a few months.

Answer from Hiroshima LOC

I apologize for any confusion regarding the streaming services. As mentioned in our vision (P.6), we aim to make the conference accessible to individuals from diverse backgrounds. For some individuals, economic barriers might be overcome, but other reasons might still prevent them from attending in person (e.g., physical disabilities, caregiving responsibilities, or geopolitical restrictions). Our intention is to ensure participation opportunities for these individuals by offering streaming services. The primary purpose of the streaming services will be targeted to those who genuinely cannot attend in person due to specific circumstances.

Expected Attendance

I see that you consider numbers that I feel are a bit low for attendance (base 400, better 500, best 600). I like that you are conservative and that the budget stays strong with a low number, but I think that we should be prepared for the upper number to be at least 1000, considering the historial data[1]. Is there a reason why 600 is the higher you planned on your budget? Because even if it is very far away from me (Spain), I see it is very close to some of the most vibrant communities out there. I know the venue allows for more than 1500 attendees, I am just curious if I'm missing some reason behind the numbers.

Answer from Hiroshima LOC

The venue has sufficient capacity, and we will prepare for the possibility of more than 1000 attendees. However, based on historical attendance figures for FOSS4G events in Asia and Oceania, which typically ranged from 400 to 500 participants, we have conservatively estimated a best-case scenario of 600 attendees. While Firenze had 1000 in-person attendees, Prizren had around 700. Therefore, we chose 600 as our best-case estimate. Although this estimate is conservative, it is intentional to ensure we can effectively manage the event even with fewer participants.

Iwasaki 21:35, 18 May 2024 (JST)

I'm sorry, I made a mistake in copying and pasting the question. I have corrected it.

Encouraging Participation in Code Sprint

Sometimes the codesprint is not of interest for the majority of the audience for several reasons (considered too technical, people are tired at the last day and decide to just do some tourism,...). Do you have any ideas on how to encourage participation?

Answer from Hiroshima LOC

To increase the appeal of the code sprint, we consider the following measures:

Collaboration with Communities: Enhance the code sprint by including activities from local communities and organizations, such as UNITAR and the Hiroshima Archive, to cover a diverse range of themes. By doing so, we aim to make the code sprint more attractive and inclusive. Additionally, we will work closely with FOSS4G communities to promote the event and communicate the agenda in advance, making it easier for participants to join.

Supporting Geo for All's Vision: Geo for All promotes geospatial education and opportunities for everyone. By positioning the code sprint as an opportunity to realize Geo for All's vision, we aim to encourage many users to participate, presenting it as an excellent opportunity to experience programming and development.

Showcase Contribution Opportunities: Emphasize how participating in the code sprint can provide opportunities to contribute to the development of various FOSS4G tools. For example, in Japan, there is a significant number of FOSS4G tool users, but contributions from developers and the community are not as widespread. We hope to encourage more participation in development through the code sprint.

Updated Budget in USD

I have to say, it was a bit difficult following the budget in yens. If you can provide an updated PDF with the numbers also in USD, I think that will help the other members of the committee to read it faster.

Answer from Hiroshima LOC

We are currently preparing an updated PDF with all financial figures converted to USD. We will share this document shortly.

Iwasaki 00:00, 18 May 2024 (JST)

I have prepared a version of the proposal with all amounts converted from yen to USD, calculated at an exchange rate of 1 USD = ¥150. You can download it from the following link: https://www.dropbox.com/t/9BxAVXKrxQBWrrEF

Additionally, the document has been uploaded to Google Drive: https://drive.google.com/file/d/12tVdgUPiRMqlQI2T4VY66iN8Ge5g6diD/view?usp=drive_link

Changes and additions have been highlighted in red.

While making these changes, I discovered an error in the original paper:

The $20K subsidy from HCVB must be refunded if there is a surplus of more than 20%.
Therefore, the surplus should be at least $4,000 (¥600,000).
On P37, the correct amount of $4,000 (¥600,000) is stated, but on P40 and P41, it is incorrectly listed as $1,333 (¥200,000). The correct value is $4,000 (¥600,000).
Since the paper has already been submitted, we will not make corrections to it, but we are reporting this issue here.

Iwasaki 17:25, 18 May 2024 (JST)