2009/3/19 joseph seddon <life_is_bitter_sweet(a)hotmail.co.uk>uk>:
As many of you may be aware, from saturday onwards I
will be off the coast
of scotland
with no likely internet access, poor 3G and irregular mobile signal.
You lucky man!
I need to know who has had experience with events like
wikimania, who has
attened wikimania
or similar free knowledge/open source before, technical knowledge on running
events, press
experience, accounting etc etc. With this information a section can be
drafted up about the
abilities of the local team etc. If replies are simply posted here with a
brief outline that will
be most helpful
Although I'm not particularly active here in WikimediaUK I am
monitoring. I'd like to highlight my experience with events like this.
I'm not about to start volunteering time here, I am unable to do so
due to other commitments. However, if there is something quick I can
do for you, feel free to ask.
I am member of the Conference Planning Committee over at the Apache
Software Foundation. This means I've been involved with putting on
major, multi-stream conferences. This year I am the co-lead on
ApacheCon Europe (which starts next week in Amsterdam if anyone is
interested - see http//www.apachecon.com). I have also been involved
to a lesser extent in previous years events.
My experience is one of coordination rather than doing. We have
specialists handling all the important stuff like production, press,
accounting, local engagement etc. The role of the conference committee
is to make sure they all play nicely together and to make decisions
about content at the event.
The most important thing to understand is, even with all the
professional support we have, running a major international conference
is a *huge* undertaking. I'm sure you know this already, but the more
times it is said the more aware of it we are.
Good luck and don't hesitate to ask if there if you think I may be
able to help in some speficic way.
Ross