[Chicago-talk] Flourish Conference 2011 - April 1-3 - Chicago, IL

[eviljoel]

Greetings,

Many of you will probably be interested in the Flourish FREE open
source conference we are holding this weekend.  Please see the
following for details.

Thanks,
Joel Luellwitz


Flourish Conference 2011 - April 1-3 - Chicago, IL

Flourish is a FREE conference hosted by the University of Illinois at
Chicago Association for Computing Machinery (UIC-ACM) and the
University of Illinois at Chicago Linux User Group (UIC-LUG).  The
goal of Flourish is to promote Free and Open Source Software and Open
Culture.  We have a variety of talks, sprints and other activities
that you can participate in.  Check out our website at
http://www.flourishconf.com/.


Dates and Venue:

April 1st through 3rd at the University of Illinois at Chicago.  More
information about the venue is available here:
http://www.flourishconf.com/2011/directions/.  Our schedule is posted
here:  http://www.flourishconf.com/2011/schedule/.


Highlights from our Speaker Line-up:

We have an exceptional lineup of speakers this year:

- Ryan "Icculus" Gordon - Will talk about Gaming on Linux
- Italo Vignoli - Founder & Steering Committee member of The Document
Foundation (LibreOffice)
- Chris Palmer - From the Electronic Fronter Foundation
- Mitch Altman - A famous open source hardware hacker and creator of
the TV-B-Gone.
- Chris McAvoy - VP of technology at Threadless and founder of the
Chicago Python Users Group
- Gregory Miller - From Open Source Digital Voting

More speakers are listed on our website here:
http://www.flourishconf.com/2011/speakers/.


Panel Discussion:

For our panel discussion this year, four of our top speakers will
discuss the challenges for Open Source Software going forward.  Our
panel discussion is typically one of our better events and is one you
will not want to miss.


Lightning Talks:

Got something to say?  We'll give you five minutes to do it.  The
Flourish Lightning Talks is an hour set aside for our attendees to
tell us about whatever they want.  But you only have have 5 minutes to
do it before we give the floor to someone else.


Python Sprint:

Flourish has teamed up with the Python Software Foundation (PSF) to
host an official PSF sponsored Python Sprint!  By participating in the
Flourish Python Sprint, you'll have an opportunity to contribute to
the Python language itself or to one of its popular frameworks.  More
information about the Python Sprint is available at
http://www.flourishconf.com/2011/pythonsprint/.


BSDA and LPI Exams:

You will have the opportunity to take the BSDA or the LPI exams at
Flourish.  The LPI exam is being offered at a discounted rate.  More
information is available at http://www.flourishconf.com/2011/exams/.


Ubuntu Global Jam:

If the Python Sprint isn't your thing, consider participating in the
Ubuntu Global Jam.  Flourish 2011 is proud to provide the venue for
Ubuntu Chicago's Ubuntu Global Jam!  Please see
http://www.flourishconf.com/2011/ubuntuglobaljam for more information.


Flourish Mini-expo:

Tables will be setup showcasing various open source related companies
and non-profit organizations.  Non-profit organizations can get an
expo table for free.  See our website for more information.


After Party:

After a long day of attending talks and coding at the Python Sprint,
take a break at the Flourish After-party.  The party will be held on
Saturday, April 2nd at 7:00 PM.  Separate registration is required on
Eventbrite.  More information is available at
http://www.flourishconf.com/2011/afterparty/.


Registration is Open:

Registration is now open!  You can register at
http://www.flourishconf.com/2011/registration/.  Registration and
attendance is FREE!


Flourish and Social Media:

Flourish is on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/flourishconf) and
Twitter (http://twitter.com/flourishconf).  If you are attending,
please let other's know via the Facebook event page
(http://tinyurl.com/45goqub).  (Stating intentions of attendance on
Facebook is NOT a substitute for registering on our website.)


Thanks to our Sponsors:

The Flourish Team would like to thank our sponsors:  UIC SAFC, Orbitz,
Linux Journal, Source Forge and Threadless.