[Melbourne-pm] Deadline for bids to run OSDC 2009

[ben at benbalbo.com]

This is a reminder that applications to host the Open Source Developers'
Conference in 2009 must be submitted before the 1st of March, which is a
little over a week away.

If you are in need of an extension, please forward your request to the
submission email address included at the top of the application form
(http://osdc.com.au/files/OSDC2009-Application.odt) along with the
reason for the request and your anticipated submission date. Your
request will be considered and a response provided.

For your convenience, we provide the original announcement which
includes full details on the application procedure.

Original Announcement:

The Open Source Developers' Conference has been run successfully for the
last 5 years, drawing bigger crowds every year. For the first three of
those years (2004-2006) it ran in Melbourne before moving to Brisbane
(2007) and Sydney (2008). Each year it has had at least three full
streams of content running concurrently, catered tea breaks and lunches,
a formal sit-down conference dinner on the first night, and free speaker
entry. Some years have also included one or two days of tutorial content.

The Open Source Developers' Conference provides an important opportunity
for developers of open source applications and developers who use open
source tools to share knowledge and teach each other about the changes
and new ideas that have come up in the last year or so. Our core focus
is on writing code, and the tools that make that easier.

The Open Source Developers' Club exec are seeking applications from
interested parties to host the 2009 Open Source Developers' Conference.
Location is not an issue, so long as you are in the oceanic region. If
you are interested, or know someone that is, please complete the
application form (http://osdc.com.au/files/OSDC2009-Application.odt)
before 1st March 2009. The submission email address is included at the
top of the form.

We do have some model rules (http://www.osdcon.org/wiki/Model_Rules) and
a lot of ideas to share. Having said that, we're willing to be as active
or quiet as you need us to be.

Traditionally the conference has been run in either the last week of
November or the first week in December, if you want to deviate a lot
from these dates you will need to talk to us first. You will need at
group of 6-8 dedicated people who are able to give up an average of 3
hours a week from the acceptance date through to the conference itself.
You will be responsible for:

* finding and booking the venue(s)
* managing your finances (there will be some seed capital)
* advertising your call for papers to as many open source programming
  groups you know (we're happy to share our list with you too)
* creating the program (preferably ensuring that no one language or
  concept unduly dominates)
* identifying, deciding upon and inviting keynote speakers
* organising all the social events
* organising the catering
* seeking and arranging sponsorships
* advertising the conference
* finding volunteers and running an awesome conference

In return you will get:

* help from us when asked
* the satisfaction of arranging an awesome conference
* fame for running the best OSDC yet
* a chance to improve your profile in the open source world
* kudos from the exec committee, speakers and attendees

As this is such a big undertaking, we want you to know that we'll
support you every step of the way. Should you need more help, we're here
to offer advice or step in and do things if we can. Although OSDC Inc
isn't flush with cash, there are funds to cover deposits before the
money comes in. If for unforeseen difficulties the conference makes a
loss, you won't be out of pocket; although we do ask that you keep us
apprised of the financial situation on a regular basis and warn us if
there may be a problem.

We look forward to seeing your application!

The Open Source Developers' Club Exec