DebConf10/Quito/DecisionMeeting

About the priority list

• "affordable" for both sponsors and attendees
  • Definitely. All aspects of the bid are most affordable, and issues like connectivity are getting very cost-competitive.
• strong, mature, experienced local team
  • Local team has been organizing local conferences, some of us have been taking part on earlier DebConfs, but sure, this would be a great challenge!
• good working spaces
  • Overall, CCEE provides a great place to hold our conference, yet hacklabs are still to be defined since CCEE has a dusk-to-dawn schedule which requires us to find a place to keep the hacklab running
• excellent network connectivity
  • We expect this to be DebConf-quality, maybe comparing our expectations with the service level at DC8. Even if this costs us money, there are sponsors who are willing to pay for it.
• quality and quantity of food and drink in close proximity
  • Indeed. There's a huge variety of food in close proximity, and it's very cheap. Alcohol (except beer and spirits) might get a little expensive (for .ec standards) but there's still great variety.
• suitable accommodation in close proximity
  • The only issue is moving people between the sleeping quarters (at La Mariscal) and the convention center (CCEE) since this would require a dedicated bus.
  • People could take public transportation Route: "Ecovia La Marin - Rio Coca" from Manuela Cañizares and get down at CCEE (3 stations away) Distance: ~3.1km, the station is a short walk from Plaza el Quinde/Foch (proposed sleeping quarters zone)
  • Street Map: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=-0.220637,+-78.512576&daddr=Plaza+Foch&hl=es&geocode=&mra=ls&sll=-0.210585,-78.499889&sspn=0.030212,0.05579&ie=UTF8&ll=-0.207324,-78.494525&spn=0.030212,0.05579&t=h&z=15&iwloc=ddw1_2 (CCEE)
  • Steet Map: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=es&geocode=&q=Plaza+Foch,+Quito&sll=-0.182647,-78.532505&sspn=0.120849,0.22316&ie=UTF8&ll=-0.201476,-78.49225&spn=0.007553,0.013947&t=h&z=17&iwloc=E (Plaza Foch, Sleeping Quarters zone)
• presentation facilities
  • Both CCEE, Hotel Sebastián and Círculo Militar would provide one beamer per room, an audio system (speakers, stationary and carry-on-your-hand mics, an audio mixer and cables) as well as an office (small room) and places to eat for participants
• travel logistics
  • Citizens of the Americas could get to .ec directly and very cheaply, and citizens from Europe can get to .ec even cheaper if they travel through Bogota or Caracas.
• accessibility
  • We wouldn't advise people who expect accessibility to freely move through Metropolitan Quito (which is larger than, say, Caracas) but in the venue and near it we should be OK.

What about the other bids?

• New York: nothing will be missed while at NYC, and most practical problems could be solved affordably and quickly.
• Boston: would provide an attractive and productive atmosphere while giving us peace of mind for practical issues such as connectivity.
• Margarita: there's a strong local support for Debian and free software, and this could open some doors for local sponsorship.

Weak points

• Local team needs to be fully involved, also needs to host a couple of medium-to-big int'l events during 2009 in order to get in shape quickly
• We need to sort out the talk rooms-sleeping quarters decision ASAP; CCEE would make a great venue but people would need to move between both places. Círculo Militar or Hotel Sebastián are feasible options.
• Due to the market nature here, the connectivity issue will be defined in 2010, and we expect to see lower prices and higher speeds then