DebConf13/Montreal

Introduction

We intended to have a bid for DebConf12, but at that time we decided that the best would be to wait some more time to be sure we are ready and with enough time for that. Currently, Tiago (tiago@debian.org) and Tássia (tassia@gmail.com) - who are moving to Montreal in Oct/2011 - are trying to make this old dream a reality.

So, during DebConf11 we will show our intention to host DebConf13 in Montreal. The info below is a draft which may become a bid in the future :)

Local team

• • Potential organisers/participants/volunteers:
    • Antoine Beaupré - DM, present at DC8 and DC10 co-organised other conferences (rocococamp.info)
    • Tiago - DD, video team, close to orga team in DC11
    • Tassia - video team, schedule, talks team
    • Ben Armstrong - in halifax
    • Eric Dorlan - from Montreal, currently in NYC, but has good contacts at McGill and in mtl
    • Pablo Duboue (DrDub) - just moved here, helped with fundraising, talks, travel sponsorship for DC10
    • Biela / Micah (they were not consulted btw)
    • More to follow here

Choice of city / town / whatever

* second biggest french city in the world (after paris)

quick notes for the presentation at DC11:

* bilingual city
* american, but not US, european tooo
* open, world-class techno city
* inexpensive city
* we have a beach! (sorta)
* good network connection and technical expertise (ISF, koumbit, mlug)
* supporting organisation (koumbit.org), strong ubuntu/canonical presence could help, and a few linux user group
* visas - most countries don't need a visa (although things changed recently for tcheck republic and mexico city (?!))
* big country, not a lot of people, help us! ;)
* good transit system, cheap bicycle rental, great summers
* lots of hotels, and places to hold conference type events
* lots of cultural festivals during summer time :)

• • How many people live there?
    • The city of montreal itself has a population of 1.7 million habitants, while the greater montreal area is home to around 3.8 million people.
  • How easy is to handicapped people move there?
    • Montreal has done some efforts recently to render the metro system accessible to handicapped people, but it is quite limited: only major stations have elevators.
• Which is the nearest airport?
  • Are there any cheap airlines flying near the chosen city?
  • How long does the trip from the airport to the venue take?
  • There are two airports serving Montreal: the Pierre-Elliot-Trudeau Airport (PET/CYUL, formally known as Dorval) and the Mirabel airport, which is normally reserved to cargo transit. Travel from PET usually happens through a shuttle (~1h, 8$, need cash) or taxi (~30 min. 35$) although there are plans to construct a rail shuttle "real soon now". The airport is covered by major american and international airlines.
• How friendly is your country towards foreigners?
  • Canada is reknown for its openness on the international scene (although recent politics have negatively affected that image), and Quebec (the french-speaking province montreal is in) is especially tolerant and open to other cultures.
  • Visas: Which/how many countries' citizens require getting a visa? How hard (bureaucratic, probable) is it to get it?
    • Are there any import regulations, which might affect DebConf? (e.g. a limit to number of notebooks / DVDs / other media you can bring in; hard regulations for money transfers; etc.)
  • [story]. short story: most european countries and the US do not require a visa to visit canada. The rules have recently changed for Mexico and the Tcheck republic and there are more exceptions, but it's usually less a problem to travel to Canada than to the US (for example). We are not aware of export/import restrictions that should be problematic for Debian attendees, although immigration officers sometimes like to steal french cheese at the border.
  • Language: Do most people talk English? How hard is it for a foreigner to find their way around?
    • Canada is officially a bilingual (english/french) country, at least on paper. In practices, things are a bit more complicated: the province of Quebec is mostly french-speaking while the Rest Of Canada (ROC) is mostly english-speaking. Montreal itself is mostly bilingual and it is usually possible to get around the city with english. Even though a lot of people have french as their native language, most of them can speak a proper english provided you ask nicely. Still, aronud 23% of the population speak only french (while 13% speak only english).
  • Smoking: What are the local regulations about smoking?
    • Since january 2001, most public venues (bars, restaurants, schools, hospitals, etc) are non-smokers. The law officially states the you cannot smoke within 3 meters of such establishment, but it's common to see crowds of smokers assemble in front of bars or on terrasses.

Conference Facilities

To be determined. Possible options:

• UQAM - has residences, but campus is kind of spread-out and may be closed at night
• Concordia
• McGill University
• Université de Montréal
• Hotels?

Fun and Free time

• What activities can be done during the free time?
  • A few ideas:
    • The Mont-Royal is right in the middle of the city and the biggest park of the city, with lots of activities possible: cycling, hiking and general wandering around, with sundays reserved for the Tam-Tams, a weekly gathering of people playing music and generally relaxing in the sun
    • Ile-Jean-Drapeau also has a lot of activities, with a beach on the St-Lawrence river.
    • Oka beach? Mont-Tremblant??

Local Sponsors

• Do you have a list of prospective sponsors that might be interested in the conference? Money, hardware, connectivity, etc.

• • Just ideas so far:
    • Koumbit.org - manpower, technical expertise, lead
    • Ile Sans Fil - wifi technical expertise
    • Canonical - office in montreal

Timing

• When (and why) would be the best time to host DebConf at your location?

• • While some people on the team prefer the winter, it may be a bit difficult to adapt to it for people below the 45th parallel and summers in Montreal are very pretty, hot and active, with festivals and lots of activities.