DebConf16/Tasks

Volunteer tasks for DebConf16. These tasks are (mostly) intended to be small and fairly independent, to allow volunteers to contribute as much as they have time for, without getting bogged down with the larger bureaucracy. They are grouped according to the teams that constitute DebConf. Feel free to add ideas or wishes, and please add your name where you want to contribute. No prior experience (with Debian, DebConf or otherwise) required.

More information:

• The Bid page has a lot of information that we researched last year
• DebConf16 website (not active yet)
• Timeline
• DebConf15 ToDo's as guideline

* ToDo: Find most appropriate communication channels for each Team
* ToDo: Add communication channels for each Team (IRC channel, email/mailing list and wiki archive)
* ToDo: Add deadlines and/or time frames as well

Content

Description: The Content team sends out speaker invites, confirm speakers, schedule talks (which may be a separate team?), etc.

Task	Name	Contact details	Comments
Source ideas for invited speakers
Source ideas for local participation
Liase with Participant Assistance team to communicate what information is needed from attendees
Ask speakers to submit a minute-long video advertising their talk.			Manage this and work it into website, press releases.
Manage BoF (Birds of a Feather) sessions before and during DebConf			This is done in collaboration with (global) DebConf team
Manage Sprints before and during DebConf			This is done in collaboration with (global) DebConf team
Lightning talks			Showcasing projects, 'live demo'

Communication:

• Team liaison:
• IRC:
• Email:
• Wiki archive:

Speaker ideas

• bdale from HP mentioned he's never been to Africa and mentioned before August should fit in with his schedule
• invite Jon 'maddog' Hall
• Bio/Life/Sciences track
• GIS track
• Education (schools, outreach projects) track
• on dominant talking patterns - Rhonda blog. Depth leadership - Helene Smit?
• Show the pragmatism of Debian: Economics. Economic theory, e.g. software reliability insurance. it's a conference about a movement. e.g. talks about Anonymous. Something that will reverberate.
• Tongue in cheek talk (e.g. like Enrico's talk, but specific to Africa/South Africa), (won't use this one, but suggestion) Keynote/Plenary.? e.g. Racist guide to South Africa.

Participant assistance/Registration

Description: open, reconfirm, and manage registrations, Compile an attendee brochure

Task	Name	Contact details	Comments
Create and manage mailing list: Send emails and IRC pings about when registration opens, reminders, etc etc.
Compile and assist with visa information, issue invitation letters
Decide what information we are going to ask from people
Liaise with content team to decide what information we are going to ask from talks (content team)
Liase with Budget team about fees charged for professional, corporate attendees, and manage those communications
Design and print name badges			Identical (front and back) printed name tags, FOLDED paper so people can put things inside, KSP (key signing party) could use the registration ID as index and participants in the KSP could have an additional logo printed on the badge as an indicator
Ensure everything complies with accessibility			Particularly movement and sight impaired, for general venue, day trips, conference dinner etc
Care adequately to health concerns (including mental health)			Notify local hospitals, UCT health centre, liase with website content about what to think about
DebConf Information Leaflets available at Airport Information to help attendees on arrival
Design, print and manage Attendance certificates			Is this required for everyone? Can we make it optional, people select if they want one?
Make sure registration is coherent with meals			e.g. Need to have a way to document and control single meals (e.g. lunch only) - food tokens may work.

Communication:

• Team liaison:
• IRC:
• Email:
• Wiki archive:

Diversity, Outreach

Task	Name	Contact details	Comments
Liaise with Press and Marketing, and Sponsorships teams to bring relevant people to DebConf
Source ideas on how to effectively diversify DebConf
Manage diversity concerns during DebConf

Site IT infrastructure

Description: Develop and manage the schedule and registration back-end. It was summit for DebConf15 and will likely be wafer for DebConf16

Task	Name	Contact details	Comments
Oversee wafer as a whole, set smaller (Django?) tasks

Communication:

• Team liaison: Simon Cross?
• IRC:
• Email:
• Wiki archive:

Website

Task	Name	Contact details	Comments
Website Design
Oversee website Content			Get the bits together, and manage it through 4 phases: 1. Pre-registration, 2. During registration 3. During event 4. Archived for after event
Oversee that contract requirements with conference (talks) venue are met
Code website
Contact page: Include image on the website of the people - you're contacting a PERSON.
Attendee fees content page: Create a page explaining the categories and what will be provided for each			Make clear if professional / corporate entry includes meals (at DC15 does not include, need to buy separately)
Sponsors content page: Create a page explaining the categories and what will be provided for each
Create how to get to Cape Town page			Liase with participant assistance team
Add information to the website about dates and how/when people register, that we provide room&board etc.
Make a 'things to bring' page, also have a 'what not to bring'			Incl plugs
FAQ page: convert queries that rest of team get often into FAQs			e.g. Are dogs allowed?
Page: step-by-step guide for newbies on website			E.g. how to register on Alioth. Fun idea: 'Pollito does not have an account, let's see how he made one'
Make and manage blog where DebConfers who have been to SA before can share their experiences.			This can help manage security concerns and convince people the long journey is worth it!
'Wider than DebConf' section			e.g. Section on website for LGBQT, also creative Cape Town, section for beer... These could be a short intro and then go to a wiki page...
'staying longer?' Page on website that recommend things for longer stays, e.g. Kruger National Park			vaccinations for children required? These could be a short intro and then go to a wiki page...

Communication:

• Team liaison:
• IRC:
• Email:
• Wiki archive:

Ideas:

• On website, have a wiki link (for attendees) that links to a summary page that lists the most NB pages in a user-friendly way (e.g. this page, but with less links)
• On website, have a wiki link (for teams) in a place that does not suggest attendees click on it (a little bit hidden, say, bottom left) that links to a summary page NB for teams - incl. Timeline, Jobs/Tasks...

International context

Task	Name	Contact details	Comments
Coordinate a more internationally focussed aspect of DebConf

Suggestion: Think of DebConf and DebCamp differently in the context of Africa. i.e. accommodate the reality that some people would just not go so far to South Africa. Provide spaces to allow them to participate effectively. e.g. Facilitated Simultaneous DebCamp parties across the globe, partnering with sponsors to use their boardrooms, the sponsors can sponsor snacks...? Translate talks? e.g. French, Portuguese (languages of Africa. ... ?)

Video

Task	Name	Contact details	Comments
(Need help from video team to populate this)
Get translaters for talks, as they happen			e.g. Spanish, French, Portuguese, German...

Communication:

• Team liaison: Stefano Rivera?
• IRC:
• Email:
• Wiki archive:

Facilities: Conference Venue

Task	Name	Contact details	Comments
Oversee that contract requirements with conference (talks) venue are met
Liaise with e.g. Video and Infrastructure teams to ensure that the venue has everything that these teams need
Liaise with other teams to ensure attendees are well cared for
Arrange and manage (if required) meeting room for DPLs and press interviews.

Communication:

• Team liaison:
• IRC:
• Email:
• Wiki archive:

Facilities: Accommodation venues

Task	Name	Contact details	Comments
Oversee that contract requirements with main accommodation venue are met			Including payment, and things like non smoking is adhered too
Liase with other teams (e.g. room allocation) to ensure smooth accommodation functioning
Find out and manage additional requirements from attendees			E.g. at DC15 additional soap was needed. Find out if there is laundromat that can handle about 350 people
Research family accommodation further: hotels, B&Bs, local people who can offer space in their houses?			Report the findings to the room allocation team

Communication:

• Team liaison:
• IRC:
• Email:
• Wiki archive:

Food and Coffee

Task	Name	Contact details	Comments
Manage food concerns and keep track of attendee requests during conference
Find food truck suppliers and quotes
Find coffee suppliers, make sure there is coffee available all day, every day
Tea available all day, similar to coffee
Water fountain, or make sure people can get water easily and free			(bathrooms are not good enough places)

Ideas:

• 100% vegetarian, bring your own meat?
• Food trucks
• Herbivore support
• Need to have a way to document and control single meals (e.g. lunch only) - food tokens may work.
• Make clear if professional / corporate entry includes meals (at DC15 does not include, need to buy separately)

Child care

Task	Name	Contact details	Comments
Find quotes on childcare
Liase with Participants assistance team to find out how much child care is required
Liase with parents throughout event

Room allocation

Task	Name	Contact details	Comments
Allocate rooms of accommodation			This should be simple for DC16 as accommodation is mostly single rooms
Communicate with attendees about their accommodation needs
Coordinate family accommodation			This may involve having a list of recommended hotels, B&Bs and local people willing to host attendees

Fundraising

Task	Name	Contact details	Comments
Source potential local sponsors
Contact potential sponsors, after coordinating with main Sponsors team
Manage communication with potential sponsors: keep in touch with regular frequency, update records as sponsors commit
Liase with budget team as income comes in
Send sponsor thank yous and feedback after the event
Coordinate sponsors at the event, be their first port of call

Attendee sponsorship

Task	Name	Contact details	Comments
Manage the budget allocated to attendee sponsoring
Keep track of all attendee sponsorship requests
Communicate sponsorship decisions to attendees			The actual decisions are made as a global team
'Post mortem: Find out how many no-shows happened, manage reimbursements to tally the books

Infrastructure

Task	Name	Contact details	Comments
Website hosting

Coordination

Description: Make sure all the teams do the things that is required by other teams on team, and let the various teams know about it.

Task	Name	Contact details	Comments
keep the wiki Timeline up to date, based on weekly IRC meetings
keep an eye out for potential conflicts and critical deadlines
Poke teams to meet deadlines			Make interim deadlines for 1. End of bike-shedding (open ended) 2. End of discussion, to match with 3. Final implementation deadline
Dedicated contact person for two weeks prior to conference			This is a full time job. This person fields any contacts (mainly from general public and people looking for a point of entry) and directs to relevant people

Inventory tracking

Task	Name	Contact details	Comments
track equipment belonging to DebConf, as well as rentals
Help with sourcing the NOC shopping list

Volunteers

Task	Name	Contact details	Comments
liase with other teams to find volunteers required			some volunteers, e.g. video team are specialised and managed within that team. Venue set-up, for example, needs their own team
manage volunteers communication
organise and execute a volunteers training day a day before setup, or during DebCamp
organise a volunteer thank you gift and social event

Debian Day

Description: Either a day (Saturday) or a weekend of Debian-related activities geared towards the general public. This is intended to build awareness and interest to Debian, and is organised virtually independently of DebConf.

Task	Name	Contact details	Comments
source ideas for Debian Day
source public science outreach initiatives, scope involvement, e.g. Cape Town Science Centre, AIMS, RLabs
source ideas for hands-on workshops
liaise with Press team to spread the word
Manage a genius bar desk where people can just come and get their Debian (or derivative) installations fixed, get first time installs or just ask beginner-level questions			take 2h shifts at the "genius bar" to make sure everybody stays fresh and friendly.

Ideas:

• Provide branded DVDs and USB sticks with Debian Installer

Information Art Exhibition

Description: An art exhibition inspired by things like Knowledge is Beautiful, Electric Sheep, a collaborative abstract artwork founded by Scott Draves. People could also submit art made with molecular simulations. This may be in partnership with the ShowMeBox competion.

Task	Name	Contact details	Comments
Manage the Exhibition
Liaise with the Press and Marketing teams, Debian Day teams.

Day trip

Task	Name	Contact details	Comments
Source ideas and quotes for day trip options			Maybe do a survey of expression of interest to DebConf mailing list - what should we develop further? (Use as a marketing strategy as well...?)
Liaise with Volunteer team about volunteers required

e.g.

• Wine tour
• Whale watching
• Something on the sea, Robben Island, or sea trip in Simons Town?
• Hiking (table mountain? cable station? weather dependent..
• Safari
• Trip to the penguins, possibly followed by Cape Point visit
• Mark Ter Morshuizen farm Honingklip - beer brewing using Linux, possibly preceded by a game farm visit, or whale watching?
• Cape Point
• Historic city tour
• Tech daytrip (possibly more tailored/specialised, during DebCamp?) to Stellenbosch, AIMS, which may lead to outreach/development collaboration?
• Also see ideas on the bid page

Conference dinner

Task	Name	Contact details	Comments
source ideas and quotes for conference dinner
investigate and obtain quotes for transport for conference dinner and day trips

Cheese and Wine or Chocolate or Beer or...

Task	Name	Contact details	Comments
source ideas for Cheese and Wine			As the DebConf schedule gets ever fuller, this event may be changed or cancelled. Ideas for how to incorporate it welcome.
Manage cheese and wine/chocolates/beer/? evening			Decentralised or incorporated into another event?

Job Fair

Task	Name	Contact details	Comments
Liase with Sponsors team about which sponsors are at the job fair, ensure the things they want to display is there on time
Organise the venue location and make it suitable for the job fair
Liase with the press team to get the word out
Liase with the Marketing team to display the appropriate DebConf banners etc at the job fair

ShowMeBox

Description: The ShowMeBox is a proposal for a computer with a purpose in connection with DebConf 2016 in Cape Town. Contact details are on the wiki. Any questions can be posted in the Questions page and will be addressed as time goes on.

Task	Name	Contact details	Comments
Liason between DebConf and ShowMeBox			E.g. liase with press team
Being the contact for competition contacts	Add name on ShowMeBox wiki
Liasing with schools and associated organisations	Add name on ShowMeBox wiki
Data Science Tutorial stage	Add name on ShowMeBox wiki
Developing the box	Add name on ShowMeBox wiki		See the ShowMeBox wiki and maillist for more info
Send sponsors/prospective sponsors a Show Me Box to play with, manage feedback

Budget/Treasury

Task	Name	Contact details	Comments
Get budget approved from SPI
Manage Budget
Source outstanding budget items, from relevant teams and/or contacting suppliers directly
Decide how much we are going to charge for the different fees and how that will work, and communicate it to Particant Assistance team. Manage this source of income throughout the event.
Manage speaker related budget (e.g. flying people in)
Find prices and work into budget theNOC shopping list

Swag bag/items

Task	Name	Contact details	Comments
Source swag bag ideas and quotes			This may include a survey to past attendees on what they liked from previous years
Manage swag bag contents, coordinate with sponsor team
Coordinate sponsor thank you gifts

Some ideas: Debian umbrella, pens, buffs (some ideas may be more appropriate as merchandise, then liaise with that person, or put in that section on this wiki page)

T-shirts

Task	Name	Contact details	Comments
Source T-shirt suppliers and quotes
Coordinate with Design and Sponsors teams to finalise design and which logos to include			Keep track of the logo files in correct format
Coordinate printing and collection of T-shirts
Print T-shirts for DC17 teams at DC16?			To advertise the next event and make it easier to find DC17 people to find out more
Source VERY bright shirts or bibs for e.g. Busmasters, guides.

Merchandise for sale

Task	Name	Contact details	Comments
Source ideas and coordinate with the Debian community for merchandise to sell at DebConf			Its winter then, so hoodies, thermos?
Sell merchandise at DebConf16			Coordinate income with Budget
Sell merchandise before DebConf, especially marketing items and stickers			Coordinate income with Budget

Publicity, Press and Marketing

See Publicity wiki page from the Manual for a general overview of the task.

Task	Name	Contact details	Comments
Write and publish blog post about "DebConf16 preparation started"			Material: The DebConf15 talk about DebConf16 (if any) - pending watch - set date of publication
Change the logo for DebConf blog in planet.debian.org			Do we have a single, official logo?
Create official press release content, liase with design and website teams
source print press leads
source television press leads, e.g. Cape Town TV
source internet press leads
manage Facebook, Twitter account
Interact with the FOSS community in Cape Town on a regular basis			see Community list on the bid page
Liase with Design team, Print banners and related items
Direction/info posters at venue (like at DC12) (arrows, toilets, venue names..)
Liase with sponsors team about what sponsor content to display during DebConf
DebConf Information Leaflets available at Jhb, CT, (other?) Airport Information (pre-event)			is this possible?
Coordinate Post event: blog post, press release...			Basically, we need a fresh person to give the final push, to facilitate the very tired event people.

Final Report

Task	Name	Contact details	Comments
Compile and manage content from subteams
Edit content into final text
Design layout and complete report

DebConf Admin

Task	Name	Contact details	Comments
task	name	contact	comments

List admin

Task	Name	Contact details	Comments
task	name	contact	comments