Checklist to be filled by any prospective local teams that would like to host Debconf
(the font style indicates the different priorities high, medium and low.)
Contents
Local team
Please name the main local team
- ben, olasd, PEB, rouca, santiago
Of these people, which have been present at a previous ?DebConfs and which have participated as organizers and/or volunteers (the line might be quite blurry at times) of a previous DebConf?
olasd is part of video team. santiago has taken part on several ?DebConfs, sometimes volunteered on video team.
Briefly describe their involvement in Debian and the Free Software world.
- olasd, peb, rouca and santiago are DDs
Who has previous experience in organizing events? What events?
- ben has experience organizing nation-wide events in France.
- rouca has experience organizing nation/international-wide events in France.
santiago has (a long time ago) organized the FISL in Colombia, that later became the FLISOL (simultaneous Latinamerican Install Fest). Also, organized the regular LUG meetings at the University of el Cauca. Recently organized the MiniDebConf UY 2023
Who of your team is contributing to DebConfN-1? In which teams?
- olasd has contributed to the videoteam
santiago has been volunteering on the content team since several years now. For DebConf23, he was one of the content leads.
Are any local team members linked (professionally/financially/personally) with any of the organisations who will provide services (e.g. venue/food/accommodation) to DebConf? (Any links can be good or bad, but they should be stated publicly.)
- ben is a current PhD student at IMT Atlantique. He knows has good links with the conference and accommodation facilities.
- santiago is a former PhD student and research engineer (currently on leave) from the venue.
- rouca live in Brittany. Is a researcher on a public university
Choice of city / town / whatever
- Are you suggesting a city, a town, a village, a spa in the middle of nowhere?
Brest is the smallest (in terms of population) of the French metropolis. Is a student city, with an important present of engineering schools. The IMT Atlantique is one of the most important technical universities in France.
- How many people live there? 211,156 (according to Wikipedia)
How easy/convenient is it to get computer hardware and electronic components? Other than online shopping available from different shop (Fnac, Amazon, carrefour, etc), there are several related shops at 2.2 Kms from the venue, here: https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=48.37269&mlon=-4.58774#map=19/48.37269/-4.58774. It is accessible by bus, or 15 mins walking distance.
- Electronics shops.
- Computer hardware stores.
- Supermarkets, etc.
Delivery from online shopping services like Amazon, ?MediaMarkt? How long does delivery take?
- Amazon prime less than 24hours
- How easy is it for handicapped people to move around? The venue is well equipped in terms of accessibility for people with reduced mobility. University tradition is France is to help handicapped people. People with special need by appointment could be helped in public area (train station for instance).
- Which is the nearest railway station? Brest, in the city center.
- Is there good connectivity by rail or coach? How much does it cost? By train, it is well connected with Paris (Montparnasse), and by regional train with other cities in Britanny. The train tickets can be expensive if bought the same day (~90€), but interesting fares (~30€) are found a couple of months in advance. By coach: several routes to Paris and Nantes by Flixbus and Ouibus. 25€ from Paris could be less depending of seat availibility
How long does the trip from the station to the venue take? ~45 mins by public transportation
Which is the nearest airport? Brest-Bretagne (BES)
Are there any cheap airlines flying to the chosen city (or nearby)? The main airline connecting to the airport is Airfrance. Other airlines going there are Volotea, Ryanair, ?EasyJet, Transavia, etc. The full list can be found here: https://www.brest.aeroport.bzh/compagnies-aeriennes. The full list of direct destinations is here: https://www.brest.aeroport.bzh/destinations-en-vols-directs
How long does the trip from the airport to the venue take? ~40 mins by taxi, ~1h by public transportation
How friendly is your country towards foreigners?
Visas: Which/how many countries' citizens require getting a visa? How hard (bureaucratic, probable) is it to get it? Schengen rules apply like in every UE member country. All the information is available here: https://france-visas.gouv.fr/en/web/france-visas/home.
Are there any import regulations, which might affect DebConf? (e.g. a limit to number of laptops / cheese / wine you can bring in; hard regulations for money transfers; etc.)
Usual rules from schengen area https://www.economie.gouv.fr/particuliers/regles-douane-frontiere. Sum up (incomplete they exist exceptions see full site) UE Tabaco about 200 unit of cigarette, wine 90L, beer 110L,strong alcool 1L, outside UE 200 cigarette, wine 4L, beer 16L, ... For electronics, if material is registered as professionnal good before departure, as debconf is a business trip custom are not problematic https://www.douane.gouv.fr/demarche/vous-souhaitez-obtenir-une-carte-de-libre-circulation-des-marchandises, need a little bit of paper work but easy and may be done in advance with help of organizing committee maybe with custom help.
- Language: Do most people speak English? How hard is it for a foreigner to find their way around? Most people in the city probably doesn't speak English. But the city is a port, and it is common to see foreigners in the streets. This shouldn't be a problem. Students speak english.
- Smoking: What are the local regulations about smoking? No smoking (including vap) inside public spaces. Tobacco can only bought in authorized shops.
Conference Facilities
How much does it cost to rent these facilities? Audiroriums to be negociated, hopefully they would be for free.
How far away are the locations from each other? (auditoriums, hacklabs, restaurant, sleeping quarters, front desk, orga spaces) Inside the same campus. The secondary accommodation facility is 500 mts away.
What kind of places are available suitable for hacklabs, workshops, ?BoFs and talks? Usually DebConf needs 2 videoed presentation talk rooms, 1 videoed BoF room, several (>=3) smaller BoF rooms, and a few (>= 2) hack labs.
- How many people fit in each of them?
How flexible are the spaces?
Can smaller auditoria be merged into a bigger one? Probably.
- Are tables/chairs fixed, or can we arrange them to fit more people/give more room to the people that we need?
Is the venue accessible? Note: There are more accessibility issues to bear in mind than just mobility. Is the area safe for people with any kind of disability? (There are sight and hearing-impaired people, too.) Bonus: What people is it not good for?
- Is there access to all areas with ramps and/or elevators? (Note: carrying somebody over some steps is not usually an acceptable option.)
Are there people with experience in accessibility at the venue? Are we in contact with them? rouca is a point of contact as day work for special need students. University in France are quite flexible with special needs.
- Are plans / blueprints with exact distances available to us (to be kept confidential on request)?
What kind of audio equipment is already present in the talk rooms? To be checked for being able to give proper details. But most of the auditoriums are fully equiped.
Wireless or stationary mics?
clip-on kind of mics or hand-held mics?
How many of them?
Can the video team take control of the audio equipment in the room?
- Will the hacklabs be allowed to stay open 24x7? What time schedule do they offer? TODO
What kind of security will be there?
Are there any limitations regarding the consumptions of food / alcohol? Where do these limitations apply?
- Driving intoxicated (more than authorized level of 0.5g, about 2 glasses of wine) is forbidden and could go to jail. Being totally drunk on street is also strictly forbidden (Public intoxication like in UK), particularly if alone for public safety reason.
How far is it to the nearest convenience stores / all-night restaurants?
- Please provide pictures of the venue and accommodation.
Food
How much are the meals per person per day? Lunch and dinner: 11.46€/meal. Breakfast should be ~3€/each. To be determined how to handle breakfast during the weekends.
- Where will food be served? Is this near the talk rooms / the hacklabs? In the campus restaurant. Breakfast: to be fully determined.
What kind of food will be served?
In what fashion? (table service, limited buffet, open buffet, etc.): limited buffet.
- Would food for vegetarian / vegan / lactose-intolerant / gluten-sensitive / religious (of any denomination) people be available?
How many meals do we need to order to get those kind of "special" meals?
Will it cost extra to get those special meals?
Will the special meals come from a separate caterer? Probably for lactose-intolerant, gluten-sensitive or allergy-related needs.
In a two week period, how much variety in food can be provided? This should be OK.
Socialising
- What areas are available nearby for attendees to hack, socially? (e.g. bars, outside tables, swimming pools, coffee shops): Beach 5 mins walking. Student bar (foyer) inside the campus.
- What hours will they be open? The beach is open 24h/365d. Foyer: to be determined.
Is there conference WiFi coverage in these areas? Not in the beach. Yes in the foyer.
Network connectivity
Is the area already wired with regular network infrastructure? (much preferably: 1Gbps): Yes, via RENATER. Likely backbone is 10Gbps but could expanded to more by special deal with renater.
How much does it cost and how difficult is it to get a big internet connection? (100 Mbps at least).
- 100Mps will be guaranted.
How much work does it imply to cover the area with WiFi? Eduroam (public wifi for students) support is usually very good.
- What can be done if an area isn't well covered? Are there spare APs?
If we use someone else's infrastructure, how flexible are they, regarding routing / firewall / IP ranges / public access / WiFi SSIDs / other stuff?
Do we have restrictions on allowed ports?
Are we traffic-shaped? Or can we set a traffic shaper if we need so?
Can we get a dedicated SSID for DebConf with static auth? Rather than per-user credentials.
Do we have a point of contact, who understands our needs?
Would it be possible to set up the core network before DebCamp? (a day or two, earlier would be nicer, in order to handle problems gracefully. Additional weeks for wireless.)
Special rooms
Both for server and video rooms:
- General conditions for the rooms
- Size
- Have they/do they need air conditioning?
- What network connectivity is available?
What electrical load can they handle?: TODO. There are some rooms that would match the requirements inside the venue, but this is still to be discussed.
- Lockable? Who has access?
Front Desk:
- Where are are we expecting to host the front desk? How close is it to other spaces? TODO. There are some rooms that would match the requirements inside the venue, but this is still to be discussed.
- Is it lockable?
Orga Room:
- Is there a small (10 person) room that the orga team can use for meetings and storage? TODO. There are some rooms that would match the requirements inside the venue, but this is still to be discussed.
Meeting Room:
- Is there a small (10 person) room that can be used for private meetings? (e.g. sensitive issues): TODO. There are some rooms that would match the requirements inside the venue, but this is still to be discussed.
Accommodation
How much does it cost per person per night? In the main venue, the current proposal includes two types of single rooms. One with shared shower and restrooms in the corridors of the buildings, at 30€/night. The second one with private shower but shared restroom, at 40€/night.
Is the place where people are going to sleep near the conference facilities? Yes.
Is it able to handle an uncertainty in the attendee count, until a month before the conference?
Is it able to handle the change in attendance from ~20 on the first night to the expected maximum towards the end of the conference?
- Is it able to handle foreigners who can't speak the local languages? (i.e. do the people at the accommodation speak English?)
Is accommodation check-in separate to DebConf check-in? We would have to handle both at the same place.
Can couples (and families) be accommodated together? To be negotiated. There are additional rooms that could accommodate couples. There are more limitations regarding families, but it is to be negotiated.
How many room keys would be available? One per room.
- Are there other hotels around?
- Are there rooms ready for handicapped people? How many? There are, but the number is not determined. The school has had several students with reduced mobility living there.
Child Care
- Will there be any child care available?
- Where will it be located?
- What will it cost?
- What age ranges will be supported?
- During what hours will it be offered?
Fun and Free time
- What leisure activities are recommended?
- List some possible Day Trips.
- Are the proposed locations ready to receive people with disabilities?
- How expensive would they be?
- Will transport need to be organised?
Local Sponsors
Do you have a list of prospective sponsors that might be interested in helping the conference? (By providing venues, money, hardware, connectivity, etc.)
State backed institution are willing generally to help scientific conference: region/academic/state...
- Have you spoken to these organisations yet, to find out if they might sponsor, and what conditions and deadlines they have? (Note that many large organisations which provide funding for events need to be approached a long time in advance.)
- Do you have promises/pledges from any of these sponsors already?
Timing
When (and why) would be the best time to host DebConf at your location?
- What is your backup plan if your preferred venue isn't available at that time?
- Is there a provisional reservation in place for a particular date? When does the provisional reservation expire?