Portugal 2025 Bid
Local team
Please name the main local team
- J. Calhariz
- indiebio ginggs (moving to Portugal end 2022)
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?
Briefly describe their involvement in Debian and the Free Software world.
- Jose, ginngs are both Debian Developers.
Who has previous experience in organizing events? What events?
indiebio and ginggs have various experience, most relevant is DebConf16.
Who of your team is contributing to DebConfN-1? In which teams?
- indiebio has remained involved in various roles, ginggs often help with video. Good all-rounders.
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.)
- J. Calhariz works at the IST (Lisbon), in the IT department.
Choice of city / town / whatever
- Are you suggesting a city, a town, a village, a spa in the middle of nowhere?
Jose suggest Lisbon. indiebio has a gutfeel that Coimbra or Porta may be more suited. Faro and surrounds may also be an option, and there is a good, small, international airport nearby. indiebio would like to spend about a year travelling through the country to find suitable venues, perhaps have a mini-DebConf there and grow the FOSS community, which is not yet very established in Portugal.
- How many people live there?
- Lisbon: 1 million. Coimbra: 145k, Porto: 250k
- How easy/convenient is it to get computer hardware and electronic components?
- It's a European capital, there are lots of options.
- Electronics shops.
- Yes.
- Computer hardware stores.
- Yes.
- Supermarkets, etc.
- There are 3 or 4 near the venue.
Delivery from online shopping services like Amazon, ?MediaMarkt? How long does delivery take?
- There are local services with same-day pick-up or next-day delivery. Amazon deliveries from the UK take a couple of days.
- How easy is it for handicapped people to move around?
- The metro is somewhat accessible. Not all stations are accessible.
- Lisbon is built on 7 hills. Técnico is at the top of a hill.
Which is the nearest airport?
- LIS - Lisbon International Airport.
Are there any cheap airlines flying to the chosen city (or nearby)?
- Ryanair and easyjet, amongst others.
How long does the trip from the airport to the venue take?
- Lisbon: 30 minutes away by metro, 15 minutes by taxi.
- Other locations (except Porto and Faro) will have significant travel time requirements and needs to be traded off with what the venue can offer.
How friendly is your country towards foreigners?
- Very friendly.
Visas: Which/how many countries' citizens require getting a visa? How hard (bureaucratic, probable) is it to get it?
Part of the Schengen Area.
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.)
- Part of the EU. Euro rules apply.
- Allowed import of some alcohol.
- People from Mercosul are allowed to bring food to EU.
- Language: Do most people speak English? How hard is it for a foreigner to find their way around?
- Not everyone speaks English, but people are friendly and will figure out communication.
- Getting around is fairly easy.
- Smoking: What are the local regulations about smoking?
- Outside only, for public buildings. Some pubs permit smoking inside.
Conference Facilities
How much does it cost to rent these facilities?
- Full details TBD.
For Lisbon:
- Salao Nobre, probably paid by by Instituto Superior Técnico of the University of Lisbon.
- Centro de Congressos, full price 3300 euros per day, 825 euros 75% discount per day or for free. TBD.
- Others rooms, probably paid by by Instituto Superior Técnico of the University of Lisbon.
How far away are the locations from each other? (auditoriums, hacklabs, restaurant, sleeping quarters, front desk, orga spaces)
TBD
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.
Food
How much are the meals per person per day?
- TBD. €5-8 lunch at the campus restaurant.
- Where will food be served? Is this near the talk rooms / the hacklabs?
What kind of food will be served?
- TBD.
In what fashion? (table service, limited buffet, open buffet, etc.)
- TBD.
- Would food for vegetarian / vegan / lactose-intolerant / gluten-sensitive / religious (of any denomination) people be available?
- Could be arranged. Suspect easier to do in the Algarve and Lisbon, and more traditional more North. But there are hippie groups who live in Portugal due to low cost of land and living, and may be able to create magic.
How many meals do we need to order to get those kind of "special" meals?
- TBD.
Will it cost extra to get those special meals?
- TBD.
Will the special meals come from a separate caterer?
- TBD.
In a two week period, how much variety in food can be provided?
- TBD.
Socialising
- What areas are available nearby for attendees to hack, socially? (e.g. bars, outside tables, swimming pools, coffee shops)
- TBD
- What hours will they be open?
- TBD.
Is there conference WiFi coverage in these areas?
- TBD
From here needs updating: info not up to date
Network connectivity
Is the area already wired with regular network infrastructure? (much preferably: 1Gbps)
- Yes. Possibly some 100Mbps in some places, but we can get guarantee Gigabit into all the talk rooms.
How much does it cost and how difficult is it to get a big internet connection? (100 Mbps at least)
- This will be provided for free. The university has a 10Gbps uplink.
How much work does it imply to cover the area with WiFi?
- We may need some extra coverage in main talk rooms, and outside areas for peek hours.
- What can be done if an area isn't well covered? Are there spare APs?
- In the past, a local Cisco supplier has sponsored temporary APs, we should get this company on board as a sponsor, to give us some spare hardware to work with.
If we use someone else's infrastructure, how flexible are they, regarding routing / firewall / IP ranges / public access / WiFi SSIDs / other stuff?
- We are discussing getting a temporarily allocated IP range that will allow us to handle our own routing etc.
Do we have restrictions on allowed ports?
- There is a requirement that outgoing port 25 and some other ports (TBD) be firewalled. Exceptions are possible.
Are we traffic-shaped? Or can we set a traffic shaper if we need so?
- No traffic shaping.
Can we get a dedicated SSID for DebConf with static auth? Rather than per-user credentials.
- Probably. Each building has its own network administration, so there would be work to do, per building.
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.)
- Probably. Although the university will be closed for the first two weeks of August. So, this would need to be done before it closed.
Do we have a point of contact, who understands our needs?
- We have members of the IT department on the conference team.
Special rooms
Server Room:
- Size
- ~30 racks. There should be at least half a rack available.
- Have they/do they need air conditioning?
- Yes.
- What network connectivity is available?
- 2x10Gbps per rack. More soon.
What electrical load can they handle?
- 2x15A circuits per rack. TBD closer to the time.
- Lockable? Who has access?
- Only IT staff (we have some on the team). Out-out-band access recommended.
Video Room:
- Size
- Probably a ~50 person class room.
- Have they/do they need air conditioning?
- No.
- What network connectivity is available?
- 2x1Gbps
What electrical load can they handle?
- 2x15A circuits
- Lockable? Who has access?
- Yes. We can get a key.
Front Desk:
- Where are are we expecting to host the front desk? How close is it to other spaces?
- Probably a ~50 person class room.
- Is it lockable?
- Yes. We can get a key.
Orga Room:
- Is there a small (10 person) room that the orga team can use for meetings and storage?
- Probably a ~50 person class room.
Meeting Room:
- Is there a small (10 person) room that can be used for private meetings? (e.g. sensitive issues)
- Probably a Study Room or class room in another building.
Accommodation
How much does it cost per person per night?
- €27~€55.
![[ATTACH]](/htdocs/debwiki/img/attach.png "[ATTACH]")
- Cost for accommodating 353 people.
Is the place where people are going to sleep near the conference facilities?
- The hotels are nearby.
Is it able to handle an uncertainty in the attendee count, until a month before the conference?
- Some of the Hotels are more flexible than others.
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?
- Yes
- Is it able to handle foreigners who can't speak the local languages? (i.e. do the people at the accommodation speak English?)
- Yes.
Is accommodation check-in separate to DebConf check-in?
- Yes.
Can couples (and families) be accommodated together?
- Yes.
How many room keys would be available?
- TBD.
- Are there other hotels around?
- Yes, lots of hotels in close walking distance.
- Are there rooms ready for handicapped people? How many?
- TBD.
![[ATTACH]](/DebConf/25/Bids/Portugal/CheckList?action=AttachFile&do=upload_form&ticket=00670ba1ac.653dd4c280c5bea8d2fdf8726e2d710d15f6868d&target=AccomodationTable.png "[ATTACH]"){kind=small}
Child Care
- Will there be any child care available?
- TBD. The university has a Kindergarten with space for around 100 children, aged between 4 months to 6 years with specialised staff. Services has to be negotiated.
- Where will it be located?
- Inside the campus on the South side of the main building..
- What will it cost?
- TBD.
- What age ranges will be supported?
- TBD.
- During what hours will it be offered?
- TBD.
Fun and Free time
- What leisure activities are recommended?
- Visiting Lisbon. The venue is near the centre of Lisbon, and there are lots of touristic activities, such as Castelo de São Jorge (Castle), Mosteiro dos Jerónimos, Oceanário (Modern Aquarium), Caloust Gulbenkian Museum, The National Museum of Ancient Art, Torre de Belém (Historic Tower), Elevador de Santa Justa (An antique elevator with city views), Sé (Lisbon's Cathedral), Padrão dos Descobrimentos (A tribute to the Age of Discovery), Basílica da Estrela (Basilica with amazing view over Lisbon) and a lot more.
- List some possible Day Trips.
- City Sightseeing on Hop On Hop Off Red Buses = €22;
- Yellow Bus Sightseeing Tours with boat tour on the River Tagus = €30;
- Hippotrip, explores Lisbon on land and the same bus plunges into the Tagus River in an adventure that redefines the city tour experience. = €25
- Day trip to Sintra and Cascais (historic monuments, beautiful natural scenery, Pena Palace, Moorish Castle and Museums). = Full day = €60
- Several fabulous beaches along the Oeiras - Estoril - Cascais Coastline, and as well as the Caparica Coastline which lies south of Lisbon. If you continue south you'll find the stunning scenery of Serra da Arrabida coastline until Troia.
- Grutas/Caves de Mira de Aire.
- Visit de cellars of Oporto Wine
- Wine tours and tasting.
- Livraria Lello, Porto.
- Quinta da Regaleira, Sintra.
- Nazare Beach.
- Are the proposed locations ready to receive people with disabilities?
- TBD
- How expensive would they be?
- Cheap. Most entrance fees to monuments, museums, castles ranges from € 5 to € 15 and in most cases children up to 13 years old are for free.
- Will transport need to be organised?
- There are various options.
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.)
- Instituto Superior Técnico of the University of Lisbon will provide the venue.
- 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.)
- No.
- Do you have promises/pledges from any of these sponsors already?
- No.
Timing
When (and why) would be the best time to host DebConf at your location?
- Two options:
- 15-29 July - end of exams, some students doing extra exams in the week of 15th
- 17-30 August - after the summer shut-down
- Two options:
- What is your backup plan if your preferred venue isn't available at that time?
- There are other universities in the area. There is also a second campus.
- Is there a provisional reservation in place for a particular date? When does the provisional reservation expire?