Mini-Conf Information
Effective 11 July 2010 the LCA2011 Organizers are calling for proposals for mini-confs for the Linux.conf.au 2011 conference. If you would like to be a Primary Miniconf Organiser, please read the information below to help you make your successful miniconf proposal. Bookmark this page when you make your proposal as it contains the information you as a Primary Miniconf Organiser will need to run your miniconf, and we may update it with new details.
What is a Miniconf?
Miniconfs are dedicated conference streams for specific communities of interest. The LCA2011 Organisers provide the space, and leave the rest up to the organiser of each Miniconf. Miniconfs are full 1-day events. There will be up to 7 streams of Miniconfs running throughout Monday and Tuesday, totalling 14 Miniconfs at LCA2011.
I want to run a miniconf - what should I do?
The proposal should be made by the Primary Miniconf Organizer - see below. If that's you, make a proposal for your planned miniconf, which includes the following information:
- title of the miniconf
- brief abstract for the content of the miniconf
- this should describe your miniconf, and be suitable for use in the call for papers for your miniconf
- email address to send your miniconf correspondence to
- responses to your call for papers will go here
- URL of your miniconf website
- only if you have one, this is optional since we'll create wiki space for you
What happens if my proposal is accepted?
We'll create a mini-conf page for you based on your abstract, let you know of your success as soon as possible, and then issue a call for papers for your miniconf. Then you have 4 weeks to get your schedule of speakers in to us - it must be in by 8 October to make our printed programme for the conference.
Important Dates
| Proposals for Miniconfs Due | Saturday 7 August 2010 |
| Common Miniconf CFP deadline | Friday 22 October 2010 |
| Miniconf Schedules Due | TBA |
| Conference begins | Monday 24 January 2011 |
Call for Miniconf Papers
| Deadline: now closed |
LCA2011 are happy to advertise your Call for Miniconf Papers on our website by uploading your abstract onto our website.
As mentioned above, to do this, you need to provide our Miniconf Coordinator with the following information before Friday 10 September 2010:
- title & abstract
- email address
- URL of your Miniconf website (optional)
Common Miniconf CFP Deadline
A number of Miniconf organisers have settled on a deadline of Friday 22 October for their CFP; and are publicising that deadline in their CFP statements, and we will include that information here on our LCA2011 website. Using this common deadline is up to individual organisers, but it will make communications easier for paper submitters and also should simplify things for us on the LCA2011 team.Announcing the Miniconf Schedule
| Deadline: To Be Advised |
Printed materials will be included in the conference delegate packs that are received on registration. To have miniconf schedule information included in those materials please submit it to miniconfs@lca2011.linux.org.au. Information required includes:
- Title of each talk
- Name of the Miniconf Presenters
- Times of talks (see the basic structure on our website)
Wiki
There is a Miniconfs Page on the wiki specifically to promote the details of the Miniconf schedule to delegates. It is the Primary Miniconf Organisers responsibility to ensure the Miniconf schedule and other details there are updated regularly, including the following information:
- A short abstract about the Miniconf
- Titles of the Miniconf Presenters' papers
- Miniconf Presenters' names and/or short biographies
- Miniconf Presenters' slides and handouts, released under a Creative Commons licence (optional)
Primary Miniconf Organisers
The Primary Miniconf Organiser is the person who submitted the Miniconf Proposal. Primary Miniconf Organisers must register online as a "Speaker" at no cost. This entitles the Primary Miniconf Organisers to the following free benefits:
- Attendance at LCA2011, including receiving swag
- Attendance of you and your partner to the Speakers Dinner
- Attendance to the Professional Delegates Networking Session
- Attendance to the Penguin Dinner
Secondary Miniconf Organisers
The Secondary Miniconf Organisers are the people who help the Primary Miniconf Organiser to organise the Miniconf. They do not receive any special entitlements at LCA2011, such as free dinner tickets or travel and accommodation paid for by LCA2011.
The Secondary Miniconf Organisers must register online and pay the registration fee as either a "Professional Delegate", a "Concessionalist Delegate" or a "Hobbyist Delegate."
Miniconf Presenters
The Miniconf Presenters are the people who present talks at a Miniconf. They do not receive any special entitlements at LCA2010, such as free dinner tickets or travel and accommodation paid for by LCA2010.
The Miniconf Presenters must register online and pay their registration fee. Generally Miniconf Presenters register as a Delegate, which entitles them to the same benefits delegates get (Please refer to "Secondary Miniconf Organisers" above).
There are a limited number of "Monday+Tuesday only" tickets available for Miniconf Presenters only. To obtain this ticket, Primary Miniconf Organisers must arrange this with the LCA2011 Organisers in advance of the Miniconf Presenter registering for LCA2011.
Accommodation
LCA2011 Organisers have negotiated discounted accommodation rates with some of the local accommodation providers. Please note, registration on the LCA2011 website DOES NOT book your accommodation. Please note, you must book your accommodation directly through the accommodation providers.
Primary Miniconf Organisers Responsibilities
The Primary Miniconf Organiser is the person responsible for organising their Miniconf. The LCA2011 Organisers do not assist with organising the Miniconfs or running them during LCA2011. Miniconf Organisers are expected to decide on the Miniconf track content themselves and organise Miniconf Presenters to fit in with the scheduled breaks on the LCA2011 programme. You should contact the LCA2011 Miniconf Coordinator (whose details are at the bottom of this page) for any assistance you need regarding the venue - all typical presentation equipment is supplied.
Miniconf Organisers and presenters are not permitted to seek and/or receive any sponsorship for their Miniconfs. This does not include employees paying for Miniconf Organisers or Presenters registration, travel or accommodation. Any sponsorship enquiries must be directed to the lca2011 Sponsor Liaison at sponsors@lca2011.linux.org.au
Ensuring Talks are Suitable
Primary Miniconf Organisers are expected to arrange Miniconf Presenters to give presentations, including seminars and/or tutorials, on a particular technical topic, (for instance, the kernel, MySQL, or MythTV), or from a particular technical community (for instance, LinuxChix or Sys Admins).
LCA2011 audience consists of technically skilled people as well as those who are end-users wanting to learn and contribute to the community. They attend LCA2011 because the content of the talks are pitched at their level of expertise and are generally based on free and open source software. Promotional talks, such as commercial advertisements and sales pitches are not appropriate at LCA2011 Miniconfs. If Miniconf Presenters submit proposals for talks that do not fit into this fundamental category, Primary Miniconf Organisers should contact the LCA2011 Organisers to discuss this prior to accepting/declining that talk proposal.
Please see the presenter information for other important guidelines for miniconf presenters, regarding handouts; their notes and slides; accomodation and immigration.
Miniconf Enquiries
- Sarah Smith LCA2010 Miniconf Coordinator miniconfs@lca2011.linux.org.au