@marianab I am super happy to see you driving this!

Can you help me understand how the numbers for hotel, travel and food sum to 2800 EUR?

I checked the budget request from last year and from what I've seen myself from the previous years that I have attended, I tried to identify an approximate/ maximum amount for travel/lodging/food. Although I suspect that we might need less than 2800EUR because on the Wiki we already have 10 people that have signed up as Booth staff and only 2 of them have requested travel support/lodging.

@marianab I understand. I was just reacting to 900+350+150 is not equal to 2800

I am generally +1 here.

As for swag, in previous years we have done a shared swag item with CentOS. I think there is a lot of value to continuing that tradition. I am happy to connect whomever with Rich Bowen, my counterpart in CentOS to discuss ideas.

Another idea is that because we may do a swag object at DevConf.cz for Fedora IoT - we could overprint that and use it.

WDYT

I have always been a fan of having tote bags with the Fedora logo on them, because people can bring them in other events. The past years we've had that and I got the impression that people liked them. We can have the same, again a joint bag with CentOS.

Regarding other swag, as always we need Fedora stickers, pins, pens or any other SilverBlue and/or RedHat community swag. I remember that people loved the command line booklets we had the previous years. Also, I would suggest that we can have keychains with the Fedora logo, although I am not sure how difficult could be to print them. They should not be super expensive. I would also suggest to have water flasks.People use those a lot.

I'd be happy to discus that with CentOS.

so the booths and stands list just came out (https://fosdem.org/2020/news/2019-11-19-accepted-stands/) and it seems the Fedora project is not on the list. Did we forget or it was not accepted?
As Fabian mentioned in #redhat-cpe@Freenode, of course we can share the CentOS stand but good to know the reason :)

I'm totally + on this, but what @siddharthvipul1 comments worried me a little bit. Can we get a little more information about this @marianab ?

I'm totally + on this, but what @siddharthvipul1 comments worried me a little bit. Can we get a little more information about this @marianab ?

The stand submission was sent within the deadline and we received a confirmation email from them that they received the application (which I suppose was automatic). I saw the list with the accepted stands on their website, but actually we have not received any rejection email from them. I will let you know as soon as we have a definitive response.

They updated the stands list on their website https://fosdem.org/2020/news/2019-11-19-accepted-stands/

Fedora is now listed there. We have a booth :)

Fedora is now listed there. We have a booth :)

:tada: :tada:
Thank you for fixing this so fast :)

Fedora is now listed there. We have a booth :)

🎉 🎉
Thank you for fixing this so fast :)

Actually it was bex who fixed it ;)

+1

@marianab Can you put together a single budget for Mindshare to consider for FOSDEM that reflects an appropriate investment and the people you actually need for our booth? We have a ton of tickets flying around and it is very confusing.

On the wiki page I see that there are only 4 people that need travel funding and accommodation. We will need lodging for 5 people if all of their requests are approved (counting in @coremodule here). So:

• @sumantrom has filed a request of $840 (this has 3 +1s so far)
• @coremodule has an approved request of $640

The others are @major, @mitzie and myself. @major and @mitzie please file a funding request for your FOSDEM attendance as soon as possible in order to see how much money we have left. I will do the same as well.

If Sumantro's request is approved, this means that we have already allocated almost half of the FOSDEM budget (840+640=1480) for only two trips.

I will check for hotel options/prices and I will update you here.

The others are @major, @mitzie and myself. @major and @mitzie please file a funding request for your FOSDEM attendance as soon as possible in order to see how much money we have left. I will do the same as well.

@major @mitzie please put your proposals here, not on a separate ticket. Let's keep discussion in this ticket only.

Hey Mariana! Thanks for the ping.

I am estimating my budget to be similar to that of Sumantro's, as we will be traveling from the same country. I will share a detailed proposal here, soon.

Hello there! I am not an advocate, but I am using the advocate template for the proposal.

1. What is the event and why should Fedora do it?*
2. FOSDEM. One of the Biggest FOSS events of EU, Fedora has been participating for a long time.
3. I have applied for a talk/lecture on NeuroFedora - in the Open Research Tools & Technologies devroom.
4. Therefore, my participation will be applicable if the talk is accepted.

5. I would also love to represent Fedora/NeuroFedora during my time there.

6. Event Date*
   1st-2nd February

7. Event Location*
   Université libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium

8. Swag needs (and why)
   No need.

9. Budget needs (subject to the Advocate limit)
   US $800 and Stay

10. Target Audience*
    FOSS enthusiasts, interested in open (neuro) science. Researchers. Students.

11. Full Name
    Aniket Pradhan

12. FAS ID*
    major

The others are @major, @mitzie and myself. @major and @mitzie please file a funding request for your FOSDEM attendance as soon as possible in order to see how much money we have left. I will do the same as well.

@major @mitzie please put your proposals here, not on a separate ticket. Let's keep discussion in this ticket only.

Hello Mariana,

I'm able to stay at the booth during the two days of the conference and assist in community building & outreach. I'll also be able to bring a rollup banner and a demo laptop like last year. My flights are around ~185-200 euros, let's say 215 euros to be safe. Thank you

Summary of Requests

Travel
@mitzie $240 USD (215 euros)
@major $800 USD
@sumantrom $840 USD
@coremodule $640 USD
@marianab $150 USD
**Current total: $2670 USD **

Lodging
5 people have requested
Need estimate

Food
$150 requested - how will this be spent?

Swag
Tote bags (joint with CentOS?)
Stickers
Pins
Pens
Silverblue stickers
RH stickers
Command line booklets
Keychains
Water flasks
I will review what we have available in regards to this swag request

Need confirmation on the following
@mitzie you are bringing rollup banner and demo laptop?
@mohanboddu @siddharthvipul1 you do not need any travel or lodging budget?
@marianab what is the estimate for your travel?
@marianab what is the estimate for lodging for the 5 individuals who require?
@marianab where will the $150 requested for food go?
@riecatnor what is available for swag based on requests?

If I missed any requests/people, feel free to add them in. Once we get confirmation on the items above Mindshare can review. Thanks!

@riecatnor thanks for the summary.

Swag
@mitzie many thanks for the rollup banner and a demo laptop!! I can bring a table cloth and the fedorator. Additionally, I talked briefly to @bex and he told me that there are going portable coffee mugs printed with the Fedora and the CentOS logo on them (They will have the same at DevConf the weekend before FOSDEM).

Travel
For my own trip, I would like to request $150. I am going to need only a return trip from Brussels.
@sumantrom and @major it seems that only your requests reach the amount of $1640. Honestly, I think that this is too much budget just to fly two people at a conference. That's almost half of the allocated budget for this event. I am sure that both of you are very experienced with Fedora but we have have to go with the option with having only one of you at the booth. (I suppose here that you have not booked your travel tickets yet). It would be great if you could find funding from another source though!! :)

Hence coremodule's ticket has been approved since two months ago, I think it's fair to leave it as it is.
My point is that FOSDEM is an EU event and there are plenty of people that have already signed up to help at the booth.

Hotel
Judging by the previous years, hotel expenses are around 600€ ($665). I'll coordinate with bex in order to book a hotel this week. Brussels gets very crowded with people attending the conference.

Food
Usually, there is one meal provided for the people that volunteer at the booth. That what this budget is about.

@sumantrom and @major it seems that only your requests reach the amount of $1640. Honestly, I think that this is too much budget just to fly two people at a conference. That's almost half of the allocated budget for this event. I am sure that both of you are very experienced with Fedora but we have have to go with the option with having only one of you at the booth. (I suppose here that you have not booked your travel tickets yet). It would be great if you could find funding from another source though!! :)

@major is a student currently and cannot get funding from elsewhere. While they can help with the booth, their main task at FOSDEM is to present/represent NeuroFedora at the FOSDEM 2020 - Open Research Tools and Technologies devroom. This is particularly important---we've managed to present NeuroFedora to the science community at CNS2019 (and will again at CNS2020, since I can go to that conference using my research budget), but we have not had a chance to present it to the FOSS community which forms its current contributor base.

So, if the monies are available, I would please request that @major be sponsored for the event here. (We could wait to check whether our abstract submission was accepted, but we do not know when that will be.)

I'm +1 to this funding request

Hello everyone

The NeuroFedora talk has been accepted.

Could we please look if my funding request can be approved? I need to make the bookings to apply for a Schengen visa, so if the request is approved in this week or the next, that would be most helpful.

It's great to hear that your session was accepted. :)
We''ll try to find a solution asap.

@mohanboddu @siddharthvipul1 you do not need any travel or lodging budget?

Hey,
No! I do not need any travel or lodging budget.
Thank you :)
See you all at the conference

I am also +1 to this. That is three +1's, so we should get moving on various bookings.

@sumantrom you mentioned you were able to secure some funding from your manager. Can you give us an updated number for requested budget, if you need any at all?

@major congrats on having your session accepted, yes go ahead and start booking.

I am also +1 to this. That is three +1's, so we should get moving on various bookings.
@sumantrom you mentioned you were able to secure some funding from your manager. Can you give us an updated number for requested budget, if you need any at all?

@riecatnor I think there is a misunderstanding. I requested for the flights and hotels for FOSDEM. My manager offered that he can pick up my stay during Devconf which will help me to attend council f2f. This request is still valid and it will be great if I can have it. :)

@major congrats on having your session accepted, yes go ahead and start booking.

I am also +1 to this. That is three +1's, so we should get moving on various bookings.
@sumantrom you mentioned you were able to secure some funding from your manager. Can you give us an updated number for requested budget, if you need any at all?

@riecatnor I think there is a misunderstanding. I requested for the flights and hotels for FOSDEM. My manager offered that he can pick up my stay during Devconf which will help me to attend council f2f. This request is still valid and it will be great if I can have it. :)

Ahhh, understood, sorry for any confusion. That is okay. This year we have the room to expand the budget to meet these requests.

@major congrats on having your session accepted, yes go ahead and start booking.

I am also +1 to this. That is three +1's, so we should get moving on various bookings.
@sumantrom you mentioned you were able to secure some funding from your manager. Can you give us an updated number for requested budget, if you need any at all?
@riecatnor I think there is a misunderstanding. I requested for the flights and hotels for FOSDEM. My manager offered that he can pick up my stay during Devconf which will help me to attend council f2f. This request is still valid and it will be great if I can have it. :)

Ahhh, understood, sorry for any confusion. That is okay. This year we have the room to expand the budget to meet these requests.

Nice to know. I would like to ask one last thing, if I can manage to fund myself for the travel, is there gonna be budget enough to get me a stay for FOSDEM?

@major congrats on having your session accepted, yes go ahead and start booking.

Nice to know. I would like to ask one last thing, if I can manage to fund myself for the travel, is there gonna be budget enough to get me a stay for FOSDEM?

Yes Sumantro, there is available budget for accomodation. You can book your trip.

Ahhh, understood, sorry for any confusion. That is okay. This year we have the room to expand the budget to meet these requests.

Thanks a lot for approving the request. :smile:

Can you also confirm how the booking is to be done? Do I send the details to someone, or do I book the tickets myself (and get reimbursed later)?
If possible, I would prefer the former, as it would be difficult for me to pay upfront right now.

I am also +1 to this. That is three +1's, so we should get moving on various bookings.
@sumantrom you mentioned you were able to secure some funding from your manager. Can you give us an updated number for requested budget, if you need any at all?

It would be great to have you there. I was hoping to get a short and quick meeting with Google folks(hoping Stephanie) for our summer coding plans especially around Google Season of Docs.
GCI and GSoC is going good so far, it would be nice to have some more insights (since you have been a long-time planner with these along with Bex)
@sumantrom, Let me know what you ended up deciding so that I can plan things accordingly.

Hello Mindshare team

My budget has been approved, but it would not be possible for me to make my travel bookings right now. I would request the team if they can make my travel arrangements (i would provide the details). It would be difficult for me pay the upfront fare right now.

I would also require a visa letter for the visa, i was wondering if the Fedora project or RedHat can provide the same.
As per fosdem 2018 archives:

"For legal reasons, the FOSDEM organization can only issue such letters of invitation to “main track” speakers for whom we also make travel and hotel arrangements.

If you are attending FOSDEM as part of your involvement with a project represented at our conference, we recommend you get in touch with someone you know locally who is involved in the project and ask them to invite you"

I would really appreciate if the mindshare team can help me with the same. :D

I am also +1 to this. That is three +1's, so we should get moving on various bookings.
@sumantrom you mentioned you were able to secure some funding from your manager. Can you give us an updated number for requested budget, if you need any at all?

It would be great to have you there. I was hoping to get a short and quick meeting with Google folks(hoping Stephanie) for our summer coding plans especially around Google Season of Docs.
GCI and GSoC is going good so far, it would be nice to have some more insights (since you have been a long-time planner with these along with Bex)
@sumantrom, Let me know what you ended up deciding so that I can plan things accordingly.

I am hoping to get an YES or NO from the mindshare since sometime. @riecatnor mentioned that "This year we have the room to expand the budget to meet these requests" which means this funding will get some support. I however dont have any final confirmations and time is surely running out. I think, this is not mindshare's problem - as mindshare voted on tickets and approved them long back. After that it just didn't work out from the budget viewpoint. However, I am still unclear about if my budget is approved or not. If so, for how much.

Hello All!

@sumantrom this is a YES :) and this should be all set now based on our email thread

@major I am working to see if we can provide the visa letter. This is a bit out of the norm because our policy is to provide visa letters for events we are sponsoring (we are not sponsoring FOSDEM). I will let you now as soon as possible once I have an answer. Also yes, if we can provide the visa letter, we are also able to book your airfare for you.

Are there any other outstanding requests for me to handle on this ticket currently?

Thanks!

Hello riecatnor

I just got a mail from the FOSDEM organizers of the Open Research Tools & Technologies devroom. They have sent me an invitation letter for the same. So, I guess that part is solved, unless Fedora needs to provide its own visa letter to book the airfare.

Thanks for all the help :D

Just wondering what days our accommodation will cover... I am not sure if I should arrive Thursday or Friday before FOSDEM...

Just wondering what days our accommodation will cover... I am not sure if I should arrive Thursday or Friday before FOSDEM...

Fedora is sponsoring 3 nights. We will check-in on Jan 31st and check out on Feb 3rd. I will send each one of you the hotel details. :)

In case someone is arriving in Brussels earlier or leaving later than the above mentioned dates, please make to find a place to accommodate for the additional nights.

@major that is great news! We can arrange all the details in the budget ticket :)

Hello @marianab.

Fedora is sponsoring 3 nights. We will check-in on Jan 31st and check out on Feb 3rd. I will send each one of you the hotel details. :)

FOSDEM is approaching and since the visa processing will also take time, can you please share the accomodation details.

Happy New Year, as well. ;D

I sent you all the hotel details on your @fedoraproject.org email addresses. I emailed @major, @coremodule, @sumantrom and @mitzie. If you have not received it, let me know.

I would like to request an additional 50 USD if possible for my flights, as one leg became a little bit more expensive. Thank you

@mitzie additional 50USD is fine

Hello everyone :) I hope you had some time to rest after FOSDEM.

Now, the next step is to paste our reports and submit receipts for reimbursement. @sumantrom @major @coremodule and @mitzie please create a ticket on the fedora-budget repo and submit your receipts there alongside with your event report link.

FYI, there are two shared Uber rides that we took on our way to the venue on Saturday and Sanday morning. On Saturday we had all the swag with us and on Sanday the bus was overcrowded. These two receipts are under Zacharias' name.

And, thanks everyone for helping at the booth! ;)

http://home.iiitd.edu.in/~aniket17133/blogs/fosdem_report.html

thanks compadre @major