I’ll create tasks for Core Contributors to prepare and submit a talk proposal, and we can discuss optional submissions and topics in a forum thread as usual. I’ll get started on this next week/sprint.
Looks like it!
Yes, that would be fantastic! I’ll definitely include this in my search. And since we’re going to Bogotá, I’ll ask our friends from eduNEXT for pointers – we’ll have local fixers!
edit: @Ali I just saw your reply while writing this. Let me check, but it’s something to consider indeed.
In my previous conference budget calculations, I hadn’t factored in the time spent preparing talks (1.5h + 30h) nor providing in-kind help as a form of sponsorship. The numbers have gone up drastically since then.
Based on updated numbers, and since @antoviaqueconfirmed that the 50k budget cap is a hard one, it looks like we’ll need to cancel the coworking week in 2023, or at least until we can afford it. This is not a final decision, but right now I don’t see how we can make it work from a budget standpoint.
The only way we could attend the conference (6 ppl) + coworking week is by:
Severely cutting down on the number of people who can attend the coworking week – but that wouldn’t make sense since we want the full team present.
Cut down on the expenses covered by OpenCraft – which doesn’t make sense IMO, since this is a work trip. Even if people were willing to cover their flight ticket (which is the biggest expense) out of pocket, we’d still be 10k over budget.
If we cancel the coworking week, we can also send an additional team member to the conference, taking the total to 7.
I would be willing to cover my own flight and accommodation costs, if OpenCraft would cover my conference attendance.
I have friends and family I want to visit in the US next year, and so this trip would dovetail nicely with that, and give me some business expenses to write off on next year’s tax.
@jill That’s really graceful of you! And it would be great to see you at the conference this way. I think we can definitely find a way to cover your conference attendance – the time would mostly come from your core contributor hours, and the entrance ticket isn’t too big of an expense. @gabriel what do you think, can this fit in the budget?
@team here’s an important update regarding conference attendance and good news for the coworking week:
@antoviaque and I have been reviewing the conference budget, and we found a way to send a few folks to the conference AND do the full-team coworking week in Bogotá Based on the current budget, we can send 4 team members to the 2023 conference, using the conference budget. @Fox will be one of them, since he does important prospecting work.
The compromise, however, is that we’ll need to move the budgets for brainstorming on topics, submitting proposals, preparing talks, and attending the conference to the Contributions budget. This in turn means that only Core Contributors (“CCs”) will be able to participate in those activities. It’s not ideal, but this allows the whole team to have a coworking week in Colombia This means that 3 Core Contributors + Jill will accompany Fox and Xavier to the conference
We’ll likely need to spread the talk submission/prep/attendance budget over 3-4 months, so that Core Contributors can allocate time for other contribution tasks, but we should be able to make it work.
I’ll go ahead and archive the brainstorming tasks I had scheduled for team members who are not CCs.
If you’re not a CC and you have an idea or two in mind already, here’s a proposal: I think it’s fine to go ahead and share it on the brainstorming thread – just be mindful of the fact that you have no budget for it, so please timebox it to a few minutes at most, and log it on the conference epic. This may sound drastic, but those minutes compound very fast, and the budget is tight. Are you good with this, @antoviaque?
Gabriel, is that 4 DEVS or 4 team members total? I would have expected that I’d be going, but I’m not a CC. Either’s fine-- might be a good chance for us to finally hit that trip to Japan if I’ll not be going.
@Fox it is my understanding that you’ll be going, on the Prospects budget. Sorry for not mentioning this, and @antoviaque can confirm. I assume that Xavier will also be going, so it would probably be 6 in total.
edit. this was incorrect ^^ Fox’s presence at the conference also needs to be covered by the conference budget, and therefore the correct count is 3 Core Contributors + Fox + Xavier.
@gabriel@Fox Yes, you’re definitely coming @Fox - we actually mentioned it during the budget discussions. @gabriel we would need to count @Fox in the conference budget though, which is kinda already a “prospecting” budget, even if it isn’t only that. Does that change things? I will come and can take care of my own travel expenses - so you can count me in the budget the same way as @jill.
Thanks for finding a way to make something work! Seems like a good plan, given the circumstances, and I’m so glad we still have a chance to get the whole team together.
So exciting! Glad I’ll finally be meeting some of you face-to-face. @gabriel Would the dates for Bogotá be 1-7 April-ish?
Since I need a visa for the US (which would mean additional costs), perhaps it makes sense to prioritize other CC’s over me?? I can always attend next year’s conference.
Thanks for confirming, @jill! And sorry for the confusion – your presence does not count towards the 3 CCs, since you’re going on your own dime. So it’s 3 CCs + Xavier + Jill + Fox.
Yes. If we have more than 3 talks accepted, we’ll discuss it as a team and try to reach a consensus, and if we can’t achieve that, Xavier will make the call.
Btw, @sarina is looking for a few people to help with judging the talk proposals, and offered to include some of us in the roster. She is looking for:
Details: The conference talk judging will take place from 23 January 2023 through 31 January 2023. The commitment would be up to 8 hours, split up however you see fit during the judging period. A judging rubric will be provided in advance and judges will have time to give input on this rubric. Our needs: We’re looking for 1-2 technical people from OpenCraft to help us evaluate the “Developer and Operator” track.
Additionally, we’re looking for 1 person to help us judge the “Other” track. This person should have extensive knowledge about the Open edX platform, feature set, community, or other aspects; they do not need to be technical We’re not sure what types of talks will be submitted to this new category so we’re intentionally looking for a wide range of backgrounds.
We could commit this time as part of the core contributor budget, like for the rest of the conference. Any of the core contributors in the team interested in this? Let me know this week, as we’ll need to answer her by Tuesday.
. Let me know when you’ve taken a final decision, and I’ll buy you a ticket!
Based on the current budget, we can send 4 team members to the 2023 conference, using the conference budget. 
This means that 3 Core Contributors + Jill will accompany Fox and Xavier to the conference