[Ambassadors] Event Report CLT 2010

Wed Mar 17 13:27:33 UTC 2010

Hello Everyone,

All in all, Chemnitzer Linuxtage
2010<http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Chemnitzer_Linuxtage_2010>was a
very successful event.

I, including some of the Ambassadors from the Benelux/Western German Region
, arrived on Friday evening to be greeted by J. Simon in
Chemnitz<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemnitz>
.

We checked into our hotel after a 7 hour drive from Southern Netherlands and
quickly headed off to a restaurant to meet other ambassadors and FOSS
community contributors. The weather was cold and snowing, but not quite as
cold as the Netherlands, due to the fact that we were in a landlocked region
of Europe. After a bite to eat, we met other contributors at a local brewery
to discuss our respective projects and what our plans were for the event
which started the next morning.

*CLT Overview:*

*Facilities: *
*
*
The event was held at the Technical University of
Chemnitz<http://www.tu-chemnitz.de/tu/sprachen/engl/index.php>in their
modern building which was spacious and properly equipped with a
fast internet connection and modern rooms for presentations and lectures.
There were benches and tables set up on the top floor of the exhibition room
where visitors could have a place for meeting and working on their laptops.
Next to the entrance was a full wardrobe facility for visitors and also a
childcare facility which had places for children to rest and a massive Lego
set-up with various toys to keep young children busy while their parents
attended the event.

*Purpose and Focus: *
*
*
The purpose and focus of CLT 2010 was a little different than other events I
have attended in the past. Most events were geared towards the technical
aspects of the various communities where CLT had a user focus of curious
people, newbies, and those contemplating on switching to Linux. There were a
wide diversity of projects at this event from distro' s and desktops to 3D
modeling programs, DAW' s and music labs set up for recording and mastering
music, as well as, academic projects. There was even a PC doctor where you
could drop off your laptop if it had problems and the technicians would try
and solve the problem while you were attending the event. A nice little
touch, I thought ;-)*
*

*Operations:*
*
*
*Day 1:
*
*
*
>From initial observations, we entered the event and were met by a member of
the event organizing team who was pleasant and professional in manner and
immediately escorted us to the main booth where we were issued our event
passes and meal passes. Thereafter, he escorted us to the location of the
Fedora booth. Initial observation showed that the booths were very well
evenly placed within the building without excessive overcrowded areas. This
provided plenty of space for exhibitors and visitors alike to walk by and
stand in front of the booths without interfering with the flow of traffic in
the aisles of the event. It was also worth noting that the cords and cables
were well organized and covered with carpet and secured with tape around all
of the walking areas of the exhibition hall.

Day 2:

Throughout the day we were in contact with the event organizers which were
happy to answer our questions and discuss the planning involved with the
event. After the initial impression from day 1, I could confirm that the
event and it's organizers were well informed, professional and highly
organized. There was security present at the event 24 hours a day for both
days and event personnel present 24 hours a day at the entrance who were
attentive and checked all people entering and leaving the event at all hours
of the day and night.

*Catering*:

The catering for the event was split into two sections. There was catering
in the main hall for visitors and where a hot lunch was served both days in
a timely fashion. The second section was in a private room and for event
exhibitors and employees. I did not have a chance to try any of the visitors
catering meals, but could observe that it was a nice sized meal for the
price and generally people looked content. The catering for the exhibitors
was well thought out with a good variety of hot and cold dishes, coffee and
tea, candy, cakes and pastries, and a variety of juices and soft drinks. The
staff was very cordial and efficient at always having food and drink
available no matter how busy the lounge was at times;-)

*Fedora Activities*:

The weekend consisted of various meetings in which I had with ambassadors
which I have not already been acquainted with and finally had the pleasure
to meet with and talk about various topics and issues within the Fedora
project. It was nice for me to discuss with others what their feelings were
about Fedora  and what they viewed as needed to be improved within the
community. In addition, I spend time at the Fedora booth speaking to various
ambassadors and other community members while informing and answering
questions that visitors had about the Fedora project. It was a nice balance
of the internal and external aspects of the Fedora community and how it
interacted with other communities and the macro environment.

*Social Event:*
*
*
On Saturday evening the event organizers planned a social event for
exhibitors, volunteers and staff of the event on the top floor of the
building. Long tables and benches were arranged (german beer garden style)
and a nice buffet consisting of a nice balance of fish, meat and vegetarian
dishes, pasta and various canapés, fruit and desserts. In addition, there
was a wide variety of local beer, soda, juice, wine, coffee and tea served.
The food was excellent, fresh, and the caterers had plenty of food and drink
available for all.*
*

During the social event there was also entertainment provided. During dinner
there was a jazz band playing and after the dinner a magician who traveled
around to each table to give a personal show to people with a mix of comedy,
magic tricks and balloon animals for the children.

We had a very nice time at our table with members of the Fedora ambassador
team and our sister community of CentOS <http://www.centos.org/>.

*Conclusion:*
*
*
In conclusion, I would be comfortable in recommending this event to anyone.
It was a very pleasant event with a relaxed atmosphere that was focused for
all Linux users and contributors, possible adopters, and those just curious,
as well as, their friends and families :-)*
*

The planning and operations of this event were far superior to any other
FOSS event I have attended and the organization skills were almost
impeccable. Everything was thought out to the last detail and the planning
yielded a good balance for the different types of people attending the
event.

The ambassador team present at the event were professional and well
organized also. It was especially nice to see those involved in
cross/supporting project helping out and switching "hats" to help their
fellow community members.

All in all, I would like to thank the event organizers of CLT 2010 for their
superb event, Joerg Simon <http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/JoergSimon> the
event owner for his excellent organization skills and the extra special
effort that he has made to make us ambassadors feel taken care of, and our
fellow contributers who made this event possible.

>From my personal and professional viewpoint, I believe the Chemnitzer
LinuxTage <http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Chemnitzer_Linuxtage_2010> should
serve as THE example of the standard that ALL Fedora events should strive to
be!!!!

All the best,

Gregory

*
*

*
*

Title: Fedora Ambassador Netherlands
User Homepage: https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/User:Gmzysk

PGP Fingerprint: 4643 E1AE 1AAD 85D4 6276
                        7C42 3591 A189 B8BF 04D6
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