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====== LAC organization - Notes on hosting the Linux Audio Conference ======

This article is aimed at [future|potential] organizers of the Linux Audio Conference.

<note warning> Draft -- work in progress</note>

===== Application =====

There is no official policy set in stone on how to apply for hosting the Conference!

We believe that human-to-human communication and individual characteristics are cornerstones that make LAC a nice event and thus prefer an approach is that provides a //natural selection//, as opposed to strict rules and regulations.

As starting points:
  * join the [[http://lists.linuxaudio.org|LAD/LAU community]] if you're not a member, yet. That's what the conference is all about.
  * attend a [[http://lac.linuxaudio.org|LAC]]. Talk to the previous organizer and/or core-team.
  * be enthusiastic about it: show motivation to find out whom to talk to. You need to be able to solve very similar issues down the road, anyway.


===== Conference Format =====

  * 3-5 days 
  * Paper-presentations, panel-discussions
  * Concerts, art-installations
  * Hands-on-workshops

===== Prerequisites =====

Apart from essential dependencies that any conference brings with it, the Linux Audio Community has certain standards and expectations.

  * There should be some institution or organization that can provide **patronage** (insurance).
  * The venue should be able to accommodate >= 150 attendees.
  * LAC is **open to public** and has traditionally been **free-of-charge** to attend. Concerts accompanying LAC may be an exception to this.
  * **Printed proceedings** - Proper documentation is very important to us. Audio-related topics - in particular digital signal processing and sound synthesis- can be very scientific. Publishing papers is an important part of scientific research. Even less scientific areas - such as interface design or composition - benefit greatly by documentation. Printed proceedings raises creditability of the conference and on top of it gives your institute a P&R hand-out.
  * **Peer review** - the presented papers or talks should be peer-reviewed by a committee of experts. 
  * **Live-video** stream of (at least) the main conference track, video-archive. Not every member of the community can travel to LAC, remote-participation is important. The LAC was one of the first FLOSS conferences to provide live-streams and has an archive back to the 2nd LAC in 2003. Not only is it good publicity - excerpts of talks have been published in the Linux-Magazine - but it allows to revisit a certain topic and - in times of fake and puffware anywhere - proves that the conference really took place.
  * Evening **concerts** - Music is an integral part of audio & sound. Traditionally there have been 2 or 3 concerts featuring different styles: 
    * serious compositions, ambisonics - //sit-down style// - playback + live
    * club-night: The GNU/Linux dance event - preferably live music only
    * ...
  * **Hallway track**: One of the more important parts of any conference is the so-called //hallway track//, where informal gatherings of attendees take place. Nearby bars and restaurants or a dedicated hacker-space are an integral part of the hallway track.
  * **WiFi** is somewhat obvious these days. Yet, it can be overwhelmed when the majority of attendees are in one place (like for keynotes). 
  * All **conference material** should be under a free/libre license and be related to, or have impact on Free-Software and GNU/Linux. 
  * There must not be any discrimination (e.g. handicapped people, OSX-users). It is prudent to look into [[http://geekfeminism.wikia.com/wiki/Conference_anti-harassment|anti-harassment]] policies as well.

===== Equipment & Personnel =====

Equipment for the main conference track:
  * Video-Projector(s)
  * Wireless lapel-mics (for speakers), microphone(s) for audience questions.
  * PA, audio-mixing desk, cables and accessories (stands, tape,..)
  * Video camera(s) and tripods; don't forget DV-tapes.
  * Lighting (spot, ambient), window shades.
  * Video-mixer and scan-converter (e.g. VGA->PAL, firewire) for video streaming and archiving
  * Computer for A/V recording (fast multi-core, large HDD, wired internet connectivity, potential firewall exceptions) and chat-session (questions from remote participants).
  * Power-outlets for the audience.

Concerts: Equipment for concerts really depends on the venue.

Similarly, workshops, poster-sessions, etc may have specific equipment requirements. Yet it is impossible to generalize those. Additional video-projectors, sound-systems and power-outlets are the most obvious.

You need to staff a registration and information desk. There need to be volunteers to announce speakers, attend to the cameras as well as mixing desk. Attendees may require assistance as well. 

===== We provide.. =====

You are not alone: Over the years a team of volunteers crystallized who stand-by at your command. Previous organizers are available for advice.

In particular, the LAC stream-team has expertise to set up the video-streaming and can may be able to provide equipment (scan-converter, cameras,..).

linuxaudio.org can facilitate web-hosting, email-service and potentially web-design including a peer-review system for paper submission.

===== Funding =====
Despite of what you may think, LAC is a very inexpensive conference.

Things that may require sponsoring are:
  * Venue and insurance -- yet your institution may take care of this. Concert-locations can be financed by an entrance fee or a surcharge on consumptions.
  * Security & technical staff -- may also be provided by the institution and/or volunteers.
  * Any equipment from the list above that is not available at the venue.
  * Logistics
  * Advance payment for printing proceedings and optional T-shirts or gadgets to be sold.
  * Coffee, Tea, Cookies..

It is possible to provide a very pleasant conference-experience with as little as 2000 euros. but the sky's the limit.

===== Further considerations =====
  * build a small team early-on
  * delegate as much as possible
  * announce it early (cheap travel, minimize the chance of date overlap or conflicts with other related conferences) 
  * ...