package YAPC::Europe::UGR; use warnings; use strict; use version; our $VERSION = qv('0.0.3'); =pod =head1 NAME YAPC::Europe::UGR - University of Granada proposal for YAPC::EU 2014 =head1 SYNOPSIS use YAPC::Europe::UGR; use const YAPC::Europe::2013::venue => "UGR"; =head1 DESCRIPTION This module describes the bid by the L aided by Barcelona.pm and Madrid.pm to host YAPC::EU 2014. =head2 University of Granada proposal for YAPC::EU 2014 The Free Software Office at the L, with the support of Madrid.pm and Barcelona.pm presents this bid for YAPC::EU 2014. =head3 Organizers The L is led by L, with a longtime Perl experience, founder of the mainly course-oriented Granada.pm (which organizes virtual courses of L and L with a long history and more than a dozen editions. Merelo has attended, and made presentations, at the YAPC::EU 2002 (Munich) and 2010 (Lisbon) conferences, and also attended and presented a paper at the 2013 FOSDEM Perl devroom. The OSL will have the support of the two strongest Perl Mongers group in the Spanish state, Madrid.pm and Barcelona.pm, who will help with anything that is not quintessentially local. The key persons of the proposal would be: =over 4 =item * JJ Merelo, with experience organizing other events such as PPSN 2002 and ECAL 1995, in the evolutionary algorithm area. Also collaboration with other conferences such as CEC 2011 or EvoStar, and many events by the OSL, such as NotBarraLibreCamp. He collaborated also with the organization of CIG 2012 (~100 persons) and JENUI 2009 (local teaching in informatics conference, ~ 100 persons). =item * Antonio Mora was the local organizer for the L and is currently a postdoc at the university of Granada. =item * Pedro Castillo is a longtime Perl user and instructor, is the head of the GeNeura research group who is also collaborating in the organization of this conference, and has been involved in the organization of several conferences, including CIG and CEDI (big Spanish computer science event). =item * Members of the Madrid.pm and Barcelona.pm =item * Volunteers and other people attached to the L. =item * Additional help from the L and L =back =head3 Contact We will setup an address @ugr.es, but for the time being the contact will be L (direction of the Free Software office) =head2 Venue We will hold it at the most convenient place at the L, with campus all over the city of Granada (Spain). Granada includes such beauties as the Alhambra and the most beautiful grafittis of all the country. We have pre-acceptance for holding it at the L Computer Science School, which is in the outskirts of the city but has all the facilities needed for a multi-room conference and is, anyways, well communicated with the rest of the city. Granada is linked to Madrid, London and Barcelona by regular daily and frequent flights and also to Mallorca and to other places (but flight frequencies vary often). MElaga is one hour away by car or 2 hours by bus and is linked to all major European cities. There are buses and trains to Madrid and Seville, but coach is always the best option outside the plane. The ETSIIT is linked to the city center (with many lodging options) by several buses. Depending on the date, student residences might also be available (July is the best date for that, since usual guests will be on holiday). =head3 Catering The school has a relatively large cafeteria and a university canteen, which can accommodate a good amount of hungry students. There are 250 sitting places, but buffer-style eating with sitting space outside the cafeteria, including common areas and classes, can also be arranged. The school cafeteria can provide the food itself for a good price (from 17E a sitting, served menu to less if it's standing around tables). Cheap beer-and tapas can be had around the school for 2E beer + tapa of choice, four beers (or non-alcoholic drinks) are enough for any hungry monger. =head2 Conference Details It's going to be, AFAIK, the YAPC::EU southernmost conference, so this fact will have to be taken into account in the details of the conference... not. =head3 Dates Due to budgetary reasons, the university is locked during August; closest we can make it is late July or early September. Late July has the advantage of empty classrooms with no problem to schedule the conference, while early September would be a little more problematic (but no big deal for a 2 or 3 day conference), milder weather (but you can still go to the beach) and good choice of accommodations (lower touristic season, if there's such a thing in Granada). =head3 Theme We propose I as a theme for this conference. Perl poetry has been all but forgotten, and, besides, the Fine Arts school is close to the Computer Science school, so we might even attract some of those free spirits to our conference. =head2 Website We will host it at the OSL servers, using Act! or other Perl toolkit for creating websites. No PHP. I promise. =head2 Auction I remember keenly the promotion at YAPC 2002 where stuff like optimization of opcodes was offered. We plan to offer that in Granada, maybe including being painted by a local grafitti artist, a trip through Granada tunnels, or a tapas crawl through local watering holes with local experts (hard to find, really). We'll also look for Perl gurus memorabilia, camel hair underpants, and onion jam. Or suchlike. =head2 Promotion The OSL maintains a presence in social networks (identi.ca, Twitter, Facebook), and the people in the organization do have that too. We would use email, local free software events (the Libre Software World Conference is held yearly in Fall somewhere in Spain), FOSDEM devrooms, and a sandwich man walking around inconspicuously around PHP and Python developer conferences. =head2 Survey We are developing an app for creating a personal schedule, and as in past conferences, we'll use whatever people have scheduled for creating a preference. Which will be probably for those dressed as Star Trek fleet ensigns or anything that is not simultaneous to talks by Damian, brian or Mark. =head2 Additional Program Granada offers a great amount of options for people from 2 to 22. Sorry, to 222. We'll organize a tapas crawl in the best watering holes of Granada, artistic trips through the grafitti art in Granada streets. And, yes, also Alhambra and all those things. We'll also organize courses for those interested and beginning courses in Spanish. =head3 Courses and tutorials No innovation here. We'll provide space during or preferably before the conference so that people that want to give tutorial or courses can pay trip expenses giving them. The organization will only collect a racket, sorry, a cut for, you know, protection. For a boost of visibility (or outing) of the Spanish Perl community, we'll also provide courses in several levels in Spanish. Any other languages can also be arranged. =head3 Side Trips Anything can be arranged; we will contact a travel agency so that they can offer packages for a good price. But the usual thing is: =over 4 =item * Alhambra and Generalife. =item * Sunset in front of the Alhambra, through the world heritage quarter called Generalife. =item * Renaissance in Granada: cathedral and other churches and palaces. =item * Tapas crawl including fried fish, meat and everything you can include in a little dish. =back =head2 Budget Now we're talking business. We will stick to the same registration costs as the last conference. Venue is free, since it's organized as an institutional (meaning university, as belonging to the University of Granada) event. The university of Granada covers insurance costs too. This will leave us some leeway to give a better attendees dinner. We are talking of a ballpark of 30K E. We will also apply to local science funding agencies and the university to defray part of the cost. The Free Software Office will absorb any deficit (or, for that matter, surplus) if there is one, although this will depend on the source of the surplus. Since funding agencies pay the grant after expenses have been incurred, in some cases years later, temporary deficit will have to be absorbed by the free software office and any surplus that is obtained after the conference also will go to the Free Software Office operating costs and a local L to fund a special Perl-based application prize. Any surplus obtained from registration fees and sponsors will be returned to the YAPC::Europe Foundation. The full budget is published in L. =head3 Income Main income will be levied on attendees. Planned attendance fees are in the same ballpark as previous events: =over 4 =item Guests, Speakers, Organizers : 0 EUR =item Full-time students: 50 EUR =item Early-bird: 80 EUR =item Regular price: 110 EUR =item Corporate tariff: 900 EUR =back Final fees have to be announced. We will request any amount from sponsors, and past events have gathered around 6000EUR exclusively from local sponsors. A minimum of 1000EUR can be expected from those sources. =head3 Costs There are several costs per attendee: =over 4 =item T-shirt: 4.5 EUR =item Catering: 35 EUR =item Bag: 4 EUR =item badge, and other stuff: 2EUR =item Attendees dinner: 30EUR =back This is around 75EUR per attendee, fully covered by early-bird fee and with a deficit for speakers and students. This will be balanced with the surplus provided by late arrivals, corporate fees and sponsors. The budget will be adjusted mainly by changing the number of lunches and coffee breaks. In this scenario the only fixed cost is covering the costs of the 75 speakers which is 5625 E. Realistically, that cost can be covered only by sponsorships and company fees. If we add the cost of one or two invited speakers at around 2000 E per speaker, there is a deficit of 9625 E. If sponsorships are not reached (or corporate-fee paying, which it's not clear how many are there) lunches would be eliminated, allowing us to basically have every paying person cover the cost of a single speaker; in that case we would need as few as 75 attendees to cover the 75 speakers. The L provides a second sheet with a worst case scenario in which official sponsorships go down to 0 and there are no corporate fees. A reduction of 15€ in the catering (which can be changed in the last minute) provides a result of around 250€ of deficit which can be absorbed by the Free Software Office. =head2 Sponsors Granada is being pushed as a technological city by consortiums such as L which is supported by major technological companies and local institutions. We have contact with local tech companies will will be willing to help with small amounts; we will have no minimum requirement for sponsorship. Companies such as L or L have supported OSL events in the past. We will mainly look for direct support of tchotchkes such as t-shirts or bags. Other companies contacted after the initial proposal such as L, L and L have answered positively to our support requests. These offers have been included in the current version of the budget. Support will also be requested from institutions of all kinds. Being the economy of Spain in the shape that it is, we don't expect much from that, but we will do it anyways and have obtained support in the past. =head2 About Granada Granada is a student city which has been the L for a long time, and that accounts for something. It's a lively city with many services for visitors. =head3 Getting here Granada has an international airport, but easiest way to reach it is to connect at Madrid or Barcelona. From July 2013, there is a L, which can be also used as a hub to reach us, although it is not the cheapest or even the fastest way to get here (maybe cheaper if used as a connection). Some price for return tickets to Granada; these are for next September 2013. =over 4 =item London: 246E =item Paris: 227E =item Rome: 271E =item Frankfurt: 364E =item Moscow: 505E =item Vienna: 326E =back Most flights are in the 200-500 E range. There are many more options to Malaga, which is a big airport, including low-cost flights, but then you have to take a bus or train to the bus station and another bus (two hours) from there. The local bus company provides also a direct bus to Granada from Madrid airport, with two frequencies a day and a low price. Check out the L site for timetable. Some sample prices and itineraries: =over 4 =item Malaga Airport - Granada: 1.30h, 10E, 4 buses a day. =item Malaga Bus Station-Granada, every hour on the hour (roughly, some exceptions) until 21:30. There are buses and trains from the airport to the bus station. =item Madrid (Estacion Sur) - Granada : 5 horas (ALSA), several buses a day, roughly every hour; normal 5h and 17.53 E, supra economy 4.5h and 26.81E and supra+ (with WiFi) 4.5h and 35-87 E (only two of these 13:30, 19:30). =item Seville-Granada and back, 41E, 3h15m. =back Train trips: =over 4 =item Madrid - Granada: 4.5h, 62 E =item Barcelona - Granada: 12h, 56 E, really a long trip in wagon-lit, but an inexpensive option. Barcelona has rail links to major European cities. =item Seville - Granada: 3h, 22 E =back There are buses also from Granada airport to the city center, costing 3E; taxis are roughly 10 times more expensive. We can organize taxi pools if needed. =head3 Sightseeing Granada includes the Alhambra and Albayzin, an ensemble that has been declared world heritage site by the UNESCO. That is only part of its patrimony, that includes also Renaissance palaces, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque churches, and a rather unknown but no less beautiful set of modernist buildings. Organized or self-organized options are available all year round. The beach is 70 kms and a bus run away. There are also many opportunities for trekking up in Sierra Nevada or in the Alpujarras. =head2 Summary The bid from the Free Software Office at the University of Granada is organized by a group of persons with experience in organizing events, some experience attending YAPC::Eu events (including, possibly, this next Kiev YAPC::Eu), will take place in an incredibly nice city, easily accessible by plane, in a venue (the University of Granada) with all needed facilities and with support from local university government, local free software SMEs and enthusiastic Perl Mongers which, so far, have not seen a single YAPC in Spain. =head2 Questions and Answers While we haven't been asked these questions by the organization, they were made to other proposers, so here are the questions that have not been answered before. =head3 What's the price of beer? In the bars around the ETSIIT and in town, average price this year (2013) is around 2E and that includes the tapa, that is, a small dish with usually warm food. That's the price of a tubo (1/3 liter). It's not usual in Spain to have bigger portions; you just order a second one =head3 What's the weather like in July/September? It's definitely hot, with maximum that can go up to 40 degrees; it goes down in September, but daily maximum are always over 30E. September is milder, anyways. =head3 Can people get receipts? Whether we choose a professional services company to organize registration or the university itself, there's no problem with providing receipts. We will see what's the more convenient option in terms of work needed, but also financially; the University can provide VAT-free registration while the external company can not. =head3 How easy is it for people to navigate the city without speaking Spanish? If you have a good map and can orient yourself, it's pretty easy. In pure geographical terms, Granada is not a difficult place; on the other hand, the Spanish educational system has made sure that very few, if any, speak other than the mother tongue. However, they will speak loudly and kindly to you until they make themselves understood. =head3 It would be nice to have more details on accommodation, with a range of the prices that can be expected for different levels of accommodation. Can most attendees fit in one hotel? Is Internet access widely available in accommodations? This is taken almost verbatim from L, which Antonio Mora organized too. Granada is a city accustomed to a large touristic inflow, so its offers a huge number of accommodation options for all budgets. In addition, due to the number of students living in the city (more than 60000 during the year), there are a big amount of visitors in these ages, so there are several economical lodgings. So the city provides dozens of hotels ranging from 5-star to 1-star ones. It must be noted that hotels in Spain (and maybe more in Granada) are usually well priced due to the competition among them. Thus, a 4-star hotel may often be in the 75-100 E range and a 3-star hotel in the 50-75 E range. Of course, some fluctuations can happen depending on the particular hotel and the zone where it is, but special packages are also possible, allowing more economic prices. =head4 Recommended hotels (approximate prices) =over 4 =item AC Palacio de Santa Paula - 5* (130E by night) The best hotel in the city. Located at the main street (Gran VEa) in the city centre. Well communicated to reach the ETSIIT. =item Abba - 4* (75 E by night) New hotel (less than 2 years old), close to the train station and near the city centre. Well placed to get to the ETSIIT (Avda ConstituciEn). Usually has good offers for University events, including free WiFi and access to the spa, which we would arrange. =item Vincci - 4* (80 E by night) Well-considered hotel in the city, close to the train station and near the city centre. Well placed to get to the ETSIIT (Avda ConstituciEn). =item Granada Center - 4* (65 E by night) Good hotel, not very expensive and close to a good tapas area (Severo Ochoa street, in front of the Faculty of Sciences). =item Carmen - 4* (55 E by night) Cheap hotel, but with good quality. It is near to the city centre. =item Macia Gran Via - 3* (50 E by night) In the main street and quite cheap. =item Puerta de las Granadas - 3* (70 E by night) Just below the Alhambra. Right in the most tourist area. Only 14 rooms. =item Juan Miguel - 3* (45 E by night) Cheap hotel in the city centre, close to the city hall. =back =head4 Student accommodation As you can check, the prices are quite cheap even in four star hotels, but there are a L. Or if you prefer, there is a Youth hostel (Albergue in Spanish) in the city. During July, student dorms might offer also cheap accommodation; in September it's less likely. There are also two university residences, which are very nice, but not so conveniently located for accessing the ETSIIT. However, they might be used for invited speakers, mainly if we manage to pay them from university budget. =head3 Are there any plans to stream or record talks? If so, how will the recordings be made and how will authorization be sought? The assets are there, and it would be possible to record at least one of the tracks. That would be free for the conference, since the OSL is part of the IT dept of the university which includes the virtual department too. The ETSIIT includes also self-recording facilities in some classes, which we could use for some tracks. =head3 Are any social events planned, other than the partner's program? We plan to do a pre-conference drink-up and post-conference excursions. If sponsorship allows, we will organize a speakers' dinner the first conference day. =head3 Do you have any plans for an associated hackathon? In the OSL we organize hackathons to the tune of several every year. We would love to organize one and try and attract local talent to Perl. Our experience says that it's better to organize them with at least one day and a half, which we would prefer to do before the conference. The venue could change, since we have contact with local coworking spaces that would provide the site and the connectivity, as well as in some cases free drinks and coffee. They can even be used overnight if needed. =head3 Do you plan to provide anything to speakers? (Such as water, a person to time things and keep the schedule on track, etc) We will have volunteers (students, GeNeura or OSL people) in every room to fix any problem that can arise, from lack of electrical outlets to swooning fans. Water will be provided for speakers, and they will be heartily patted in the back after they finish. The volunteer will also take care of time overruns by dancing a Spanish jitterbug when the speaker has spent the allotted slot. =head3 How many tracks are planned? Difficult to know in advance. Will depend on the number of papers. ETSIIT being a CS school, we can provide for up to 20 tracks. Our YAPC::Eu experience dictates that there should be a part of the day with single track (we can call them keynotes) to prevent people giving a presentation at the same time than Damian or MJD to be delivering it to the bleachers. =head3 How many days do you expect the event to run, and what days of the week are you considering? Wednesday until Friday, with Monday and Tuesday reserved for hackaton. Weekend for social events. =head3 What plans do you have concerning special diets for the coffee breaks (and lunch, if sponsored)? The ETSIIT can sponsor a single coffee break. Coffee breaks, however, are impersonal and there are excellent cafeterias around the ETSIIT which can give inexpensive and local fare such as garlic olive-oil toast, which no catering can provide and better quality coffee, as well as fresh orange juice. We will look for sponsors in any case, but will focus more on lunch and merchandising instead of coffee breaks. Any special needs will be catered for during lunch. =head3 Please give more details about modern the venues are in terms of power plugs. Are there many plugs in the rooms, or will you need to run extension cords? Are there places outside of the rooms where people can charge equipment? It's a CS and Telecommunications school, so there are enough power outlets in the corridors and cafeteria. Not so many in classrooms, but we will provide extension cords for all tracks. =head3 How accessible are the venues to people in wheelchairs, people with hearing difficulties, etc? All rooms are accessible at the ETSIIT or any other UGR faculty, complying with Spanish law. =head3 Will any wired connectivity be offered? Only for speakers, and only if really needed. In principle, and according to IT services policies, just wireless connectivity will be provided. =head3 Please tell us more about the wireless network. How many people can it support? Is it part of the venue, or will you set it up? IT services provides an easy way to set up guest access, which is dimensioned for 1K students times two devices. You will not be able to operate a CPAN mirror off your laptop, but you should be OK for anything else. Besides, for anybody coming from an academic environment, EDUROAM works without a glitch. =head3 Is it possible to have a cloakroom? Will there be a staffed help desk? There is a storeroom belonging to the OSL in the ETSIIT, which we can use as a cloakroom and crash pad if needed. We will have a staffed help desk during the whole conference. =head3 Are there projectors in all rooms? Yes. =head3 Will there be provided interfacing connectors (for Macs, for example)? No. The speaker will have to provide that. =head3 Are microphones available for speakers? Yes. =head3 We do plan to make your proposal public. Since it is a PDF document, could you please remove any information you do not want included and send us a for publication copy of the proposal? It's been developed in GitHub, so everything is open from the get go. =head3 Are the rooms in your proposed venue flat or auditorium-style (or whatever you would use in English to describe an ascending seating) If the rooms have different layouts, please tell us which are of which type We have both at the ETSIIT, but we intend to use those that are auditorium style (which, besides, are provided with air conditioning). =head3 If lunch is not provided, please describe the possibilities for attendees to go out and find their own lunch As indicated in the main proposal, the university cafeteria + dining room is able to accommodate 300 people simultaneously. Around the ETSIIT, you can eat at a bar just off the tapas (2E soda or beer + warm dish) or sandwiches or single combined plate for 3-4E. There's also a pizza parlor 500 meters away, and many different options further in the direction of downtown. =head2 Questions and Answers, 2013 proposal These have been I asked by the organization, so here we go. =over =item B<1. You mention the auction. Please note that the auction is not a required item. Some members of the venue committee think that YAPC auctions are a thing of the past for a number of reasons, and note that in the recent years YAPC organizers have tried to replace them with more engaging things. See for example http://blog.yapcna.org/post/13102310411/auction-replaced-with-raffle-at-yapc-na-2012 and http://blogs.perl.org/users/andrew_shitov/2012/11/yapceurope-2013-in-kiev-week-minus-39-random-ideas.html Would you consider going for a replacement not unlike the ones above? > =back Absolutely. Raffles and quizzes are both good ideas that we will consider, as well as any others that are raised from now to when the event actually happens. =over =item B< 2. You mentioned organizing various "side trips", but it's not clear if these are a Friend&Family program during the conference or if they are targeted at the attendees and will therefore happen at a different time/day than the ones of the conference. Could you clarify this?> =back Both can be done, of course. We will offer some of them I the conference for friends and family, and one after the conference for everybody (attendees + friends & family) =over =item B< 3. While it sounds nice that the Free Software Office would cover a loss, it is doubtful that the YAPC would generate a loss. Will you donate anything back to YEF / TPF / YAPC::Europe::2015 / sponsor other Perl events if YAPC::Europe in Granada makes a profit?> =back As indicated in the (changed) budget section, that will depend on the source of surplus. If we have a surplus at the end of the conference arising mainly from the fees and sponsorships, it will be donated back to YEF/TPF/YAPC::Europe::2015. However, official sponsorships from government/university/regional sources usually happen (and sometimes is even known about) I, sometimes much after, the conference. If we I about these sources I the conference, we will apply it to the conference and absorb that loss or apply it to (additional) operating expenses by the FSO, to be recouped when (and sometimes I) it is eventually paid back. Depending on the amount, and as said above, we will create a prize for Perl software development, which is underrepresented in the local University Free Software contest. Besides, some grants can only be requested after the conference in order to finance the deficit of the event, with concession and eventual payment a long time after the conference. In those cases, as told above, the deficit will be paid initially by the budget of the FSO and if there is a small surplus after the grant, it will remain in the FSO to cover administrative costs. In a nutshell: surplus during or immediately after the conference: back to the YEF. Surplus months or years after the conference: FSO and funding of local (Spanish level) Perl initiatives. =over =item B< 4. What are the reasons that may cause you not to use the Act system for the conference site?> =back The existence of a bigger and badder and better alternative to Act. =over =item B< 5. Given the fact that you are tied to the University schedule, are you sure you will be able to use Wednesday to Friday (which you mentioned in the Q&A section of the proposal) for the main conference days, if you opt for early September in the end?> =back Yes. Even as some classrooms will be occupied by exams, there will not be so many as in June and early July. =over =item B< 6. Do you have any alternative venue candidates?> =back It is really not worth the while. The L, most of which can accommodate any amount of people, including the Aula Magna at the Facultad de Letras (literally, Letters Faculty, which includes Philology and other Humanities-related degrees) which can sit 560 people. If the conference blown up to epic proportions, we could use the Palace of Congresses, but that would need additional budget, since they obviously charge for room occupation. =over =item B< 7. Would you consider cheaper corporate tickets, say, of 400-500 Euro instead of 900?> =back Absolutely no problem. Any amount above the regular fee would be OK. =over =item B< 8. Did you already approach to any potential sponsors?> =back We have approached the sponsors included in the new budget. Some of them have already expressed their will to support with an amount, some of them just their will. =over =item B< 9. What is included in 35 euro catering costs for the attendee?> =back Two meals, one coffee break. We will try to obtain the rest of the meals directly from sponsors such as the Computer Science School (if it is eventually held there) or corporate sponsors. =over =item B< 10. How many meals a day are you going to provide?> =back One meal, one coffee break, but as shown in the budget section, meals and coffees will be reserved when budget is secured for them. =over =item B< 11. Will catering be organised inside the venue or outside?> =back Inside. All faculties in the UGR include a cafeteria and other common areas for students. =over =item B< 12. What is the deadline for early bird registrations?> =back The usual four months before the conference. =over =item B< 13. How many attendees do you expect?> =back Our experience hosting other I conferences in Granada is that the appeal of the city usually commands a small 10-20% increase over other in the series. Since you mention in another question around 300 attendees, we have budgeted for approximately that increase in the number of attendees, so around 330-350. =over =item B<14. Can you roughly estimate the portion of speakers (you mention 75 of them), early bird registrations, students, regular and business attendees?> =back The new budget estimates that amount, with 75 speakers, 65 students, 2 corporate sponsors, 150 early bird (about half) and 40 regular. It is difficult to put a definite amount there, but we think these number, according to our past experience, are realistic. Even accounting for a very bad worst case scenario (L) we would adjust budget mainly using lunches and coffee breaks. =over =item B< 15. In case you have no money for lunches, will it be possible for everybody to find food on their own in a reasonable time (90 minutes for outside lunches seems to be the optimum)? You mentioned a few cafes outside but are they capable to serve 300 people at the same time?> =back Glad you ask that question, because whatever the place in the university of Granada we celebrate YAPC, there are literally dozens of places where you can have a quick snack, sandwiches or even a sit-down proper lunch for old geezers. Even at the L there is a cafeteria and university lunchroom, with the Fine Arts School cafeteria nearby and a supermarket where you can buy salads or sandwiches and several bars one block away, each one from 40 to 60 persons. =over =item B<16. How many local attendees might appear at the conference?> =back The usual Spanish crowd at the YAPCs amounts to around one dozen people. There are two strong Perl Monger groups in Spain whose attendance would be boosted. To help attendance by local students we would apply for course credits to the university, so that they can get ECTS credits for attending and/or volunteering at the conference. All in all, 50 is a reasonable number. =over =item B<17. How many talk tracks are you going to have?> =back As many as needed. The venue can accommodate any amount of them, and its presence will be limited basically by budget (for full-length talks, since they do not pay registration). We can fit as many lightning talks sessions (by paying attendees) as needed. =over =item B<18. Do you know the configuration of the venue and if it contains enough rooms and what is the capacity of them?> =back Our preferred venue is the L, whose biggest room can fit 196 people, with room for a few more in the sidelines or standing up. If attendance is up to 250 people, we would go for this venue, since there is also a FSO storage room, the offices of most organizers, and it's the obvious choice, being the Computer Science School and all. There are air-conditioned classrooms with 100 capacity, and other rooms with 78 seats, 8 of each + 3 more classrooms, also air conditioned with a capacity of 60. Second choice for over 250 people would be L, closer to downtown, but home to people that get their hands dirty building bridges and houses (not any more in Spain) and harbours. The L can hold 0b100000000 persons which would actually be a nicer capacity for the CS school, but it is not. Third choice would be the Aula Magna at the L which has been recently renovated and includes can hold up to 506 seats. This campus is right next to the second one and also practically in the city center. It has many classrooms with capacity from 60 to 150. =over =item B< 19. Is there a room in the venue that can hold all the attendees at the same time?> =back See above, of course that's provided for. Up to 500 attendees there are several places in the University of Granada that can fit them. Beyond that, we would have to hire the palace of Congresses. =over =item B< 20. Are the different rooms for talk tracks situated close enough to each other so that the attendees can easily change rooms between talks?> =back It's an university building (any of them), that's their bread and butter. =over =item B< 21. The 10K euro "ballpark" you have got in the "Budget" section, what does it include?> =back That has been the usual figure for other conferences with ~100 attendees. Figures have been revised in the new budget (in 3 scenarios) =over =item B< 22. Do you have enough team members to organise countdown service in each of the talk rooms?> =back Yes. We have enough persons providing services to the FSO and we'll accept volunteers for credit, as has been done in other conferences in the UGR. =over =item B< 23. Where are you going to find volunteers for this and how will you motivate them?> =back University students, motivated by what's more dear to them: free food (in plausible scenario) and course credit. We'll also pay (bus) trip and (student) lodging, as well as registration, for those coming from outside Granada. =over =item B<24. Are there any other big events known to happen in Granada in late July of early September 2014 which may cause problems with finding cheap (or any) hotels?> =back Neither the province fairgrounds nor the conference center plan so much in advance, so it is difficult to know. However, there are no recurring events either at the end of July or beginning of September, and in any case, the L, with an even bigger number available below that. Most hotels offer the university the possibility of pre-booking rooms at fixed price, although we understand that most people will want to use the Perl-driven Booking site for reservations. =over =item B< 25. What kind of a hackathon are you planning for the days preceding the conference?> =back We'll make a call for proposals so that CPAN authors can submit their modules for enhancements or bug quashing. We'll contact authors of major Perl projects such as perl5i or parrot in case they are interested. This will be held either in the same place or, depending on the number of people, in smaller venues such as the L, which is in a building with rooms varying in capability from 12 to 40 persons. =over =item B< 26. Are there microphones for questions from the audience in the talk rooms (at least in the big room)?> =back Only in the big rooms, in fact. =over =item B<27. Is it possible to quickly replace projectors in case they happen to turn out of order in the middle of the talk?> =back We'll have a pool of projectors handy in case any of them breaks down. The FSO runs a hardware refurbishing project and we usually have projectors for donation, so we'll keep two or three of them. In case we have it at the ETSIIT, every department has its own projector which we can use in case of emergency. =over =item B<28. Is Wi-Fi connection open for SSH ports and such?> =back C is available throughout the university for all people whose institution is a participant. IT services provide L with all ports open. We can arrange also physical connections, at least for speakers. =over =item B<29. In case it is not possible to use auditorium-style rooms for each of the talk tracks, will the lack of air conditioning cause any problems for the attendees?> =back That's indeed a good question. In principle, those rooms would be used just in case it's absolutely necessary (say, we have 5 or 6 parallel tracks). The university has portable air conditioning that can be requested in that possibility; we have used it for the free software children's campus. =over =item B< 30. Your proposal is publically hosted on github, including the budget calculations. Do we have your permission to link to it from http://www.yapceurope.org/ ? If not, then maybe there is a sanitized version of the proposal without the financials somewhere?> =back I have requested permission from the probable sponsors to include their names and quantities. Other that that, I don't see a problem in revealing the budget. We were thinking actually about releasing the whole setup as a CPAN module so that anybody else can use the framework for their own proposals. The setup includes tests and continuous integration using Travis. If you think that financials are sensitive anyways we can just make the spreadsheet unavailable for the general public. =cut