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<p>Hi everyone, <br>
</p>
<p>As part of our ongoing commitment to strong communication, please
find below an update on our current activities. <br>
</p>
<h2>Pycon AU #CfP now open</h2>
<p>Love Python? Please consider submitting a talk to the Pycon AU
#CfP</p>
<p><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://2018.pycon-au.org/speak/">http://2018.pycon-au.org/speak/</a></p>
<h2>Internet Freedom Hack</h2>
<p>We were delighted to sponsor Internet Freedom Hack over the
weekend of 20-21 April. See all the action via the hashtag
#DefendTruthHack: <br>
</p>
<p><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://twitter.com/search?f=tweets&q=%23DefendingTruthHack&src=typd">https://twitter.com/search?f=tweets&q=%23DefendingTruthHack&src=typd</a></p>
<h2>2018 Linux Australia Grants Program now open</h2>
<p><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://linux.org.au/projects/grants">https://linux.org.au/projects/grants</a></p>
<p>Join the grants@ mailing list if you wish to review / have
feedback on Grant Applications -
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://lists.linux.org.au/mailman/listinfo/grants">https://lists.linux.org.au/mailman/listinfo/grants</a><br>
</p>
<h2>Council Face to Face</h2>
<p>Council met for our Face to Face meeting in Melbourne over the
weekend 13th-15th April. The Minutes will be available in due
course, however, the highlights include; <br>
</p>
<ul>
<li>We conducted an organisational SWOT analysis to know what to
focus on - no surprises - it raised issues of volunteer
capacity, sustainability, areas we need to address with policy,
and platform renewal</li>
<li>We reviewed the organisational budget, and made the decision
to run at a loss in 2017-2018 - primarily due to investment in
new membership and website application platforms. We considered
whether to curtail spending on the Grants Program to reduce the
loss, but given our cash reserves felt that it was the right
thing to do for the community to run at a deficit for just this
year. We expect to have less expenditure in 2018-2019 and will
draft a 2018-2019 budget towards August. At this stage we
project a loss in 2017-2018 of around $AUD 88k. This seems quite
large; it is based on expected returns in current conference
budgets and our expected expenditure on replacing the current
website and MemberDB. <br>
</li>
<li>We reviewed our stakeholder relationships; as one of several
possible partnerships we intend to become an organisational
member of the Open Source Initiative in the next few weeks</li>
<li>We reviewed event progress on several in-flight events, and
considered the relationship between events and Linux Australia,
and decided to better document the services we provide to
auspiced events to aid in understanding the benefits that Linux
Australia provides<br>
</li>
<li>And decided that we need to do a 'stocktake' of our current
non-event Subcommittees to ensure that we have the right
structures to support the effective running of the organisation<br>
</li>
</ul>
<p>My sincere thanks to Cameron, Sae Ra, Russell, Hugh, James and
Cherie for giving up a weekend to work on Linux Australia
strategic planning. <br>
</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p>That's it for now, as always your feedback, comments and
suggestions are warmly welcomed. <br>
</p>
<p>Kind regards, <br>
</p>
<p>Kathy<br>
</p>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
Kathy Reid
President
Linux Australia
0418 130 636
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:president@linux.org.au">president@linux.org.au</a>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://linux.org.au">http://linux.org.au</a>
Linux Australia Inc
GPO Box 4788
Sydney NSW 2001
Australia
ABN 56 987 117 479 </pre>
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