[Linux-aus] Jimmy Wales (Wikipedia leader) tours AU

[Jon 'maddog' Hall]

Pascal,

> I can't see why they want to charge 300 dollars per head. This price tag instantly excludes
> all students who ultimately are the ones that are a central part of the
> education system and should, in my opinion, be one of the target
> audiences.
> 
> I feel like emailing these guys and asking why it's so expensive or at
> least requesting that students get a bit of a discount. Am I being
> stupid here or..?
> 

You are not being stupid.  Many people ask the same type of question
about various events.

There may be lots of reasons why it is so expensive:

        o the cost of the venue.  I notice that it is being held at
        "Hiltons" and "Entertainment Centers", not "XXXX University".
        While you might get a university to sponsor the space at a lower
        price, the organizers chose not to go that route.
        
        o the cost of the food ("Tea and Lunch" at a hotel can really be
        astronomical)
        
        o the travel expenses for the speaker both to Australia and
        around Australia
        
        o an honorarium, if he asks for one.  Remember that he is
        bouncing around Australia for four days, which is four days that
        are taken out of his schedule.  Plus travel to and from
        Australia (I do not know where Mr. Wales lives).  He has to eat,
        pay bills, etc.

Plus this may be a "money-making" event for the sponsoring group, to
help them pull in money for other projects.

Secondly, are "students" really part of the target audience for this
talk?

> The seminar also provides an opportunity for educators, academics,
> researchers, policy makers, curriculum designers, IT industry, digital
> media developers, financial and investment community, who represent a
> diversity of views and approaches, to meet and discuss the challenges.
> 
While I agree that students are the target audience for education, it
sounds as if the organizers have given thought as to the target
audiences that they need to reach, and "students" are not included in
those audiences.

They do mention "academics and researchers", but a lot of those people
are funded by grants, and have travel and conference expense money.

One reason not to include "students" (and to charge a higher price) is
to allow the target audience attendees to have better access to Mr.
Wales at the event. Another way of handling this might be to have a
limited number of "student" admissions, "First Come, First Served", and
when those are gone, then "student" registration halts.  Again, that
depends on the goals of the conference.

Nevertheless your questions are good, and if Mr. Wales is willing some
type of "student" event could be hosted at a
university or other lower-cost venue nearby (although time constraints
may block this) or a "student" discount
(perhaps sans tea and lunch) would be available (logistics might make
this hard). But if you are willing to politely ask the question, then
perhaps the group would be willing to make an accommodation.

A final thought is a "scholarship" for you from some benevolent factor.
Sometimes the sponsoring institution will offer to waive fees for
qualified applicants, but (for obvious reasons) would be unwilling to
advertise this fact widely.

There were many, many times that, as a keynote speaker, I have found a
forlorn student outside of a venue, and turning to the event organizer,
"suggested" that the student be allowed into the event.  The event
organizer would smile and say "sure".  While I do not advocate that you
travel to the event taking the chance that something like this might
happen,  I add this last thought to show that if you never ask, you
never know.  And "asking and knowing" is what Wikipedia is all about.

Warmest regards,

maddog
-- 
Jon "maddog" Hall
Executive Director           Linux International(R)
email: maddog at li.org         80 Amherst St. 
Voice: +1.603.672.4557       Amherst, N.H. 03031-3032 U.S.A.
WWW: http://www.li.org

Board Member: Uniforum Association
Board Member Emeritus: USENIX Association (2000-2006)

(R)Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds in several
   countries.
(R)Linux International is a registered trademark in the USA used
   pursuant to a license from Linux Mark Institute, authorized licensor
   of Linus Torvalds, owner of the Linux trademark on a worldwide basis
(R)UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group in the USA and other
   countries.