[Linux-aus] Announcing the linux.conf.au 2017 miniconfs!

[Christopher Neugebauer (linux.conf.au 2017)]

Before we give the stage to our selected presentations, linux.conf.au
will explore twelve special interest areas affecting the Future of
Open Source.

Miniconfs are linux.conf.au’s special interest streams: they let us
explore important topics in Open Source with greater depth than our
selected presentations alone. This year our miniconfs cover fields
ranging across technology, community, and openness in fields beyond
technology.

linux.conf.au 2017 is being held in Hobart, Tasmania from Monday 16
January to Friday 20 January 2017. Our miniconfs will take place on
Monday 16 January and Tuesday 17 January.

Many of our miniconfs are accepting talk submissions, and want to hear
from you. Miniconfs are a great opportunity to share your stories and
experience, especially if you’re a new speaker, or if you missed out
in linux.conf.au’s primary call for proposals. To submit a talk to a
miniconf, create an account on our website
(https://linux.conf.au/dashboard), create a speaker profile, and then
select “new proposal”.

Note that linux.conf.au does not offer complimentary tickets to
presenters at miniconfs, however, a limited number of tickets for just
the Monday and Tuesday of the conference may be available on request.

To find out more about our miniconfs, please visit
https://linux.conf.au/schedule/miniconfs/list

We’re excited to share our list of accepted miniconfs with you, and
can’t wait to see what sort of talks you’ll propose!


== Systems Administration ==
Organised by Ewen McNeill -- Talk submissions now open

The Systems Administration Miniconf focuses on professional management
of real-world Linux and open source environments, both large and
small. The miniconf aims to include talks directly useful to
professional Linux administrators, covering a diverse range of tools
and techniques that will help keep your entire environment functioning
smoothly, and accomplish more with less effort.

== Open Hardware ==
Organised by Jonathan Oxer and Andy Gelme -- Talk submissions open soon

The concept of Free and Open Source Software, already well understood
by LCA attendees, is complemented by a rapidly growing community
focused around Open Hardware and "maker culture". Interest in Open
Hardware is high among FOSS enthusiasts, but there is also a barrier
to entry with the perceived difficulty and dangers of dealing with hot
soldering irons, unknown components and unfamiliar naming schemes. The
Open Hardware Miniconf will ease software developers into dealing with
hardware, covering topics across both software and hardware.

== Write the Docs Down Under ==
Organised by Brian Moss and Lana Katherine Brindley -- Talk submissions now open

Write the Docs Down Under is a technical communication-themed miniconf
that will draw documentation professionals of all kinds from across
Australia. Topics on every aspect of technical writing are welcome,
ranging from languages and tools to building communities and the state
of the industry. We are particularly interested in talks on the future
of technical communication as an industry, new and interesting
communication technologies, and the changing role of the writer in the
IT world.

== Open Knowledge Australia ==
Organised by Matthew Cengia -- Talk submissions open soon

The Open Knowledge miniconf, organised with the help of members of
Open Knowledge Australia, will give people the opportunity to learn
about many different aspects of openness, transparency, and
information sharing, including in Open Data, Open Government, Open
Source Software, Open Journals, Open Maps, Open Communities, Open
Hardware, Open Science, and probably others too. This miniconf is a
great introduction for people who are new to the open source world, or
who want to learn about different types of openness to those with
which they are familiar.

== Security and Privacy ==
Organised by Fraser Tweedale and Jason Cohen -- Talk submissions now open

The linux.conf.au 2017 Security and Privacy Miniconf will bring
together users, researchers and practitioners involved in, or simply
interested in, security topics in Open Source software and hardware.
The program will feature a series of talks explaining and
demonstrating important security and privacy concepts, techniques and
initiatives. Whether you are a researcher, developer, sysadmin, UX
designer or anthropologist, there will be something at the Security
Miniconf to help you or your users live a more secure digital life.

== Kernel ==
Organised by Andrew Donnellan -- Talk submissions now open

The Linux kernel is at the heart of several billion computing devices,
and is thus a rather important piece of open source infrastructure!
The Kernel Miniconf will focus on a variety of kernel-related topics –
technical presentations on up-and-coming kernel developments, the
future direction of the kernel, and kernel development community and
process matters. Past Kernel Miniconfs have included talks on RCU,
scheduling, filesystems, memory management, and others.

== WOOTCONF ==
Organised by Katie McLaughlin, Jacinta Catherine Richardson, Lana
Katherine Brindley -- Talk submissions now open

WOOTCONF, Women Of Open Tech, is a miniconf dedicated to allowing
women to share their knowledge in relation to the future of open
source in Australia in beyond. Working on a foundation of previous
linux.conf.au miniconferences: AussieChix, and Haecksen, WOOTCONF
seeks to provide an environment allowing women to share their ideas
and knowledge, with talks ranging from professional development,
community and technical. WOOTCONF, and encourages new and upcoming
speakers to propose and deliver talks. Mentoring by a number of
recognised women in the open source community will be available for
any speaker or attendee who wishes to use such help.

== Games and FOSS ==
Organised by Tim Nugent and Eloise Ducky -- Talk submissions now open

We all love games, right? We all love free and open source software,
right? So why don't we love them together? Games are now a very big
part of the software and entertainment industry but we don't often
talk about how well they play with FOSS. Despite there being an
overlap amongst users and developers, for the most part the game
developers hide in their silo and FOSS hide in theirs, it is time to
start getting the two together. This miniconf will be a single day
exploring the interaction of games, free and open source software, and
their communities and developers.

== Testing/Automation ==
Organised by R Tyler Croy -- Talk submissions open soon

Testing and automation is not isolated to a single toolchain, language
or platform, there is much to learn and share regardless of
background. The goal of this miniconf is to foster discussion across
various layers of testing and automation, using open source tools to
improve all software.

== Community Leadership Summit X at LCA ==
Organised by VM (Vicky) Brasseur

The Community Leadership Summit X is an outreach event spun out of the
annual Community Leadership Summit run by Jono Bacon and held prior to
OSCON. It brings together community leaders, organizers and managers
of projects and organisations that are interested in growing and
empowering a strong community.

== Free Software Law and Policy ==
Organised by Deb Nicholson and Donna Benjamin -- Talk submissions open soon

Code is a great thing, but there are also rules. You can't get too far
without at least a cursory understanding of copyright law, software
patents and trademark issues. Plus, the disconnect between legislators
and developers leads to policies that seem to lack a basic
understanding of technology, let alone a proper respect for user
autonomy and privacy. The state of international and local law
presents constant challenges and occasional opportunities for free
sofware advocates -- so let's talk about it!

== Open Radio ==
Organised by Scott Bragg and Ben Short -- Talk submissions now open

The Open Radio miniconf has been a popular staple of the linux.conf.au
program for a number of years now, and with the explosion of embedded
devices, open hardware and the Internet of Things, there are constant
improvements and new ways of letting both users and devices
communicate. Many Linux enthusiasts are also experienced amateur radio
operators, while many more are interested in becoming a licensed ham.
There are still plenty of experiments that can use unlicensed parts of
the spectrum, and the Open Radio Miniconf will showcase talks and
project demonstrations about many of them.


== About linux.conf.au 2017 ==

linux.conf.au is a community-driven conference about the Linux
operating system and the vibrant ecosystem of Free and Open Source
Software that has grown up around it. Run in a different Australian or
New Zealand city each year by local volunteers, LCA invites more than
500 people to learn from the people who shape the future of Open
Source.


In 2017, linux.conf.au is welcoming you to Hobart, Tasmania, on Monday
16 through to Friday 20 January. Ticket sales will open in October. We
thank our Emperor Penguin Sponsors, IBM and Hewlett Packard Enterprise
for their generous contribution to the conference. For more
information, please visit https://linux.conf.au

-- 
--Christopher Neugebauer <chair at hobart.lca2017.org>

Conference Director - linux.conf.au - January 2017 - Hobart