[Linux-aus] Linux Australia update - summer 2017 - events, new Council, and more

Mon Jan 30 12:58:43 AEDT 2017

Hi everyone,

Hoping that everyone who was able to join us for linux.conf.au 2017 in
Hobart had safe and pleasant journeys home, and again a huge thank you
to Chris and the #lca2017 team, Speakers, volunteers and delegates for
another exciting, mind-stretching LCA. For those who weren't able to
join us, you might have missed out on the news that the Rusty Wrench [0]
this year was jointly awarded to 'The Michaels' - Michael Davies and
Michael Still - for their outstanding contribution to our community
through their leadership of the LCA Papers Committee.

Speaking of which, the Papers Committee would love to hear your thoughts
and suggestions on the topics that you'd like to see next year - tag
them on Twitter with #lcapapers [1] or email papers-chair at linux.org.au. 

Next year, linux.conf.au 2018 heads to Sydney's centrally-located UTS
Ultimo campus with the theme of 'It's a bit of history repeating', and
we're super excited to see what Bruce Crawley, James Polley and the team
will deliver after memorable events there in 2001 and 2007. They're on
the lookout for some team members, so check out their site at [2].

We're currently evaluating LCA2019 bids, and I'd especially like to
thank Hugh Blemings and Josh Stewart for their efforts, and the
as-yet-unnamed LCA2019 bid teams in this regard.

        Other event news

In other Linux Australia events news, we're delighted to report that
DrupalGov is happening again this year in Canberra on March 27th, and
big thanks to Si Hobbs, Rosie Gooch and the team for their excellent
work to date [3].

It's likely that Joomla Day will run in Sydney in June, under the
leadership of Tim Plummer. Expect to hear more on this in due course [4].

PyconAU this year remains in Melbourne, running August 3-8 under the
leadership of Richard Jones, and we're again excited for another
hallmark event. The Call for Special Events is now open [5].

DrupalSouth is heading to Wellington late this year, and we'll bring you
more updates as they unfold.

We're currently in discussions with members of the WordCamp and
WordPress community around how we can continue to work together, and
again we'll keep you informed.

We haven't yet received bids for Open Source Developers' Conference this
year, and would warmly welcome bids for this event.

If you have ideas for other events which fit within Linux Australia's
values [6] then you can get more info at [7].

        Welcome to our new Council for 2017

Firstly, we'd like to take the opportunity to thank the outgoing Council
of 2016 for their efforts. Serving on Council, while ultimately
rewarding, is a significant volunteer responsibility - and we appreciate
the efforts of all our 2016 Council:

  * Tony Breeds - Treasurer
  * Katie McLaughlin - Ordinary Committee Member
  * Craige McWhirter - Ordinary Committee Member
  * Cherie Ellis - Ordinary Committee Member

We're delighted that Sae Ra, Hugh and Kathy are returning for 2017.

Please join us in welcoming our new Council for 2017, as per the recent
election [8].

  * President - Kathy Reid (Vice Pres 2016, Secretary 2013-2014, newly
    elected to this role)
  * Vice President - Cameron Tudball (newly elected)
  * Secretary - Sae Ra Germaine (returning to this role from 2016 and 2015)
  * Treasurer - Russell Stuart (newly elected)
  * OCM - Hugh Blemings (President 2016, newly elected to this role)
  * OCM - David Bell (newly elected)
  * OCM - Josh Stewart (Vice President 2015, OCM 2013-2014, newly
    elected to this role)

On a personal note, I'm delighted to be working with such a diverse,
experienced and multi-talented team as we embark on our ambitious agenda
to strengthen Linux Australia's foundation platforms, and position
ourselves to evolve over the coming years.

To this end, our first Council meeting of the year will be face to face,
held in Melbourne 4th-5th February. We have a strong agenda, and aim to
get through many issues, including next steps for our Membership
platform, budgetary adjustments given our strong profit in 2015-2016,
reviewing event budgets, as well as some transitional administrivia. We
look forward to keeping you informed of the outcomes.

You can contact Council at any time via council at linux.org.au, or
individual office bearers at president at linux.org.au,
vice-president at linux.org.au, secretary at linux.org.au or
treasurer at linux.org.au.

        Stakeholders and supporters

Over the course of 2016, and at linux.conf.au, we were approached by a
number of organisations interested in partnering with Linux Australia on
a range of initiatives, campaigns and projects. These groups included
WordPress/WordCamp, Open Source Initiative, Software Freedom
Conservancy, NZ Open Source Society, Electronic Frontiers Australia and
Internet Australia. The stakeholder framework that helps to articulate
and prioritise our engagements with key stakeholders is something that
we'll be discussing at Face to Face, however we expect to be
collaborating on multiple initiatives going forward.

Your feedback, suggestions and comments are as always warmly welcomed,

Kind regards,

Kathy, Cameron, Sae Ra, Russell, David, Hugh and Josh

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_Australia#The_Rusty_Wrench_award

[1]
https://twitter.com/search?f=tweets&vertical=default&q=%23lcapapers&src=typd

[2] https://lca2018.org/#/home

[3] http://drupalgov.org/events/drupalgov-canberra-2017

[4] http://joomladay.org.au/ (website will be updated once LA Council
approves event team and budget)

[5] http://2017.pycon-au.org/

[6] https://linux.org.au/values

[7] https://linux.org.au/linux-australia-event-support

[8] https://www.linux.org.au/membership/index.php?page=view-election&id=23

-- 
Kathy Reid
President
Linux Australia

0418 130 636

president at linux.org.au
http://linux.org.au

Linux Australia Inc
GPO Box 4788
Sydney NSW 2001
Australia

ABN 56 987 117 479 

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