[epsi-coord] ePSI Conference: follow up towards moderators + other actions

Mon Jan 14 09:56:21 GMT 2013

Dear all,

As the confirmations have been coming in, the next step is to brief the
moderators of your sessions. 

Some time ago I sent you a template you could use for this. I updated it
slightly, so please rely on this one (see below), rather than the one I sent
you 3 December. It consists of 2 parts: the first one to be sent to your
moderator and an attachment which your moderator needs to send on to his
speakers. Be aware that you must fill out some details, marked in yellow and
pink. 

Steps to be taken: 

1.       This week: send it out + last version of the program (attached)

2.       This week + 1: follow up by phone towards your moderators to check
whether they are up to speed and ok with the substance (in conformity with
the outline of the session in the program (last page)!) and the approach +
agree on planning and communication lines with your moderator

3.       This week + 2 and 3: check progress 

A few days before the conference, I will send out a message to all speakers
and moderators that will attend the day before dinner (providing them
details on the restaurant and the briefing on the day of the conference at
8.45), as well as to those that do not (only notifying them on the briefing
on the day of the conference at 8.45). In that context, please check the
planning spread sheet (version 1.4) in the drop box to:

1.       Check whether all logistical details are in (email, presence at
dinner, claiming travel costs?)

2.       If not in, please notify me by email, so I can include them.

Of course, if you have still confirmations pending, please chase them.

Thanks, Marc

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Follow up message for moderators towards speakers to be sent out by ePSI
contact to moderators

Reference: ePSI Conference 

Dear [   ],

The ePSI Warsaw 2013 Conference 'Gotcha! - getting everyone on board' has
yielded great interest: over 100 people have registered and every day now
ones are coming in. Where this is now turning into one of the biggest Open
Data events ever organized, we are very pleased that we can rely on you as
the moderator for one of the 12 parallel Tracks, more precisely  Track [
].

This message aims to inform you on the latest state of play (program,
logistics etc), and also provides you so instructions and tools to help you
organize and plan your Track in the best possible way. I will be your
contact within the ePSI team, so in case of any questions, please do not
hesitate to contact me, any time.

The structure and set up

The Conference consists of 2 plenary sessions and 3 parallel sessions, each
subdivided in 3 Tracks (so 9 in total). You 'own' one of these Tracks. In
the Program attached, you will see how these are planned over time. It also
outlines the substance of the various Tracks (see last page), including
yours. Each Track focuses on a theme relevant to Open Data re-use and is
managed by a moderator and further substantiated and fired up by a set of
introductory speakers. We expect an average crowd of 75 people per Track. 

Logistics

The room your Track will be in, will be communicated in the morning of the
Conference (all rooms are close to each other). There will be a PC, beamer
and screen, and 2 microphones (one for you and the speakers and one to be
used by the crowd for discussions - we will have a student designated to
your Track, who will be walking around with the microphone). Also, if
needed, there is technical support around the corner.

Role of the moderator and speakers

The basic concept is that the moderator chairs the Track, by introducing the
theme and the speakers, guards the speaking time of the introductory
speakers and sparks and stimulates the debate where needed. Also, the
moderator will wrap up the main findings and will feed them to the ePSI
team, in view of the closing plenary session. You will do this by simply
providing a handwritten note, holding the 3-5 main conclusions, and we will
presenting (a selection of them) during the closing plenary (where we may
walk up to you with the microphone for a short elaboration).   

Getting things organised

In your Track, the following introductory speakers have committed
themselves:

person

organisation

Email

Phone

[   ]

[   ]

[   ]

[   ]

[   ]

[   ]

[   ]

[   ]

[   ]

[   ]

[   ]

[   ]

[   ]

[   ]

[   ]

[   ]

I would appreciate if you could contact your speakers this week allowing you
to touch base with them on the presentations they will give, and allowing
you exchange views on things like their main message, the form of the
presentation, the length, any hand outs etc. This will also minimize the
risks of overlaps with other speakers in your session. As we would like to
publish all presentations - including yours if you use any - we would very
much appreciate if you could collect all presentations ultimately by 15
February, so two 7 days before the conference starts. However, please make
sure, they have a available copy themselves (e.g. on a stick or on-line),
just to be on the safe side.

Shaking hands

Where  most of the speakers will arrive the day before, we are inviting all
speakers and moderators to an evening before dinner (where, obviously, the
ePSI team will be picking up the bill). Details hereon will communicated
later this week. Obviously, this will provide an excellent opportunity to
shake hands and get to know each other before the conference. In case (one
of) your speakers (or you) can not make it the evening before dinner, we
will also have a speakers room available at the conference premises,
allowing you to sit down before the conference starts (the registration
starts at 9.00 and the first plenary at 9.30), but we will be there as of
8.30, so this would give you an hour to meet up.

Next step

I will be giving you a call within the next two days (but feel free to drop
me a line right away), to see whether there are any issues you may want to
discuss. This also allows you to send out the message below to your
speakers, basically instructing them in accordance with the text above and
to set up a conference call (you may want to try to bring in all at the same
time).

I am very much looking forward to talk to you.

Kind regards,

[fill in your contact details] 

++++++++++++++++ message for your speakers ++++++++++++++++++

Dear [insert names],

In my capacity of moderator of Track [insert letter and name track], I would
be very pleased to have a chat allowing us to plan and organize things. In
preparation thereof, please allow me to provide you with some more details
on the program, the structure and our roles within our Track.

The structure and set up

The Conference consists of 2 plenary sessions and 3 parallel sessions, each
subdivided in 3 Tracks, so 9 in total (one of them being 'ours'). In the
Program attached, you will see how these are planned over time. It also
outlines the substance of the various Tracks (see last page), including
ours. We can expect an average crowd of around 50 people for our Track. The
room our Track will be in, will be communicated in the morning of the
Conference (all rooms are close and connected by the foyer, where all breaks
take place) by the ePSI team.

Who is in our Track?

In our Track the following persons will contribute (I also put in your and
my contact details, so we can al: 

[insert names, organisations, contact details]

Name

Organisation

Email

(Preferably mobile) phone number

Moderator

Introductory speaker 1

Introductory speaker 2

Etc

Role of the moderator and speakers

My idea is that I will introduce our Track, by introducing the theme and the
speakers. Since the conference aims to have a highly interactive character,
it would be good if you could keep your presentation relatively short
(around 10 minutes, but we can fine tune this on the basis of your needs)
leaving room and time for debates with the crowd. At the end of the Track, I
will try to wrap up the 3-5 main conclusions and I will feed them to the
ePSI team, in view of the closing plenary session, where they will be
presenting them (including those of the other 11 Tracks, so it may be a
selection) during the closing plenary. 

Logistics

The room our Track will be in, will be communicated in the morning of the
Conference (all rooms are close to each other and to the plenary room).
There will be a PC, beamer and screen, and 2 microphones (one for us and one
to be used by the crowd for discussions - we will have a student designated
to our Track, who will be walking around with the microphone). Also, if
needed, there is technical support around the corner. As the ePSI team would
like to publish all presentations I would be grateful if you could email me
your presentation ultimately by 15 February, so two 7 days before the
conference starts. To be on the safe side, please make sure, You also have a
copy available (e.g. on a stick or on-line).

Shaking hands

Where  most of the speakers and moderators will arrive the day before, the
ePSI team is inviting us for an evening before dinner (where, obviously, the
ePSI team will be picking up the bill). Details hereon will communicated
later this week. Obviously, this will provide an excellent opportunity to
shake hands and get to know each other before the conference. In case we do
not manage to meet then, there is also a speakers room available at the
conference premises, allowing us to sit down before the conference starts
(the registration starts at 9.00 and the first plenary at 9.30), and the
doors are open as of 8.30, so this would give us an hour to meet up.

Getting things organized

I would very much appreciate to have a chat and to exchange views on how we
would like to further fine tune our Track, also minimizing the risk of
overlaps with other speakers. Could you please let me know what day and time
would suit you? 

I am very much looking forward to talk to you.

Kind regards,

[insert your name (moderator)

And contact details]

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