publicity and the good news

The organising committee met last Thursday to discuss developments and to continue planning. Funding and use of the fast Internet Access Grid has been confirmed by theUniversity of Otago. This will require an hour to be set aside with a smaller group, and a synchronous link to be organised with possibly University of Victoria and the University of Canterbury using their nodes. Contact will be made with key people at these organisations to arrange this session.

Approval has also been given for recording of the event by audiovisual personnel, and a meeting is to be set up with them. The idea will to have the recordings broadcast on the same day.

The Monarch cruise has been tentatively booked to convey the party and followers to Wheller's rock, to start the conference with a Hui at Otakou Marae on the Otago Peninsula on 18 September. We have yet to confirm a venue for the formal open meeting on 19 September, but the Hutton Theatre at the museum is free. The difficulty may be whether we can organise wireless connection at the museum. A location on campus at Otago Polytechnic would be ideal as we have wireless. One smallish lecture theatre is free but not the flat open space in G block which would work better. The ISS manager and IT administrator will be organising connectivity for us and streaming server access.

Michael Coghlan has offered to facilitate a web cast during the conference - no date set as yet.

A draft brochure for publication has been designed by Michael Crawford at UoO, and incorporates the idea of social networking with the image of a bee plus a map of New Zealand to show where the roadshow will travel. Catering by the uiversity caterers is to be organised - their food was amazing at a recent conference at the university.

If Trade and Enterprise provide support, a web conference will need to be set up with a business focus. Discussions around technology and networking in business.

To start the proceedings of the conference in the lead up to the open space meeting, Leigh will ask our visitors to record something to stimulate discussion pre-conference. Watch this space.