Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Proposal for OOoCon 2008

Key Question

In 400 words or less, answer this question: Why is your location and the date you propose the best for OOoCon 2008?

The Dutch native lang project (including the Flemish Region of Belgium) is ready to organize a spectacular OOoCon this year. Our candidature is strongly supported by the Netherlands government that is fully backing ODF with its ambitious action plan The Netherlands in open Connection and by the city of Amsterdam (itself an avid ODF user). The Netherlands (just like Belgium) is a hotspot for ODF and OpenOffice.org deployments. It is where OpenDoc Society originated, an organisation that now has members in 13 countries. Our proposal is supported by and actively involves the major open standards and open source organisations in The Netherlands.

Mandatory Information

Location (country, city, conference center/university)

Amsterdam (The Netherlands)
University of Amsterdam or Westergasfabriek, both top locations

Proposed Date(s)

September (23th-26th)

Team Lead (main contact person)

Arthur Buijs arthur (at) artietee.nl (Co-lead NL.OpenOffice.org)
Ruud Vriens (OpenDoc Society)

Team Members

Simon Brouwer (Project Lead NL.OpenOffice.org), Cor Nouws (Marketing NL.OpenOffice.org) and H.C. van der Burg, Luc Castermans, Gustaaf Cuyvers, Jeroen Ghuijs, Ivo ten Hagen, Jo, Leo Moons, Natalie, Jaap van de Putte, Johan Vromans (all active members of the NL.OpenOffice.org community)

Local events that are taking place in parallel (or right before/after)

The conference can take place in parallel to or right before/after the Holland Open Software Conference and the PICNIC'08 festival.
OpenDoc Society is eager to organise a number of ODF related events in coordination with OOoCon, including a next edition of the ODF Day
We will work closely together with these organizations.

Special visa or entry requirements, e.g. vaccinations

Visa depend on where you come from. Nationals of Andorra, Argentina, Austria, Australia, Belgium,Bolivia, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia,Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Demmark, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Monaco,New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdon,the United Sattes of America, Uruguay, Vatican City, Venezuela do not require a visa to enter The Netherlands.
Nationals of all other countries need a visa.
No vaccinations are needed

Optional Information

Large local OpenOffice.org deployments (for user keynotes and success stories)

City of Amsterdam (The Netherlands)
City of Vaals (The Netherlands)
City of Heerenveen (The Netherlands)
ICTU (The Netherlands)
CIBG (Brussels Cabinets - Belgium)
Finance department (Belgium)

Names of local OpenOffice.org developers (for developer sessions)

No information supplied

Names of local OpenOffice.org vendors/partners (potential sponsors)

Potential sponsors: Sun Microsystems, Novell, Atos Origin, Cap Gemini, Gendo, NLnet foundation, IBM, O3 Spaces, RedNose (training), Nou&Off, ATComputing (training), GravityZoo, KOffice source.

Travel costs

Approximate return air fares from: London $169, Paris $287, Rome $278, Beijing 821 EUR, Sydney $2241, New York $957, Hamburg $137, Dublin $301, San Francisco $1104, Cape Town $1287, Tokyo 1185 EUR

Accomodation costs (youth hostel, hotel)