Report on the March 7, 2009 meeting of the South American DrupalCon Organizing Committee

With the presence of DrupalCon DC 2009 attendees coming from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, and Venezuela, and with the participation of Greg Knaddison (Drupal Association General Assembly member who has travelled extensively in South America) and other Drupalistas with ties to South America, an historic meeting of the South American DrupalCon Organizing Committee, chaired by Drupal Association Board Member Cary Gordon, was held on Saturday March 7, at the DrupalCon DC 2009 venue, the Washington Convention Center. The clear intention of holding a DrupalCon in South America in June, 2010 was formally announced to the Drupal Association and to the world at large. In addition, a series of DrupalCamps were announced for this year: Sao Paulo, Brazil (April, 2009); Buenos Aires, Argentina (June, 2009); Lima, Peru (September, 2009).

• Order of Business
• Resolutions

Order of Business

DrupalCon

Cary Gordon explained the differences between DrupalCamp and DrupalCon. The latter exists on a global scale. The Drupal Association Board has to agree to the holding of a DrupalCon due to their special character, but no blessing need be bestowed upon Drupal Camps. They are, however, under Cary's area of responsibility, and even though the Drupal Association has historically had little or no involvement with DrupalCamps, there is a desire for change here.

The actual planning for a June 2010 DrupalCon in South America may start in 2010, but this meeting announcing intentions needed to be held at this time.

Cary Gordon announced that the Drupal Association will support DrupalCon in any way it can. The Association would like to see the global reach of Drupal grow in Latin America, in proportion to its growing rate of adoption.

What the South America DrupalCon is going to look like is the responsibility of the local or regional organizing group. The expectation of Drupal Association is that there will be a prefessionalization of events. The Drupal Association and the organizing group has to collaborate on the structure, size, and character of the event.

The Drupal Association would like to see a solid proposal they can accept. They will help to interactively develop the proposal.

They will put their time and dedication into it to pull it off in collaboration with the local organizing group.

In the ultimate analysis approval will depend upoon whether the Drupal Association can afford to go ahead with the event, the board will need is how much risk they will have to take, in terms of the overall expectations for success based on the solidity of the groundwork and organization, and not purely in financial terms.

The Drupal Association could survive financial losses, but they would not be willing to tarnish a history of uninterrupted growth and success, an excellent and almost perfect track record.

Cary Gordon explained that his role involves connecting the local and regional organizing groups with resources, and to network people so that they can collaborate on the tasks they are working to accomplish.

The Drupal Association will provide a description and examples of what a proposal should consist of, and in the event of the organizing party needing assistance completing their proposal, that help will be provided. The proposal should be original and a direct reflection of the aims, concerns and objectives of the organizing group.

History of DrupalCon

A summary of the successful history of DrupalCon's since Barcelona was given.

The following characteristics (although not always present 100% at each of the DrupalCon's) were key for their success:

• Attendance in accordance with estimates in order to at least break even against costs.

• Well planned tracks well-populated with quality presentations.
• A location with great flight connections to North America and Europe, great local transportation.
• Good overall organization at the event site, including all necessary resources.
• Planning for the disposition of local housing resources.
• Allowances for non-Drupal family members of those participating Drupalistas.
• Usable Wi-Fi to keep the attendees connected. Enough electrical power.

There was an interesting observation made to the effect that a South American DrupalCon would necessarily have its own pricing strategy, linguistic organization and other unique characteristics, as well as necessarily obey its own conscious objectives, and that there seems to be a lack of this up till now, something that will no doubt be remedied by adequate discussion in the DrupalCon SouthAmerica group on g.d.o. (central organizing point from here on).

Discussion on venue

As to the venue, while the informal consensus has been Brazil up till now, the main point is that the South American Organizing Committee should come to a clear agreement amongst themselves (in the event of possible disagreement, a competition could form the basis for a decision) and then announce that decision to the Drupal Association. In a certain sense, DrupalCon's are like the Olympics, where cities bid to be chosen as the event site.

A planned succession of Drupal Camps (see Resolutions, below) in each of the principal countries will help to see which area or locality has the best organizing skills.

In answer to questions about financing for DrupalCon South America, it was said that some short-term financing could be available in anticipation of repayment when sponsorships get in. But the most important element is the solidness of the submitted proposal and its chances for success. No amount of funds could possibly offset risks of a possible failure.

Resolutions

DrupalCon South America 2010

A clear intention was registered and formally announced to the Drupal Association for the holding of a DrupalCon in South America in 2010, to be held in between the North American (March) and European (September) DrupalCon's, which is to say sometime around June, 2010.

DrupalCamps 2009

It was resolved to plan for a series of well-planned and strongly attended DrupalCamps in the course of 2009, in the context of strong interaction and cooperation between Drupalistas in the entire region, and in strong cooperation with the Drupal Association and leading Drupal sponsors.

Plans:

• April, 2009: near Sao Paulo, Brazil
• June, 2009: Buenos Aires, Argnetina
• September, 2009: Lima, Peru

Cary Gordon stressed that each organization should plan to the best of its ability, but should not overload itself with unrealizable objectives. The DrupalCamps could be conferences, or the more informal "unconferences", and in either case, the Drupal Association will put the local organizers in direct communication with experienced mentors who will walk them through the events. The recent New York DrupalCamp unconference is an example worthy of note, it was a great success with 170 signups and 130 attendees.

It was agreed that each of the drupalistas in each of the South American cities and their users groups would actively collaborate with each of the DrupalCamp's to the fullest extent possible, by sending delegations and providing other support and assistance.

Needless to say, the meeting ended on a high note of enthusiasm, as can be seen in the official photograph" (unfortunately Cary had to rush off to catch a plane):

Please excuse and denounce any errors or omissions