Some thoughts as the organiser of this year's event.
Firstly, there should be at least two people from the chosen area ready to take responsibility for organising the event. If no one from an area nominates then that area maybe that area is not viable.
Secondly, should the vote be open to everybody or only those who have attended at least one of the previous, say three DOs?
Just a thought because there may be 45 votes but only 15 or so people attend.
I suggest there be more debate on this before there is an actual vote on a location. This might be a chance for people to volunteer to organise the event if their area is successful?
Thats a very good point HVR. When we done the Sydney gathering, there was good attendance by the majority of those who voted, however, there was also no attendance by others who at the time were also very vocal about what should be done, where to go etc. FWIW, the gathering SYD was organised (primarily) by 2 AFFers in Melbourne because of the reasons you have mentioned above. We were lucky in so far as others (Sydney based) made a huge effort in locating bars etc that the SYD gathering was well attended and enjoyed by all (except a loud oom par band at dinner)
As someone who has organised one and been heavily involved is several other
Oz Fests I feel suitably qualified to comment.
Invariably it will come down to the same couple of people who take ongoing oversight from year to year but they don't have to do all the organising. These people are the ones who ultimately need to make the real decisions, after all the other input, about where, when and how the gathering happens.
A couple of basic questions need answering.
- Are there a couple of people who are willing to provide the oversight each year?
- Does the gathering need to be in a different location each year?
- Does the location get voted every year from scratch OR is it important, to a point, to continue a rotation for as long as possible?
- Does the location need to be in major cities or if the answer is NO then how small does it go?
I agree that there should be at least two local people from the area nominated. It is possible without someone but it really is difficult.
IMHO the voting needs to be open because 'normally' people will attend where & when possible if they have had input. You cannot expect all people who voted for location 'B' to necessarily go to location 'A' as it may not be possible or practical for them. They voted for their choice because it worked for them whereas the other locations may not.
Some who vote will not turn up as their circumstances will have changed for several reasons including something as simple as what I did this year and double booked myself by mistake.
If you can have a few people who do some organising functions from year to year then all the better. For example at Oz Fest,
- serfty keeps lists of flights,
- Mwenenzi runs the spreadsheets of who is doing what,
- Falconea produces name tags etc.
I'm sure you get the picture.
Anyway just my thoughts for consideration.
