Thanks a lot everyone for your comments, this feedback is really helpful!
I agree with Jan that we should focus on 'type of location' instead of 'geographical location'. Even if we find an ideal location; one that is in the middle of this country and is accessible by both car and public transport, there will still be people who won't be able to make it.* I myself live in Ghent, so I'll focus my efforts around Ghent*. If other people want to organize meetups closer to them, feel free to do so. In fact, I'd encourage you to do so. Edmund, start a community in the rupelstreek. It will make the ubuntu-be community grow, and maybe in a few years, we'll all meet in Brussels for a big ubuntu-be party. It seems to be a common concern that the association with the hacker culture creates barriers. Ubuntu = Linux for human beings, so we should try to avoid those barriers at all cost. So I propose we try to find a better location that has less of a barrier and has more connected to non-techy people. I myself am a Computer Science PhD student, so I'll need a lot of help getting in touch with non-techy organizations. Frank, do you have personal connections to such organizations in Ghent?* Is anyone else able to help establish a relationship with other organizations?* Now that I think of it, *English is another big barrier.* The main reason why I using English is that it allows the french and dutch speaking parts of ubuntu-be to communicate better. However, I'm not sure if there are that many non-dutch people around here. Trying to include everyone might just have an adverse effect. Aside from that, I'm going to focus my efforts on the area around Ghent, so I don't see the benefit of talking English anymore, especially since it creates another barrier. I think it's best if everyone just speaks the language they're most comfortable with. Anyone has any thoughts on the language issue? Kind regards Merlijn Sebrechts 2016-04-12 7:16 GMT+02:00 Jan Bongaerts <jbongae...@gmail.com>: > My 2ยข > Focus on the type of location, not the geographical location. It's always > going to be easy for some and difficult for others. > So I advice the organiser to stick to a location that is really accessible > for him/her. > > Hackerspace might indeed not be the best idea. Rather take it to your > target audience, like a youth club, a student fraternity, or some adult > education centre. > Regards, > Jan. > On 9 Apr 2016 10:19, "Edmund BlackAdder" <wh1tesp...@gmail.com> wrote: > >> Hello Merijn, all, >> >> i live in the Rupelstreek, that's below Antwerp, and I'm not all that >> happy driving to Ghent. (what with it's accessibility (or lack of)). >> Also, the terms "hacker" and "hackerspace" still carry a negative >> connotation with most of the non-tech savvy people i meet. >> That might slow down things also, imho. >> >> If i'm allowed to think out loud for a minute, i'd say there's potential >> for Linux in the Rupelstreek. As far as i know, there's not too many of us >> linux users around here. >> Maybe in the future, a launch party in these parts of the country would >> help things forward a bit. That would need a suitable location of course, >> but I've got a few venues in my mind. >> >> On the other hand i realize that if everybody sticks to his/her >> geographical location, the team will have a hard time getting together. And >> that's not a suitable option either. >> >> Kind regards, >> >> Tom. >> >> Op 09-04-16 om 09:29 schreef linux service: >> >> Maybe a better location that is better accessible with car? >> >> You have to have a plan currently to enter Ghent. >> >> I like "De Leest" in Izegem. >> >> Maybe together with the linux groups in Kortrijk and Linuxbabbel? >> >> gd >> >> >> >> >> >> Op Friday 08 April 2016 20:59:53 schreef Frank Neirynck: >> >> > Hi Merlijn, all, >> >> > >> >> > I filled in the doodle, and I think a release party in Ghent is a good >> >> > idea, but if Hackerspace is the best location to attract other then >> >> > already convinced Linux-users, I am willing to doubt. >> >> > Maybe a release party could or should be held in a more publicly known >> >> > location to "normal people" in Ghent or elsewhere, where it could >> >> > attract a more diverse audience. Maybe at Vormingplus, an organisation >> >> > of whom I suspect they would embrace the idea? >> >> > >> >> > Kind regards, >> >> > >> >> > Frank Neirynck >> >> > >> >> > -----Oorspronkelijke bericht----- >> >> > Van: Merlijn Sebrechts <merlijn.sebrec...@gmail.com> >> <merlijn.sebrec...@gmail.com> >> >> > Reply-to: Ubuntu Belgium <ubuntu-be@lists.ubuntu.com> >> <ubuntu-be@lists.ubuntu.com> >> >> > Aan: Ubuntu Belgium <ubuntu-be@lists.ubuntu.com> >> <ubuntu-be@lists.ubuntu.com> >> >> > Onderwerp: Re: [Ubuntu-be] Ubuntu-be 16.04 release party date >> >> > Datum: Fri, 8 Apr 2016 10:50:16 -0700 >> >> > >> >> > Hi all >> >> > >> >> > >> >> > >> >> > >> >> > Only three people have filled in the doodle although there are a lot >> >> > more people active on this list. It seems a release party in Ghent isn't >> >> > that wanted. Can those who didn't answer help me understand what the >> >> > cause of the lack of interest is? I'm thinking of a few possible >> >> > reasons: >> >> > * No interest in a release party? >> >> > * Ghent is a bad location? >> >> > * None of the dates work? >> >> > Any of these reasons apply to you? Do you have other reasons? Please >> >> > help me understand! >> >> > >> >> > >> >> > >> >> > >> >> > >> >> > >> >> > Kind regards >> >> > Merlijn Sebrechts >> >> > >> >> > 2016-04-04 12:54 GMT-07:00 Merlijn Sebrechts >> >> > <merlijn.sebrec...@gmail.com> <merlijn.sebrec...@gmail.com>: >> >> > Hi all >> >> > >> >> > >> >> > >> >> > >> >> > As Jan suggested, let's organize a release party for the 16.04 >> >> > release. I created a doodle to get a rough idea of when people >> >> > have time. It would take place in Hackerspace Ghent, >> >> > Blekerijstraat 75. What would we do there? >> >> > >> >> > >> >> > - I can talk about my Ubuntu phone, and about Juju 2.0. If >> >> > anyone has any ideas or suggestions for other talks, please let >> >> > me know. >> >> > - Help each other install and upgrade to 16.04 >> >> > - Help each other with general Ubuntu problems >> >> > - Get to know the ubuntu-be community >> >> > >> >> > >> >> > Can you please fill in the following doodle? Thanks! >> >> > >> >> > >> >> > http://doodle.com/poll/hr88xszfmq6krivt >> >> > >> >> > >> >> > >> >> > >> >> > >> >> > >> >> > >> >> > Kind regards >> >> > Merlijn Sebrechts >> >> > >> >> > >> >> > >> >> > >> >> > >> >> > >> >> > >> >> >> >> >> >> >> -- >> ubuntu-be mailing list / mailto:ubuntu-be@lists.ubuntu.com >> >> Modify settings or unsubscribe at: >> https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-be >> >> > -- > ubuntu-be mailing list / mailto:ubuntu-be@lists.ubuntu.com > > Modify settings or unsubscribe at: > https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-be > >
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