WikiConference UK 2013/Venue Shortlist
Wikimedia UK's 2013 conference is being organised by the Conference Committee; it will be a one or two day event, outside London, for UK Wikipedians. It will also incorporate the Wikimedia UK 2013 AGM.
In the last few months the committee requested quotes for potential conference venues. These were discussed and a shortlist drawn up featuring Lincoln and Manchester. After site visits we now have two options, one in each city, to choose from. Details of the cities, venues, volunteer teams and other information is set out below.
Note that certain information (such as prices) cannot be published. However, for reference, The Lowry is the more expensive of the locations (by approximately a factor of three, factoring in quotes for catering). Full information is available to ConfCom members, WMUK trustees and WMUK staff on the WMUK internal wiki.
We now need to make a decision, to recommend to the board in their Nov 17th meeting a venue for the conference to be held. Each of the cities has its own appeal and drawbacks, and the conference committee unfortunately has numerous conflicts of interest in relation to both "bids". Via a community !vote we hope to decide (by 16th Nov) on the venue for the conference.
(n.b. please do not vote yet, this page is being redrafted)
Conference specification
These sections will be filled in with details about the conference!
Location & Travel
Lincoln
The city
(please expand with details of the city, including travel)
The venue
- Lincoln College is the shortlisted venue for Lincoln
- Quiet
- Duty manager is on-site point of contact (+ first aid), available all day
- Tables are semi-circular
| Factor | Result |
|---|---|
| Accomodates | Conference Suite: 81 max in theatre-style layout, Classrooms: ~25/room |
| Break Out Rooms | Multiple classrooms in the same building |
| Wifi | Yes, brand new and "brilliant" |
| Tech | SMART boards, 10 plug sockets in the main room |
| Decor | Light, spacious, picture windows (not the best view, but across the city) |
| Transport | 10-15 min walk from Lincoln Central Station & Bus terminals, some parking on-site & cheap NCP parking nearby |
| Location | 5 minutes walk from city centre, 15 minutes walk from historic centre |
| Times | Available till 20:00 |
Manchester
The city
(please expand with details of the city, including travel)
The venue
- The Lowry
- The Conference Theatre has natural daylight and air conditioning and can seat up to 100 in a fixed tiered theatre style.
This room has space at the front for speaker and a top table if required. Access to the room is via a communal Foyer area which is ideal for catering and registration. Directly opposite is our West Room which can seat up to 50 theatre style and has natural daylight and air conditioning and is ideal for your breakout group area.
- The capacity- see if it will fit up to 100 people- Yes and breakout areas are great sizes
- Wifi- wifi in the whole area and can get wide connection for a additional cost
- Check the toilets- think about accessibility during the meeting. The toilet are at a good distance, just outside the theatre hall and very clean. They have 24hr service, which means they will be clean throughout the day.
- Ask about the equipment:
- Robust wireless internet access
- Lots of power sockets available to attendees.
- Digital projectors and reasonably-sized display screens (WMUK has laptops available, so these aren't needed).
- Either in-house AV facilities, or no objections to us bringing in our own AV/webstreaming.
- Can get wireless microphones at an additional cost
- Distance from the main station. The distance is reasonable as the tram stops right outside the venue and it is about 10-15 ride, which runs every 12 minutes. Same time with taxi as well.
- Are there hotels around? How much would it cost by e.g. taxi/public transport to get to the venue - The Holiday Inn Media City UK , Express Ramada and Lowry hotel are are within 15 minutes of the conference centre. The are no deals but the hotels are very close.
- Size of the breakout room and if it is easily accessible from the meeting room. Ideally about 40, can be theatre style - Good size rooms with table and chairs, the size is ideal for about 50 people.
- The overall feel of the venue- tables,chairs and the decor. Could it cope with many less people, e.g. 50 - The venue has a professional feel and fits all the requirements.
- Enquire about the lunch and tea- make sure it is adequate for the Wiki delegates.- There has been a change of prices and the food will be served in the front reception area which is very big and spacious.
- Contact for the day- There will be a dedicated event manager for the day who will know will be able to help with the technical queries we may have. For an actual technicians there is an extra additional cost, however, the event manager will be very familiar with most issues.
- Opening hours on the day the earliest they can set up.- Access will be granted from 7am.
- What are the minimum number of delegates they could hold the event with- Minimum number of delegates is 80 or even slightly less are are flexible with the number.
- When do we need to confirm the booking- End of November
- When can we cancel the booking without any penalties - 10-12 weeks 75% , less than 10 weeks notice will be 90%.
- Parking- parking spaces will be available at the outlet mall, reduced amount to £7 per car from £13 for 12 hours.