ApacheCon North America 2010
Business/Community Track Call For Participation

All submissions must be received by Friday, 30 April 2010 at midnight Pacific Time.

The official conference, trainings, and expo of The Apache Software Foundation (ASF) will return to Atlanta this November, with dozens of sessions on Servers, Cloud Computing, Search, NoSQL, Incubating projects, innovations, emerging technologies, and more. ApacheCon's technical tracks are currently being planned by their respective Project Management Committees and will be announced in the upcoming weeks.

Over the past five years, the ApacheCon Business/Community Track brought some of the most compelling non-technical topics in Open Source, bridging user, developer, and deployment issues as they relate to customer and community success.

We are soliciting 50-minute presentations for the Business/Community Track at the next conference, 1-5 November 2010, at the Westin Peachtree in Atlanta.

The ASF's meritocratic process known as "The Apache Way", is widely credited for the success of many leading Open Source projects and communities. We are particularly interested in presentations that demonstrate real-world examples that address The Apache Way and its impact on the following topics:

- The Business of Open Source (policies, governance, ecosystem)
- Adoption Success Stories (enterprise/business, military/government, non-profit/academic/research)
- Business Model Strategies (evolving landscape, transforming changes, emerging trends)
- Apache in the Enterprise (motivations, operations, markets, interoperability)
- Open Source In the House (tips/tricks/tools that improve internal processes, productivity, collaboration)
- Open Development and Distributed Computing
- Educating and Evangelizing
- Open Source Licenses and Legal Issues (roadmaps, hybrid environments, compatibility, etc.)
- Meritocracy Model and Community Building
- Mentoring Projects, Users, and Communities
- Fostering Emerging Group Participation (students, women, multi-national, etc.)

Other proposals on topics of interest that showcase “how we did it” are also welcome. Submissions are open to anyone with relevant expertise: ASF affiliation is not required to present at, attend, or otherwise participate in ApacheCon.

Please keep in mind that whilst we are encourage submissions that the highlight the use of specific Apache solutions, we are unable to accept marketing/commercially-oriented presentations.

All accepted speakers (not co-presenters) qualify for general conference admission and a minimum of two nights lodging at the conference hotel. Additional hotel nights and travel assistance are possible, depending on the number of presentations given and type of assistance needed.

To submit a 50-minute presentation proposal, please send an email to bizcom AT apachecon DOT com containing the following information in plaintext (no attachments, please):

1. Your full name, title, and organization

2. Contact information, including your address

3. The name of your proposed session (keep your title simple and relevant to the topic)

4. The category of the intended presentation (Business or Community)

5. A 75-200 word overview of your presentation

6. A 100-200-word speaker bio that includes prior conference speaking or related experience

7. Feedback or references (with contact information) on presentations given within the last three years

To be considered, proposals must be received by Friday, 30 April 2010 at midnight Pacific Time. Please email any questions regarding proposal submissions to bizcom AT apachecon DOT com.

Business/Community Track Key Dates

20 March 2010: Call For Participation Open
30 April 2010: Call For Participation Closes
17 May 2010: Speaker Acceptance/Rejection Notification
1-5 November 2010: ApacheCon NA 2010

We look forward to seeing you in Atlanta!

Business/Community Track Chairs
Sally Khudairi, Vice President, ASF Marketing & Publicity
Luciano Resende, Apache Community Development Committee