The Tasmanian Linux Users Group, invites Linux Australia to consider Hobart, Tasmania as the destination for linux.conf.au in January 2008 (“LCA 2008”).

We warmly invite Linux Australia to consider Hobart for the reasons outlined below — because our beautiful city has the meeting infrastructure, accommodation and conference experiences to successfully host linux.conf.au. And we will also extend a warm welcome and our friendly island hospitality to each and every one of your delegates upon arrival and for the duration of their stay.

The city of Hobart is situated close to magnificent wilderness areas and has one of the greatest natural harbours in the world. Mount Wellington provides a dramatic backdrop to a city where a diverse range of restaurants, rows of Georgian buildings and a vibrant cultural life are all interwoven. It is one of Australia’s most picturesque capital cities.

Hobart is a delightful convention destination, with all the facilities you would expect from a capital city. National and international conferences in Tasmania traditionally attract a high number of registrations. As Tasmania has never before hosted linux.conf.au, we believe registrations will be very strong, as Tasmania is a destination that many “mainlanders” are yet to visit and a place that offers a unique conference experience. Many LCA 2008 delegates will welcome a reason to visit our beautiful state.

We will be calling for a wide range of speakers to ensure that all key areas of interest are addressed. We propose that the conference sessions be structured along ‘communities’, to reduce the incidence of ‘clashes’ with speakers. The key “communities” are likely to include: Developers, Sysadmin/servers, Desktop/Users, and Advocacy/Legal. We will be calling for papers LCA 2008 the most memorable conference yet in terms of content and location.

With regards to the social program , the Tasmanian bid organising committee plans to offer a range of night-time activities for conference delegates on each night of the conference (in addition to the usual Penguin dinner, etc.).

Our team is dedicated to designing and organising the best linux.conf.au so far. Many organisations have pledged their support to make this happen. The Tasmanian Linux Users Group (TasLUG) is the lead sponsoring organisation, and will be supported by Open Source Tasmania and the Hobart chapter of SAGE-AU.

TasLUG has the ideal meeting venue for LCA 2008 - The University of Tasmania’s Sandy Bay campus. The Uni offers excellent facilities and a high level of professional service. It has affordable accommodation, restaurants, cafés and the Uni Bar. The campus is only few minutes walk to the busy Sandy Bay shopping village or a few minutes by bus to the Hobart CBD– where delegates can find restaurants, shops, pubs and clubs.

There will be accommodation available for around 450 delegates within the University Colleges. There are many other hotels and motels within a 1km radius from the Uni. Wrest Point Hotel & Casino is a 5 minute walk from the University. It has accommodation on-site which ranges from budget to 5-star. There are also several properties offering holiday apartments, for delegates seeking self-contained accommodation options during LCA 2008.

Hobart is a fascinating mixture of the very best of modern, contemporary life juxtaposed against the backdrop of heritage buildings and world class scenery. It is a magnificent setting for the LCA 2008 conference aimed at advancing the key IT infrastructure of the 21st century.

We warmly invite you to consider Hobart as the destination for the linux.conf.au in January 2008. Each member of TasLUG is looking forward to hosting this prestigious conference. The bid document has more information about the exciting program we have in store for LCA 2008.