Proposal

Naples as the location : excellent and economical connections

Naples has an airport which is situated only 2 km from the centre of the city. It is well connected with flights from all the main continents and is economical in that it is well served by many low cost companies. Moreover Naples has a high speed rail connection with Rome, a journey of about one and a half hours, a city which has two airports and many more flight connections. All of this makes Naples an excellent location, easily reachable at affordable prices.

Naples as a city : beautiful and yet inexpensive

Undoubtedly Naples is one of the most beautiful cities in Italy. It is famous all over the world for its extensive museums, historic monuments and artistic treasures and acts as a base for the exploration of many of the most spectacular sights in Italy (Capri, Ischia, Sorrento, Pompei, Herculaneum and the Amalfi coast).

Nonetheless accommodation in the city is extraordinarily inexpensive, with prices at for example comfortable and convenient 3 star hotels starting from as little as 40 euros per day.

Additionally the city is well served by an excellent and economical transport system, including an underground railway, trams, funiculars, buses and taxis.

Neapolitan cooking moreover offers a selection of delicious traditional dishes.

The pizza, in particular, was first created in Naples and is of course now famous all over the world. 

Also worth mentioning are the mouth-watering cakes like  pastiera,  sfogliate and rum baba and local wines and liquors like the Sorrento speciality, limoncello.

The City Of Science: the ideal venue

The location we have chosen to host the Plone Conference 2007 is the City Of Science.

This excellent conference centre will offer us three or four different halls for the seminars, able to accommodate from 300 to 900 participants.

The

, for example, is arranged in an amphitheatre on a lightly inclined floor and in steps; it is furnished with fixed pit-stalls and a foldaway desk.

There are three simultaneous translation rooms and one production room to control the equipment for the conference. The foyer, additionally,  which includes the secretary’s office, is an area perfect for the  registration of the participants and also possibly for  small exhibitions.

The

, Averroè Room and

will also be available for seminars which means that up to  three seminars can take place at any one time.

All halls are superbly equipped with state-of-the–art technology including Internet connections, with a bandwidth of 20 MB, and the latest video projectors.

The City of Science is moreover equipped with a series of multi-functional areas for assemblies, small meetings, a secretary's office, press office and poster sessions and the gallery, an area of more than  550 square metres, perfect for  exhibitions and for catering.

The Events Space of the City of Science  could therefore offer a wide range of services to all participants to ensure a perfect conference experience.

Moreover the City of Science can provide us with an  excellent catering service, including lunch and two coffee breaks.

The venue proposed is easy and convenient to reach.  Indeed the City of Science is well connected to the airport, the railway station and the port of Naples.

The Plone Conference 2007 : the complete experience

We consider that the Plone Conference 2007 should last three days. We have in mind however to add: two further days before the conference to include information courses specifically related to Plone delivered by qualified and experienced teachers; and two or three further days after the conference dedicated to a sprint to continue the development of Plone.

Programme

• Plone Training: two further days
• Plone Conference 2007: three days
• Plone Sprint: three further days

Moreover it is our intention to organize a series of recreational events, including evening talks and concerts, because in our opinion the  Plone Conference should continue also in the evening, in a spirit which reflects traditional Neapolitan hospitality.

The City of Science possesses a series of open spaces where participants can continue to meet and get to know each other after the seminar days.

The Amphitheatre, with 1,000 seats, can house performances, film shows and many other events.

The Music Square and the Green Square, measuring 1,600 square metres, offer guests space to walk  between plants, flower beds and trees.

The Square on the sea, finally, takes up an area of about 2,000 square metres, between the beach and the Science Centre building.

It is equipped with lawns, carved stone seats and Exhibits and is the ideal place to spend a pleasant and relaxing evening.

All these activities and facilities should ensure that the Plone Conference 2007 becomes an unforgettable experience, educational and entertaining, for all fortunate enough to attend.

Sponsors, marketing and media

If Naples is chosen as the location for the Plone Conference 2007 Abstract  will make it our responsibility to find prestigious Italian and international sponsors who will be able to provide financial support and so further enhance the conference experience.

Moreover our experience as event organizers has put us into contact with the principal Italian television companies, the most important daily newspapers and specialist IT magazines and so means that we will be in an excellent position to market and promote the conference as effectively as possible. Indeed we have in mind to organize various interviews during the conference and, considering the availability of the Internet broadband connection, to activate a live streaming to increase still further access to the conference and better record the seminars and activities undertaken.

Conclusion : Naples the perfect location

For all these reasons outlined we believe that Naples would be the perfect location for the Plone Conference 2007.

Considering the Neapolitan climate and the transport and accommodation costs within the city,
we think that the ideal time period for the conference would be from the end of September
until the start of November.

Capacity

We would envisage hosting a maximum of 700 participants.
The cost of registration would be between 300 and 350 Euros and would include:

• participation at all seminars;
• shuttle connections to the venue;
• all catering services provided (2 coffee break and 1 lunch every day)
  

We trust that you will consider this application favourably and hope very much that Naples will be chosen to host this important and prestigious event.

If however another location is selected, we will be delighted to attend the conference nonetheless and will of course continue to offer the Plone community all our assistance and support.