monero-ccs-proposals/MoneroKon-2022-CCS.md

layout	Title	Author	Date	Amount	milestones	payouts
fr	MoneroKon-2022-CCS.md	midipoet	December 7, 2021	320 XMR	name funds done status unfinished name funds done status unfinished	date amount date amount

What:

A small working group (#monero-events) would like to push forward with plans for a Monero conference.

We had originally planned for an event in Berlin in 2020, but this was cancelled mid-way through planning, due to the pandemic. 2021 was also cancelled.

We feel that 2022 is the time to try again. Due to the ongoing situation in Germany (high case numbers and greater restrictions), it was decided to try in Lisbon, Portugal - mainly for two reasons. The first is that Portugal has taken a relatively risk-tolerant approach to the situation, and has also begun opening up for public events. Recently it hosted Web Summit 2021 - which had 10,000 capacity.

The Monero conference will be in a similar theme to the last MoneroKon, which was hosted in Denver, Colorado in 2019.

We are hoping to put on a professional two-day event, with capacity for 200 people, live-streamed (hopefully), and including an afterparty. It will focus on high quality talks, workshops, and panel discussions. We will also build in some downtime for people to mingle, and enjoy conversation with peers and friends they may not have seen for some years.

We are hoping this will be the first of two CCS requests. This first one covers the total (maximum) estimated cost of putting on the event - €55,0000 (320 XMR @ current price of €175 per XMR)

Please note that if the actual event costs are not significantly lower than the quoted maximum then a second CCS will be required to cover costs for speaker and volunteer travel and accommodation.

Who:

I (midipoet) am one of the main instigators of this funding proposal - along with a number of other known and trusted community members. Personally, I have been a community member for a number of years, speaking at various events, conducting research, and constructively working on Monero through the Monero Policy Working Group.

However, this CCS is not for me as there is a core group who will be supporting organisation, planning, and overseeing the project throughout (#monero-events), including known and trusted members of the community such as msvb, ajs, carrington, kico, and reset (as well as others).

How:

This is the important bit.

Firstly, I am proposing to hire two designated project managers to support organising the event. A PM was also hired for MoneroKon 2019 (so there is precedent).

I am personally nominating (and taking ultimate responsibility for) two entities known and trusted to me. They own and operate Provenance Events, and have recently successfully put on www.liscon.org (1500 capacity Ethereum conference in Lisbon, in October 2021). They also have experience at putting on cryptocurrency/blockchain conferences in Ireland, Japan, and Korea.

A series of photos from their events may be found here.

They are currently based out of the Azores and know Lisbon well, having lived there for the last six months leading up to Liscon 2021. They have agreed to do the project management for a fee of €5000 + estimated expenses of €1500 (capped to that amount). They are ultimately our eyes on the ground and will be coordinating all decisions through the Monero events work group (#monero-events), in discussion with the overarching planning team.

They have drafted up this excel of estimated costs. They believe this to be the maximum required to put on the event. It includes their fee. Everything marked in yellow they believe may be optional/dependent on venue.

Any surplus, we will use to either:

1. fund speakers and volunteer related expenses
2. returned to the general fund to be used for MoneroKon 2023 (to be held in the USA).

Once the 320 XMR has been raised, it will be moved immediately to the capital reserves of a company entitled Digital Renegades Corp. This company is owned and operated by Monero Core member binaryFate. This will then immediately be converted to fiat, or a stable coin, to hedge for any price fluctuation.

Digital Renegades Corp will use the capital to pay for invoices in fiat, directly to the invoicer, as and when they are received. This will include an initial outlay for the PMs to get started (I am proposing €1500). The PMs have agreed to keep an ongoing transparent record of all expenditure for the event (including their own expenses). The PMs will not handle fiat unless explicitly having too. All CCS funds will be managed by the Digital Renegades Corp.

It should also be noted that we plan to sell tickets for the event. All ticket revenue will flow back to Digital Renegades Corp, and will be recycled into a fund for MoneroKon 2022/2023. This will be accounted for in a transparent fashion.

Why:

To ensure we have a MoneroKon 2022 and not have it cancelled for three years in a row.

Amount:

320 XMR

Covid fallback:

Due to this ongoing issue, we will need to have a plan in place to mitigate potential eventualities where the event has to be cancelled. We are not envisaging this for an event of 200 people. However, we will organise to have a refund agreement in place with all venues/service providers, and also for anybody that has pre-purchased tickets. We will also be reticent of travel and accommodation refunds that may be forthcoming. Obviously this won’t be possible for everything - but hopefully will be for most things. Any surplus XMR raised and not spent in this eventuality will flow back to the General Fund to be used for MoneroKon 2023 (if not cancelled as well).