Nope, it is not yet the time to reveal the new name.

But this is our first call to the Free & Open Source community – if you are interested in helping bring this year’s event to life, then the first thing you should do is drop us a line.

From this year onwards, the nature, the scope and the format of the event formerly known as Linux Bangalore will change (apart from the venue, of course), and we are kick-starting the event early to make sure that things happen as planned.

It is important to note that the event is no longer a “small, regional LUG meet”. The objectives of the event are to reach beyond borders – state and national – and will involve the community, industry, academia and national and international governments.

With this in mind, we expect the organising efforts to come from people not just located in Bangalore, but across India and the world. We have been extremely fortunate to have already received offers of help from people from Europe, Australia and the USA – a pointer at just how much our “little regional event” has grown in stature.

Paraphrasing Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz – “This is not just Bangalore anymore”.

Last year, we had almost 3000 participants from India and abroad (a lot more than most FOSS events in India put together), and we expect that number to climb substantially this year.

We are going to be picky, so if you want to get involved, you will have to convince us that you are the right person for the job.

We are specifically looking for community members who can plan long term, and are not the kind who talk more and do less. People with organisational, financial, logistical, PR, networking, technical and people skills. We need people who can speak English, German, French, American, Portugese, Japanese, Chinese and corporatese.

If you have had past experience with organising events, then that’s a good start. If you have been involved with Linux Bangalore in the past, then you are well on your way, especially if you have proven organising skills.

Note that this is *NOT* a call for volunteers – this is a call for level-headed, clear-thinking, visionary team leaders. People who make the grade will eventually lead their own teams, focussing on various aspects of the event.

If you think you qualify, convince us. For now, use the old contact form on the Linux Bangalore/2004 site to mail us.

Tell us why you think you qualify to help put together one of the biggest Free & Open Source events in the world.

p.s. Despite its size and scope, this is still (and always will be) a community-driven event. Therefore *everyone’s* inputs are welcome. Keep an eye on the Linux Bangalore site, where information about (and re-directs to) the new event will appear. For now we are still using the old mailing list, so if you want to make suggestions, get on it – it will renamed to the new name as soon as we announce it (and no, it is *NOT* Linux Bangalore/2005).