ASF Travel Assistance

The Travel Assistance Committee exists to help those that would like to attend ApacheCon events, but are unable to do so for financial reasons.

The Travel Assistance committee was reformed in September 2008 with the goal of providing financial assistance to those who would otherwise be unable to attend various ApacheCon events.

Those that are thinking of applying for financial assistance should be warned that the Committee has limited finances, and as a consequence, only a few places are available. Applicants should have valid reasons for attending ApacheCon events that are of benefit to both the applicant and the ASF, and even open source as a whole.

Applications will be judged on merit, based upon details provided on their application form. The application form attempts to capture the necessary information the Committee requires to be able to make such a judgement. Bear in mind that, due to the Committee's limited resources, criteria will be aggressively applied. Just because someone does not receive assistance on this occasion does not mean that they are not worthy of assistance or that the Committee does not value their contribution to the ASF or open source in general. We would love to be able to offer support more widely, but as always, the Committee is limited by the funds available.

Those deemed by the Committee to be most in need of assistance will be notified 1 or 2 days after the closing of the application period.

The Committee is able to provide assistance with travel (air fares), accommodation during the conference, and conference fees. At this time, the Committee is unable to provide any funds for general living expenses during the conference itself.

Arrangements and Planning for Successful Applicants

Go to our online webapp and if not already done so, create an account by clicking on the 'Register' link. Once logged in proceed to answer all questions as fully as possible. Note that you do not need to answer all questions in the same session, you can keep coming back until complete.

Ensure that you specify which event you are applying for. Preference is generally given to those that apply to attend an event nearest their home location. In other words, those in Europe or Asia would fair better applying an ApacheCon EU or Asia event when they next come round.

However, compelling reasons to go to an event further away than your nearest ApacheCon location will be considered in full.

Only those applications that are successful will receive a reply, those that have not heard back within three days of the application closing date should assume that they did not qualify on this occasion, but you are welcome to email tac-apply@apache.org for confirmation if you wish. No reasons for denying an application will be given, but you may assume that others were considered to have a greater need on this occasion.

Applications will soon be open for those that wish to attend ApacheCon US 2009 between the 2nd and 6th November 2009. Only apply if you are able to attend during those dates.

Note that those needing passports for travel, they will need to be valid for at least six months AFTER the event has finished. It would be a good idea to investigate what procedures and forms you will need, whether or not you will need an interview and how far ahead you need to book that interview. If accepted, provide the TAC Committee with a list of what information we need to provide to help in the Visa application.

• Event dates: 02 to 06 November 2009
• Application period: 27th July 2009 to 17th August 2009
• Notification date: successful applicants will be informed within two weeks of application closing date.