On Mon, Apr 23, 2018 at 1:29 PM, Jared K. Smith <jsmith@fedoraproject.org> wrote:
On Mon, Apr 16, 2018 at 5:53 PM, Neville A. Cross <yn1v@taygon.com> wrote:

I feel that I am left behind in the swag distribution process. The
group at Nicaragua has planned a year ahead of activities. Some of us
have been working on swag's design and pushing the decision to
reach production. This reflect a previous direction on budgeting. I am
not against a more dynamic swag allocation. But for people with higher
commitment than advocate level, dealing with customs and import duties
for smaller amounts may be a burden.

Thanks for bringing up this topic.  Having lived in Latin America for a couple of years when I was younger, I totally understand what you're saying here with regards to postal system and customs and import duties.  I know that the Mindshare Committee and the Ambassadors are going to have to do a lot more work to smooth out the bumps in the swag distribution process.  I don't expect my earlier comments to be definitive with regards to swag distribution -- I simply wanted to make sure people understood that we're trying to lower the burden on swag distribution wherever possible.  In some countries, that means Brian Exelbierd (and by extension, someone at Red Hat) sending swag from central location or two.  For other countries or regions, we're going to have to figure out other distribution points and mechanisms as makes sense.

I agree.  We are doing an experiment right now in LATAM to see if we can replicate the success EMEA has had with central swag distribution there.  The first packages are arriving now for FLISOL.  We are doing some light experimentation in APAC as well, though we haven't has as many events to test with yet.

I know we have some challenges in some countries, but I think there is value in trying to shift away from having swag in the wrong places or the wrong amounts to a just in time system, where it makes sense.

This takes advantage of Red Hat's offer to host the swag for us in the US and to actually do the packing and shipping.  We may be getting similar services in Brno, but for now it is just Kveta and me doing it.

regards,

bex