Planning for Voynich Manuscript Day 2024

[merrimacga]

I think that any serious 'thing' should be done when the time is right, meaning as soon as there are people willing to organise and to participate. 
Having an idea, and delaying its execution till Voynich day will not work.
Some yearly event can certainly work, if there is a clear (group of) dedicated organiser(s).

Now that it is February and the holidays are behind us...and hopefully my HR day job has calmed down enough too (we've been mired in ERC and W-2s on top of hires and fires)...I think it is high time to pick this discussion back up again and really get some serious planning going.

Since this is just a one day event on 4 August, 2024, I don't think we should go too overboard in the suggestions but I don't want to limit anyone's suggestions either. However, I do think we need some structure in order to do some serious planning. So below is a summation of all the previous suggestions plus a few additional ones I came up with plus a tentative suggestion for structure complete with deadlines and breakout discussion threads. Let me know your thoughts.

Tentative Activities (not in any particular order):

• State of the Voynich - Koen (poll in July and results on VM Day; presentation via discussion thread?)
  
• Voynich Fools Day (our version of April Fools Day; discussion thread with submissions on VM Day and separate poll for the best one that week)
  
• Just for fun: Your most absurd VM theory (discussion thread with submissions on VM Day and poll for the best one that week)
  
• Bulletin Board for local VM Day events and meetups (discussion thread starting 8 April up to and including 3 August)
  
• VM Day Recipes (discussion thread with VM-themed food and beverage recipe submissions by 8 April, Q&A until 3 August (if needed) and presentation photos for those who have made them on VM Day with a separate poll for the top 3 food and top 3 beverage recipes that week)
  
• Your most likely plant identification (one per member, submissions by 8 April, separate multiple choice poll to select the top 3 between 9 April and 3 August, results summarized on VM Day)
  
• Create your own VM folio (all submissions must be in the style of a VM folio (images and indecipherable text) but be an original work, submissions by 8 April, multiple choice poll to select the top 3 between 9 April and 3 August, results summarized on VM Day)
  
• VM Music Programming Track (live timed events; presented by video (or at least audio) webinar for each artist to perform live on VM Day, no live recordings (unless the artist permits) but artists can later share links to audio/video recordings)
  
• VM Art Show (discussion thread where artists can post images of VM-themed art they have created between 8 April and 3 August, including works they have available for sale and links to where they can be purchased; separate poll between 28 July and 3 August for best work submitted by 21 July in each of several categories (TBD, should include an AI one) with results presented on VM Day)
  
• VM Art Auction (if there is enough interest and if we can manage to organize it; live timed event; presented by live video webinar; we'll need someone who can be the auctioneer; artists would donate VM-themed works with the proceeds going to a pre-selected charity)
  
• Live video interviews and audience Q&A with experts (live timed events; I think Koen is already working on this but I envision one expert per live interview and we'll need someone to interview each expert)
  
• VM-themed panel discussions (live timed events; a panel of experts to discuss and do audience Q&A for each of a variety of VM-themed topics; a moderator will be needed for each)
  
• Individual guest talks (live timed events by webinar on a variety of VM themes and various related sciences presented by experts and others who are knowledgeable; I would love it if someone from the Beinecke could be one of these guests since VM Day is based on the VM MS 408...perhaps Raymond Clemens would be willing?)
  
• Voynich Ninja Peer Review (call for papers by 8 April, live timed presentations via webinar on VM Day by those whose papers are selected; other details TBD by the VN admins/editors who will helm this)
  
• New member welcome (live timed event; audio/video webinar; need to reach out each new member added say within the last 12 months and confirm their attendance; moderator needed)
  
• Year in Review: VM Blogging (could be by discussion thread or by live timed webinar at the discretion of each blogger)
  

Tentative Schedule:

• February 2024:
  • Possible multiple choice poll to determine members' interest in the different activity suggestions 
    
  • Call for volunteers with tentative list of planning tasks 
    
  • Establish planning committee and assign tasks
    
• March 2024:
  • Weekly assigned task updates planning committee members
    
  • Start confirmation of participating experts, other speakers, musicians and artists as well as interviewers and moderators
    
• April 2024:
  • 8 April: deadline for call for papers for peer review; submissions due for Voynich Fools, plant ID entries, VM folio entries
    
• April 2024 - 4 August 2024:
  • Bi-weekly assigned task updates planning committee members
    
  • 8 April: start work on program
    
  • 8 April - 3 August: Bulletin Board for local events active
    
  • 9 April - 3 August: Plant ID entry and VM folio entry polls and recipe Q&A
    
  • Peer review of submitted papers
    
  • July: State of the Voynich poll
    
  • 21 July: all interviewers, moderators, experts, other speakers, musicians and artists confirmed; artists' works submissions due for the Art Show poll; charity and art works finalized for Art Auction or event cancelled; all live event webinar details due so they can be included in the program
    
  • 28 July - 3 August: Art Show entry poll
    
  • 28 July: program finalized and published to site calendar and discussion VM Day 2024 main thread (separate of this one); new member RSVPs deadline for the new member welcome
    

• August 2024:
  • 3 August: polls end for Plant IDs and VM folios; deadline for Art Show entries not submitted for the poll or the auction
    
  • 4 August: VM Day and all related activities and scheduled events
    
  • 5 August - 11 August: post VM Day polls active
    
  • 12 August: post VM Day poll results announced
    
  • Dead dog party - well, no, not really since we're doing this virtually but you catch my drift I'm sure