Objectives

1. To demonstrate how Uganda is using a multi-partner and multi-funded approach to develop, implement, and support a national implementation of OpenMRS.

2. To expand the OpenMRS community practices to support quality assurance processes (i.e. release testing, stakeholder acceptance testing, module gardening team, etc.)

3. To identify the ways to measure a “successful high quality implementation” of OpenMRS and why it is important to go beyond just software development features and bug fixes.

4. To understand ways in which OpenMRS outputs can be used to positively impact the quality of clinical care and the quality of programs that support care.

Who should attend

• People new to OpenMRS who want to connect to others using the platform around the world
• Experienced OpenMRS implementers who want to share their experiences and learn from others
• OpenMRS platform developers – anyone building systems to integrate with or extend OpenMRS
• Developers of related health and healthcare application software
• Health practitioners, researchers and publishers
• You!

Why you should attend

This event provides an opportunity for developers to collaborate and improve their technical skills in OpenMRS, implementers to share their best practices from implementations, and users to propose and prioritize their top features in future releases of the software. The event will also include visits to OpenMRS implementation sites along with a discussion afterward for participants to share their experience and suggestions

Conference Schedule

The conference will be structured in a semi-unconference format - each conference date will comprise with a number of pre-determined sessions/events, followed by open slots for the audience to propose sessions of their choice. 

• For the events scheduled, visit: Conference program

Propose session ideas

It’s an unconference! If you've never been to an unconference before, imagine a traditional conference with incredibly useful chats with colleagues in the small breaks between dry presentations with one person talking in from of a room of people checking their email and then take away the dry presentations and fill the conference with the incredibly useful interactions. That's your unconference, where attendees determine the agenda.

If you're attending OMRS16, start sharing your ideas now for sessions you'd like to see at the conference:

• Unconference Sessions: One-hour group discussions on a topic of interest to the group. Have a suggestion for something that should be discussed in one of these sessions? Submit your session idea(s) at http://om.rs/ideas.
   
• Lightning Talks: An hour-long session where a dozen presenters each get no more than 5 minutes to stand up a present to the group. We get introduced to some of the great work the community  is doing in the lightning talk session. These are a great way to introduce work or ideas to the community to spark greater interest. If you have something you'd like to share, make sure you can fit your ideas within the strictly enforced 5-minute limit and propose your lightning talk at http://om.rs/lightning.
   
• Demonstrations. The demonstrations session is an opportunity for people to set up a "booth" (e.g., a laptop ± any materials) in a room and demonstrate their ideas/work to small groups visiting each demonstration. You would end up giving a brief presentation multiple times to small groups of attendees with the opportunity to answer their questions and discover new collaborative opportunities. If you want to demonstrate your work, register your interest at http://om.rs/demonstration.

Hackathon

The traditional OpenMRS hackathon will be held 2 days after the event -- Saturday 10 December and Sunday 11 December. The hackathon is free for developers to attend, but separate registration is required because space is limited.

If you are attending the OMRS16 Hackathon, join the discussion on hackathon ideas at http://om.rs/hackathon.

Site visits

We are currently finalizing a list of implementation sites that attendees will be able to visit. More details will be updated shortly.

Social Networking

If you are attending OMRS16 or wish you could but cannot and want to keep in touch with people at the conference:

• Join us on Telegram at http://om.rs/16tg (or http://telegram.me/omrs16).
   
• Tweet using the #OMRS16 hashtag.

Event Planning Resources

• Google Folder

Session Action Items

• Google document here

Traveling to Uganda

Visas and invitation letters

If you require an invitation letter please contact the secretariat at omrs16@openmrs.org as soon as possible. Kindly visit this Link to secure a Ugandan Visa as soon as possible! The Visa website it can take up to two weeks, but most people are getting responses within 1 business day so please fill out that form now! However if you are paying your Visa on arrival (an option that is available), It is CRUCIAL that your USD are unblemished and 2009 or newer, otherwise they aren't accepted in Uganda.

Uganda Contact Person:      Dr. Eddie Mukooyo
                                                  Assistant Commissioner of Health Services
                                                  Division of Health Information, Ministry of Health
                                                  +256 (0) 413 408 74 / +256 (0) 412 315 63                                                   

Vaccinations

Yellow fever vaccination cards are a pre-requisite for your travel to Uganda. For a list of CDC recommended vaccines, visit here: http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/traveler/none/uganda

Accommodations & travel assistance

Room cost is not included in conference registration fees. A single room is $120 per night and a shared room is $80 per night per person. Rooms are provided by Speke Resort Munyonyo. You must pre-pay or guarantee your hotel room, if you are local please contact +256 782 480 830 or +256 414 227 111 and reference code OpenMRS2016. If you are traveling in, please arrange your preferred hotel room and email the hotel reservation at reservations@spekeresort.com and CC our main contact Willy Kisembo at willkisembo@yahoo.com and reference the OpenMRS2016 event. If you have any questions or require further assistance, email omrs16@openmrs.org.

Cell Phones & Airtime

For those of you have have a phone with a sim card that is unlocked, you can purchase Africell or MTN phone packages almost anywhere, but also at the airport baggage claim. We prefer MTN, but Africell is also good. There are data and airtime packages available to load as you go, so please choose one that is most appropriate for you. We recommend loading 30,000UGX of airtime and purchasing 1GB of data. If you run out, it's very easy to re-load - you purhcase scratch airtime tickets at any kiosk around Kampala.

Travel Grants

Thank you for all of those that applied for a travel grant.  Our application period is now closed and awardees have been notified of their grant.  We unfortunately could not afford to support all of the applicants this year, but recognize all of the applicants' valuable participation in the community and are enthusiastic in your continued contributions.  If you have any questions about the travel grants, please contact omrs16@openmrs.org.

Event Sponsorships

Sponsorship packages begin at $1,000 and $2,500 USD can be customized based on the goals and available budget of the sponsoring organization. 

Sponsorship packages can include the following:

• Complimentary conference registrations 

• Sponsor ribbon 

• Prominent sign recognition in conference registration area 

• Name or logo on screen before plenary sessions

• Named sponsor for lightning talk or cultural entertainment event 

• Named sponsor for coffee and tea breaks

• Recognition during keynote talks

• Organization listed on "conference sponsor" section on website including logo and 

• website link 

• Logo on conference t-shirt or lanyard

We have tiered sponsorship packages that can be seen here.

Please contact omrs16@openmrs.org for more information.