As I see it, we have the following tasks ahead of us:
1. First, we must figure out a list of topics to be discussed. The "background" thread gives an initial list, but this must be fleshed out alot, and added to.
2. Second, we need to devise a list of possible ways that speakers can present these topics, and make sure we have the infrastructure available. For example, if we decide voice-conference is a good idea, we must make sure that is available.
3. Third, we need to draw up a list of speakers we would like.
4. Devise what would be the best date/length of time to have the Symposium. This would be rough, only, to give the speakers some span to work with.
All four of these things can be done concurrently. Once those are nearing completion, the following must be done one after the other:
5. Send out invitations to the list of speakers. Request topics they would like, how they would like to present the topic, and date they would like.
6. Send out invitations to the symposium attendees (send invites to all hosted mod leaders for who they would like to bring with them?). The invitation would include a list of speakers and dates.
7. Receive confirmations of the invitations, so we can gauge interest in specific seminars, and possibly remove or reassign/combine those that have little or no interest.
8. Create the actual forums/infrastructure for the Symposium when it approaches, set permissions, etc.
9. Enjoy the fruits of our labours during the Symposium.
10. Finally, work to assemble all of the work produced for the Symposium into a distributable and easy to navigate format.
I may be missing something, or this may not be optimal, but I'd like to hear suggestions or alternatives.