A not so short introduction to OSGeo

A not so short introduction to OSGeo Jorge Gaspar Sanz Salinas [email_address] International Geodetic Students Meeting 05/05/08 · Valencia · Spain

Agenda

What is OSGeo?

Objectives

Incubator

Sponsors

Foundation structure

Projects, Officers, Committees, Membership, ...

The FOSS4G Conference

Conclusions

free software

All that stuff is about free software

Free not as free beer (or paella)

but as as freedom

Free to:

use

adapt

translate

to offer services...

What is OSGeo?

A non-profit organization

Legally sited in Delaware (USA)

Started in February 2006

Nowadays it's the leading voice for free software for geospatial

Similarities with the Apache Foundation

Everyone is a volunteer , only the Executive Director is employed by the Foundation

What is OSGeo

Foundation Structure

FOSS4G Conf

Conclusions

Objectives 1/2

Provide resources for FOSS4G projects

Technological

Legal

Funding

Promote the use of standards

Promote free geodata

Provide a «common brand of quality »

What is OSGeo

FOSS4G Conf

Conclusions

Objectives 2/2

Promote the projects in the industry

Provide a channel for inter-project communications

Promote projects and FOSS4G out of English spoken community

Promote the use of FOSS4G at education to get technology specialists instead of «brand specialists»

What is OSGeo

FOSS4G Conf

Conclusions

Sponsors

What is OSGeo

FOSS4G Conf

Conclusions

Foundation structure

What is OSGeo

FOSS4G Conf

Conclusions

Board of Directors Executive Director Local Chapters Local Chapters Local Chapters Officers Officers Officers Local Chapters Local Chapters Foundation Projects Committees Committees Committees

Foundation Projects

What is OSGeo

FOSS4G Conf

Conclusions

Incubator

Before a project enters the Foundation, it has to be «incubated»

Every incubated project has a « mentor »

To pass the incubation the project has to:

Document how they manage themselves

Maintain user and developers documentation

Maintain a source version system

Adopt open standards and promote them

...

What is OSGeo

FOSS4G Conf

Conclusions

Foundation Projects

What is OSGeo

FOSS4G Conf

Conclusions

in incubation project deegree UMN Mapserver MapBender OpenLayers MapBuilder Map Guide OS web mapping GRASS GIS Quantum GIS OSSIM gvSIG desktop GIS GEOS FDO GDAL/OGR GeoTools libraries GeoNetwork metadata

Officers

What is OSGeo

FOSS4G Conf

Conclusions

Officers

President

Treasurer

General Counsel

Secretary

Executive Director

One vice-president per committee and graduated project

What is OSGeo

FOSS4G Conf

Conclusions

Executive Director

What is OSGeo

FOSS4G Conf

Conclusions

Executive Director

He/she is employed by the Foundation

Act as contact person for the «outside»

Help manage communications for OSGeo

Make the Board aware of issues in the community that need decisions

Act as a «mentor» for Committees

Help to find sponsors

Prepares an Annual Report of activities

What is OSGeo

FOSS4G Conf

Conclusions

Board of Directors

What is OSGeo

FOSS4G Conf

Conclusions

Board of Directors

They formally represent OSGeo

Appoint Executive Director

Approve budget

Approve policy and procedures

Resolve any issues that cannot be resolved inside committees

What is OSGeo

FOSS4G Conf

Conclusions

Committees

What is OSGeo

FOSS4G Conf

Conclusions

Committees

What is OSGeo

FOSS4G Conf

Conclusions

Education Web Conference Funding Incubation Systems Promotion and visibility Public geodata Journal

Committees

Where the action takes place

They have the «everyday» work

Managed through mailing lists

Documented through the wiki

All are volunteered

Everyone is welcomed to join a committee to participate and work

What is OSGeo

FOSS4G Conf

Conclusions

Local Chapters

What is OSGeo

FOSS4G Conf

Conclusions

Board of directors Executive Director Local Chapters Local Chapters Local Chapters Officers Officers Officers Local Chapters Local Chapters Foundation Projects Committees Committees Committees

Local Chapters

Groups of people that share

a geographical area

or a common language

They bring the Foundation to a more local context

Translate documents, websites, software,...

Promote FOSS4G and OSGeo

Dozens of LCs: from Africa to Otawa LC

9 are official , the rest are «in formation»

What is OSGeo

FOSS4G Conf

Conclusions

Membership

What is OSGeo

FOSS4G Conf

Conclusions

Board of directors Executive Director Local Chapters Local Chapters Local Chapters Officers Officers Officers Local Chapters Local Chapters Foundation Projects Committees Committees Committees

Membership

At this moment, is quite informal

Three levels of participation

Participant : just a participant at mailing lists

Member : working in any project or committee

Charter Member : not-self elected member that can vote on some elections

Do you want to be a member?

Just subscribe on a mailing list and offer yourself!

Not just for developers: documenters, system admins, translators, everyone is welcomed

What is OSGeo

FOSS4G Conf

Conclusions

The FOSS4G conference

The Foundation coordinates an annual conference

A perfect place to meet thousands of developers, Free Software supporters, companies, ....

At the end of the conference the Sol Katz award is delivered

Hosts

2006: Laussane, Switzerland

2007: Victoria, Canada

2008: Cape Town: South Africa

2009: Sydney: Australia

What is OSGeo

FOSS4G Conf

Conclusions

FOSS4G2007

What is OSGeo

FOSS4G Conf

Conclusions

Conclusions

OSGeo helps promoting Free Software

You can be part of a community of people that are experts in geomatics

It's a common place to share experiences and new initiatives

It's an umbrella for new and existing projects

Join the general mailing list and participate!!

What is OSGeo

FOSS4G Conf

Conclusions

Questions and comments?? Thank you!!

What is OSGeo

FOSS4G Conf

Conclusions

References

http://www.osgeo.org

http://wiki.osgeo.org

http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/foss4g2007

What is OSGeo

FOSS4G Conf

Conclusions

License

What is OSGeo

FOSS4G Conf

Conclusions

Creative Commons License Deed

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