[OSGeo-Discuss] Defining an OSGeo Ambassador role

Fri Apr 20 23:45:41 EDT 2012

Marco, all,

I guess it is difficult to say how many Geo Conferences are planned to be
held, and also which of them are worth attending for OSGeo.

However, this Google Fusion Table (GFT) provides quiete a lot of
information for 2012:
https://fusiontables.googleusercontent.com/fusiontables/api/query?sql=SELECT+*+FROM+2481018

Thanks to the GFT support in GDAL 1.9 (Thanks for this Frank and GDAL team
by the way), and because Gerald Fenoy recently implemented a reverse
geocoding support, allowing OGR to create geometries from an adress field
of a GFT, i could easily create a map of these conferences this morning:

http://demo.mapmint.com/public/conferences

I thought it would be maybe useful to first get an overview of the 2012 Geo
events.
If OSGeo is going further with the idea of having ambassadors, such a map
could then be used to map an updated GFT, and why not to add an Ambassador
attribute to each conference.

Best regards,

Nick

2012/4/20 Marco Lechner - FOSSGIS e.V. <marco.lechner at fossgis.de>

> Hi,
>
> Does anybody have an idea on how many conferences, ... we are talking
> about. May be this can be answered depending on continents/countries.
> this could help getting an idea about how many ambassadors would be
> needed where and how much money this could eventuallly cost. in some
> cases it will be necessary to have ambassadors talking in local
> languages (no every conference is using english) about OSGeo.
>
> Marco Lechner
>
> Am 20.04.2012 00:14, schrieb Michael P. Gerlek:
> > Cameron, thanks for bringing this up for discussion.
> >
> > A couple things to note:
> >
> > - in some cases, the Board might decide that it is important enough to
> have an Ambassador at an event that the Foundation would cover travel
> expenses
> >
> > - it is unlikely that the Foundation would be able to cover the costs of
> the Ambassador's time, however; aside from the expense involved and trying
> to determine a fair uniform hourly rate, I could see that turn into a fight
> for who gets to go; but on the other hand, a nominal fee might help enable
> some of us who are self-employed or similar to fill the ambassador role
> >
> > - some events/functions might require the Ambassador be a Board member
> as well (as in the case of the email of mine which Cameron quotes)
> >
> > -mpg
> >
> >
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: discuss-bounces at lists.osgeo.org [mailto:
> discuss-bounces at lists.osgeo.org] On Behalf Of Cameron Shorter
> >> Sent: Thursday, April 19, 2012 2:24 PM
> >> To: OSGeo Discussions
> >> Subject: [OSGeo-Discuss] Defining an OSGeo Ambassador role
> >>
> >> On 20/04/2012 4:06 AM, Michael P. Gerlek wrote:
> >>> Do we have any policies and cost structures for the Ambassador
> function yet?
> >> I've seen a few people talking about creating an OSGeo Ambassador role.
> >> Arnulf I think might have been the first to mention it, and I think it
> >> is an excellent idea. I'm also aware that the OGC are considering
> >> developing OGC ambassadors too.
> >>
> >> So I'd like to open the floor and see what people think an ambassador's
> >> role could involve, which leads into the qualities we would wish our
> >> ambassador's to have, which leads into the ways we may select an
> ambassador.
> >>
> >> Let me start by noting some of the driving factors:
> >> 1. Arnulf has noted that as OSGeo president, he has spent a significant
> >> amount of time on areoplanes travelling around the world to talk on
> >> behalf of OSGeo. He has suggested that this role should be shared.
> >> Conference organisors, who have a primary goal of attracting attendees,
> >> look for authoritative figureheads to talk at conferences. They are
> >> expected to have a deep insight into a specific domain, such as OSGeo.
> >> They should also speak well, even better if they are entertaining.
> >>
> >> 2. OSGeo is a sexy topic has many conferences, and there are hundreds,
> >> if not thousands of conferences around the world which would like to see
> >> an OSGeo presence.
> >>
> >> 3. OSGeo is fortunate to draw membership from around the world,
> >> including boasting a number of very healthy local chapters. As such, we
> >> are likely to have potential ambassadors in most counties. (We might be
> >> a bit short in Antarctica)
> >>
> >> 4. There are times when negotiating MOUs or similar with other
> >> countries, it would be useful to have someone local speak with authority
> >> on behalf of OSGeo.
> >>
> >> 5. Note that there are conflicting interests here of wanting to open up
> >> the role for anyone who volunteers, verses maintaining a selectiveness
> >> and prestige for the role which is the key selection criteria for
> >> conferences asking for an ambassador.
> >>
> >> As such, I think it important that ambassadors can only be voted into
> >> the position, and not handed out to anyone. We already vote for a board,
> >> and charter members.
> >> I think board members should be considered ambassadors by default.
> >> Should charter members be considered ambassadors? Charter members only
> >> get this role after demonstrating a commitment to OSGeo, so will likely
> >> have a reasonable depth of OSGeo knowledge. Maybe we should ask for a
> >> history of speaking well (as demonstrated at conferences), to the
> >> ambassador criteria.
> >>
> >> Then lastly, do we wish to invite ambassadors from a greater circle? At
> >> this point, I'd probably err on saying no, as if the entry bar to
> >> becoming an ambassador is too easy, then the mystic of the role will be
> >> lost.
> >>
> >>
> >> --
> >> Cameron Shorter
> >> Geospatial Solutions Manager
> >> Tel: +61 (0)2 8570 5050
> >> Mob: +61 (0)419 142 254
> >>
> >> Think Globally, Fix Locally
> >> Geospatial Solutions enhanced with Open Standards and Open Source
> >> http://www.lisasoft.com
> >>
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