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Africa <I>is</I> looking a little blank on Alex's map :-)<BR>
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My involvement with OSGeo started around 2005 when I kicked off the Africa list, which now has >350 members. I lead the (still unofficial) Africa / South Africa Local Chapter along with a a cabal of local FOSS GIS enthusiasts and am on the National Council of the GIS Society of South Africa as chair of the Open Source SIG. I led the bid for and chaired FOSS4G 2008 in Cape Town. The fruits of that are being tasted slowly but surely in the local industry as it demonstrated that there are real alternatives. Developing economies such as ours and others in Africa are arguably most in need of FOSS software and skills. I am an outspoken FOSS GIS advocate and push to get our Government's FOSS policy to mean something. OSGeo Charter membership would probably help most in this role. I help run FOSS GIS open days and public training courses and fly the OSGeo banner (literally) wherever I can. I have also just started a FOSS GIS company where the OSGeo brand will play a vital role. <BR>
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Gavin<BR>
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On Sat, 2010-11-06 at 01:23 -0700, Alex Mandel wrote:
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On 11/05/2010 04:09 AM, Joanne Cook wrote:
> Charter Membership would mean a lot to me, personally, and would (I think) help me when I am trying to raise the profile of the foundation. Having more female charter members will help address the gender imbalance within the organisation that was identified at FOSS4G in Barcelona. The UK is also currently quite under-represented, so it would be nice to see more Brits on the list as well.
>
> I hope that helps...
>
> Jo
>
That got me pondering, what is the spatial distribution of the current
charter members. For those curious to the answer, and with a little help
from the regulars on IRC....
<A HREF="http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/File:Chartermap11-2010.png">http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/File:Chartermap11-2010.png</A>
<A HREF="http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/File:Chartermap11-2010.pdf">http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/File:Chartermap11-2010.pdf</A>
There's are quite a few ways to slice the data and I've only done some
simple ones. Dividing by area or by population could be quite
interesting. Email me if you'd like a copy of the spatialite database
I've got going.
That said, representation is one good way to look at the candidates (By
Tribe, Project, Gender, Location, Academic/Industry/NGO x Big/Small).
However, I also think it's important to consider the importance of both
work in the local setting and work at the foundation level since Charter
Members are tasked with ensuring the stability of the Foundation and
providing a helping hand to fostering of local chapters.
Thanks,
Alex
Disclaimer - I'm also on the list of nominations
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--
Gavin Fleming
t: 0218620670
c: 0845965680
f: 0866164820
Paarl
South Africa
18°59'18.8"E 33°44'40.2"S
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