[OSGeo-Board] Re: [VisCom] FOSS4G Conference Summary

[Markus Neteler]

Hi Tyler,

apparently no concerns! So let's get it out to the press.

Still my suggestion to add a note about the organizers, I guess
especially:
- Camptocamp
- University of Lausanne

along with the link to the conference site (http://www.foss4g2006.org).

Thanks,
Markus


On 10/4/06, Tyler Mitchell <tylermitchell at shaw.ca> wrote:
> FYI - I've prepared a summary of the FOSS4G conference that we aim to release as a press release.  VisCom and some from the FOSS4G team are reviewing it with me, but I just wanted to give you the opportunity to voice any concerns.  The text is below...
>
> Tyler
>
> > -------
> > FOSS4G 2006 Conference Summary
> >
> > The energy and enthusiasm of the Free and Open Source Software for
> > Geoinformatics (FOSS4G) Conference continues to grow. This year
> > over 500 attendees made their way to Lausanne, Switzerland from
> > September 12-15th to participate in this annual international event.
> >
> > The conference began with a day and a half of more than 25 hands-
> > on workshops. They covered web mapping, desktop applications, 3D
> > visualization, and much more. As in years past, these workshops
> > were completely sold-out due to their popularity.
> >
> > Plenary sessions and over 120 presentations made up the remainder
> > of the formal event. During the Sponsor Presentations, several of
> > the FOSS4G sponsors introduced their companies and explained their
> > involvement in Open Source. It was encouraging to see that the
> > sponsors invested in the conference not merely for promotion, but
> > because they are keenly interested in the success of the ideas
> > represented at FOSS4G.
> >
> > The birds-of-a-feather (BOF) sessions were an informal way for
> > communities to meet, discuss, plan and even do some programming.
> > Topics included: promoting open access to geospatial data,
> > developing international user groups, planning new programming
> > projects, debating details of APIs and more.
> >
> > The final afternoon consisted of plenary talks and a discussion
> > panel where several community members shared observations of the
> > past and offered future predictions. James Westervelt shared some
> > early history of the GRASS GIS project in a unique way, by
> > presenting recent thoughts from many of the original programmers
> > and users of decades past.
> >
> > We also heard from the Director of Swisstopo, the Federal Office
> > of Topography, about their National Geodata Initiative. He
> > described their efforts to make geodata more affordable and
> > highlighted several parallels between their data management
> > efforts and open source development.
> >
> > The capstone of the conference was the presentation of the second
> > annual Sol Katz award. This annual award recognizes the important
> > contributions of an open source community member. This year it was
> > awarded to Markus Neteler from the Center for Scientific and
> > Technological Research (ITC-irst, Italy) recognizing his
> > instrumental work on the GRASS GIS project. Markus' hard work and
> > commitment brought GRASS GIS back onto the radar for those needing
> > powerful analytical and visualization tools. Anyone who has worked
> > with Markus knows that the award was well deserved. His
> > enthusiasm, commitment to open source and enjoyable personality
> > have been an encouragement to the broader open source community.
> >
> > The conference, including great social events, could not have
> > happened without an incredible amount of volunteer energy and
> > resources. An event of this size and stature had dozens of people
> > working behind the scenes, months in advance, including local
> > organizers, sponsors, an international committee, university staff
> > and more. It also required substantial funding from generous
> > sponsors. Thank you to all who helped organize, fund and attend
> > the event - it was a great cross-pollinating experience and will
> > remain the highlight of the year for many of us.
> >
> > FOSS4G was also an important venue for the Open Source Geospatial
> > Foundation (OSGeo). With generous sponsorship support and planning
> > from Autodesk, OSGeo volunteers were able to introduce the
> > foundation to hundreds of attendees in a professional manner. The
> > booth was a focal point for learning more about the foundation and
> > how to get involved. There were also several OSGeo-related
> > presentations during the conference to help inform attendees.
> > Thank you volunteers, speakers and Autodesk staff for making our
> > presence at FOSS4G such a success.
> >
> > The 2007 event will be organized by OSGeo. The foundation will be
> > soliciting proposals from local communities who would like to host
> > the event. The location is yet to be determined and will depend on
> > proposals received. Watch the foundation discussion mailing list
> > for more information.
> > Some videos and photos from the event are available on the FOSS4G
> > website under Souvenirs. Workshop and presentation slides are also
> > available from the conference timetables.
> >
> >
> >
>
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