[Board] Request - formal recognition - OSGeo Slovenija as an official OSGeo Local Chapter

[Angelos Tzotsos]

Dear Alen,

Thank you for the request. We have added it to the next board meeting 
agenda:
https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Board_Meeting_2025-04-29#Current_items

Feel free to attend if you are available.

Best regards,
Angelos

On 4/15/25 14:30, Alen Mangafić via Board wrote:
> Dear OSGeo Board,
>
> We are writing to request formal recognition of *OSGeo Slovenija* as
> an *official
> OSGeo Local Chapter*.
>
> Our community has been evolving organically over the past years, shaped by
> contributions from a diverse group of researchers, students, professionals,
> and enthusiasts across disciplines - including GIS, geodesy, biology,
> computer science, forestry, social sciences, etc. From the beginning,
> inclusivity and openness have been core to how we operate and grow.
>
> Over the last three years, we have been connecting with interested
> individuals from all over our little country. Through shared activities,
> informal meetups, and regular presence at FOSS4G events, we’ve grown
> together into a critical mass that decided to take this step collectively.
> While we are more focused on geeking out, building (and destroying) things,
> and fostering community than on formal structures or bureaucracy, we felt
> it was the right moment to make this official.
>
> A cornerstone of this journey has been our annual *Open Source Geospatial
> Slovenija* conference in Ljubljana, which has become a central platform for
> collaboration, idea exchange, and showcasing open geospatial work in our
> region. Over the years, we’ve also had the pleasure of hosting members of
> the global OSGeo community at this event, strengthening our ties with the
> broader network. While many Local Chapters have served as valuable
> references, it was especially the story of the Romanian Local Chapter -
> presented at FOSS4G 2022 Firenze and later again at our Slovenian
> conference (2024) - that motivated us to move forward with formal
> recognition.
>
> Throughout this incubation period, we have:
>
>     -
>
>     *Organized annual *(totally DIY, free-of-charge, 100+ attendees) *Open
>     Source Geospatial Slovenija* conferences in *Ljubljana*
>     2024 <https://github.com/OSGeo-si/OpenSourceGeospatialSlovenija2024>
>     2023 <https://github.com/OSGeo-si/OpenSourceGeospatialSlovenija2023>
>     2022 <https://github.com/OSGeo-si/OpenSourceGeospatialSlovenija2022>
>     -
>
>     *Launched a series of technical meetups under the name GeoDev
>     <https://github.com/OSGeo-si/GeoDev>* — open, hands-on gatherings
>     focused on geospatial development. We joined forces with other IT-crazy
>     people to create a space where geo-developers can share tools, workflows,
>     and experiments in a relaxed, community-driven setting with beer and pizza
>     (the last one was yesterday),
>     -
>
>     *Supported field-based use cases* like dragonfly tracking (in
>     collaboration with the local odonata society) and analyzing beaver
>     population spread by tracking their poo - both carried out using QField in
>     support of environmental and academic projects.
>
> We are formally organized as a non-profit, with a statute aligned with
> OSGeo values. Our current membership includes *50 active individuals*, and
> all core information is published on our wiki page:
>
> *https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Slovenia
> <https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Slovenia>*
>
> Our logo is currently under development.
>
> We feel ready to formally join the OSGeo family and continue contributing -
> as we already do - the global open geospatial movement. We hope we didn’t
> mess up the formal steps too badly along the way.
>
> Thank you for your time and consideration. Please let us know if there are
> any next steps or additional information needed to support this request.
>
> Best Regards,
>
> *Alen Mangafić*
> Secretary, OSGeo Slovenija
> osgeoslovenija at gmail.com
> https://osgeo.si
> https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Slovenia
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Board mailing list
> Board at lists.osgeo.org
> https://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/board


-- 
Angelos Tzotsos, PhD
President, Board of Directors
Open Source Geospatial Foundation
https://www.osgeo.org/member/angelos-tzotsos/