[Europe] Urgent: Status of [OSGeo Europe]

[Till Adams]

Dear Europe list and especially hello Dirk,

I fear that the silence after my email (see below) is self-explaining. I
think we should execute the liquidation of OSgeo Europe (or transfer it
to another status, e.g. a loose group of willing people without any
organisational status).

Regards, Till


Am 01.09.21 um 15:39 schrieb Till Adams:
> Dear Dirk and @OSGeo Europe again,
>
>
> I now had the time to look little deeper into what Dirk wrote. Sorry for
> bothering you again, but I think we are in a situation, where decisions
> need to be taken:
>
> First of all, regarding our presentation at OSGeo's AM: I would say,
> that we have nothing really interesting (and new) to present to the
> community, so I would propose to skip the part of OSgeo-Europe and
> instead of that, take a look on ourselves:
>
> If you browse to the end of Dirks email (see below), he claerly says,
> what needs to be decided:
>
> Option a: Restart of OSgeo Europe with "fresh" people, new ideas and new
> power
>
> Option b: give up and execute liquidation
>
> I totally agree with Dirk, that "Opition b" is the least option we all
> want. But - as you all should know - it is impossible to power a
> community without people. Don't understand me wrong: This is not
> fingerpointing to anybody !! -- I know that I did not give much input to
> OSGeo Europe in the past two years - to say it carefully ;-).
>
> The question is:
> Is there still a community around OSGeo Europe? Are there people, that
> have power, ideas and time for a re-start?
>
> What about you?
> Are you/we willing to dare a re-start of OSGeo-Europe?
> Where are the "fresh" people with new ideas and a lot of power??
>
> Maybe FOSS4G BA gives a good opportunity for a community meeting?
>
> Please comment.
>
> Till
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Am 31.08.21 um 16:46 schrieb Till Adams:
>> Dear Dirk,
>>
>> thanks for the input - but: No, no one is going physically to BA, me
>> neither. FOSS4G BA is an onlien conference ;-)
>>
>> All I could do is put your thoughtsi nto slides, record it and send it
>> to Vicky, so that she can add it to the AM video.
>>
>> I will ask her for some more time and will do.
>>
>> Till
>>
>>
>> Am 29.08.21 um 12:08 schrieb Dirk Frigne:
>>> Hi Till,
>>>
>>> It took me a bit longer that I wanted. I hope it was worth the waiting...
>>>
>>>
>>> Dear list,
>>>
>>> As a preparation for the AGM of Friday 01 October 11:00 AM AST or
>>> 16:00 CET, I prepared some input.
>>> Till will go physically to  Buenos Aires. I will not make it but I'll
>>> try to connect online if possible.
>>>
>>> It would be good if Till could present the Local European Chapter on
>>> stage during the AGM.
>>>
>>> It would also be good if there is a specific meeting about the future
>>> of OSGeo Local Chapter, as we hit some damage during the last 2 years.
>>>
>>> For those new to the content, a short recap:
>>>
>>> *History* (See also:
>>> https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Local_Chapter_EU_History + update)
>>> (please feel free to update where I missed some activities or actions)
>>>
>>> the first ideas for OSGeo Europe Chapter were launched in 2014.
>>> Actually the first idea’s started in 2013 on the FOSS4G CEE Conference
>>> in Bucharest.
>>>
>>> In 2015 there was some need to promote open standards for ICT
>>> procurement in Europe.
>>> Proposal to start an initiative on the Foss4G conference in Bonn 2016.
>>> Bylaws discussed and prepared during 2016 / 2017.
>>>
>>> *Birth of the organisation*
>>> Bylaws signed 20 July 2021 during the FOSS4G conference in Paris.
>>>
>>> OSGeo was founded with a legal status as a non-profit organisation
>>> based on Belgium law. We have 2 bankaccounts and a legal status with
>>> rights and obligations.
>>> One of the interesting rights is that we don’t have to pay value added
>>> tax (VAT) when buying goods, but when we sell services we need to
>>> apply for VAT.
>>>
>>> 2017 - 2018 was also the year I tried to find out how to behave as a ngo.
>>>
>>> Some contacts where initiated with UN Committee, discussions amongst
>>> members how to work on a common tender, investigating what are the
>>> obligations to report for the Belgian authorities in a way we could
>>> recuperate the VAT.
>>>
>>> November 2017: preparation for first board meeting OSGeo Europe
>>>
>>> Board meeting 15 December 2017: no of the board members attended
>>>
>>> Jan- February 2018:
>>>
>>> Further administrative burden to check all the signatures and ID’s of
>>> the board members,
>>> the publication of bylaws of the organisation in the Belgian
>>> registers. Opening the bank accounts.
>>> (Since the terroristic attacks in Belgium, these procedures became
>>> more difficult than before).
>>> This took more time as expected.
>>>
>>> March 2018: Meeting in Brussels about the Copernicus program . Goal:
>>> promote OSGeo and promote Copernicus @OSGeo.
>>>
>>> Jul 2018: FOSS4G Conference Guimrães:
>>> Presentation of OSGeo EU initiative to promote OSGeo software and
>>> projects on non FOSS events.
>>>
>>> Aug 2018: organisation of first initiative in collaboration with 5
>>> OSGeo projects.
>>> OSGeo Europe did the coordination of the INSPIRE 2018 event in Antwerp
>>> and in return we could promote OSGeo on that event.
>>>
>>> 26 – 30 Aug: FOSS4G Bucharest: short status update by Joachim
>>>
>>> 19 September  2018  there was a first event with OSGeo on the INSPIRE
>>> conference in Antwerp with a presentation about the eco-system of
>>> OSGeo. OSGeo had one of the big boots during the conference.
>>>
>>> The goal was to promote OSGeo and the OSGeo projects, the companies
>>> behind them and to create a European contact point for information to
>>> the non FOSS world.
>>>
>>> With 5 paying contributors we had a budget of 10.000 EUR to organise
>>> the event and the boot. By using the scale advantage, it was of
>>> intrest to the participants, OSGeo Europe could present itself as host
>>> and we had a small benefit of approx 1000 Eur to pay for the
>>> administrative overhead (the accountant responsible for the official
>>> registrations and publications).   
>>>
>>> Plans for organising more events in Germany, France and other
>>> countries did not materialize.
>>>
>>> But then all activities on my part were paused due to ...
>>>
>>> *(Some personal notes)*
>>>
>>> Nov 2018 - Nov  2019: black out for me (literally …)
>>>
>>> Dec 2019 – Feb 2020: personally: try to find the energy to reboot the
>>> Local Chapter but I still missed the energy to do so.
>>>
>>> And then there was Covid…
>>>
>>> Engagement in a community (like OSGeo) takes a lot of energy.
>>> Luckily this energy is fuelled by attending the activities,
>>> participating conferences, meeting other people and work together
>>> promoting FOSS and stimulating the FOSS industry.
>>> When this falls away, like it was in times of Covid this is even more
>>> challenging (see the presentation
>>> https://callforpapers.2021.foss4g.org/foss4g2021/talk/3MNBBB/).
>>> For me personally, it was very hard to find the energy back.
>>>
>>> Personally I need a mission I want to work on.
>>> The world is changing very fast, so the reasons I started engaging for
>>> FOSS now more than 15 years ago,  changed over time.
>>> One of the strengths of FOSS is that it starts from *‘givving’*. But
>>> to be able to *‘give’* you need others who receive and who are glad
>>> with the *‘gift’*. I need to find the right focus where my
>>> contribution helps our community forward, preferably with other people.
>>>
>>> It is this exercise we should do again.
>>>
>>>
>>> *Status of the ngo OSGeo Europe vzw*
>>> To fulfil all the obligations the Belgian law describes, I asked a
>>> account to help me with the legal stuff.
>>> This costs some money.
>>> Almost every year,  laws change in Belgium (and I think also in
>>> Europe), this also has impact on  ngo’s.
>>> The reporting becomes more demanding. f.i. a UBO-register is a new
>>> obligation. (https://financien.belgium.be/nl/E-services/Ubo-register).
>>> As we have an international board, this is a bit more complex than
>>> with only Belgian id’s.
>>>
>>> Also, as intrest rates are below zero, banks that previously provided
>>> free services now also charge a monthly fee. This also takes money
>>> from our accounts.
>>>
>>> June 30, 2021 we closed our accounts with a claim on the VAT tax
>>> department of dept to the accountant of 314,30 EURO. This is the
>>> amount of money we get back from government because we aply to the VAT
>>> rules.
>>> But for the work done by the accountant the last 3 years, we have an
>>> unpaid dept of 693,55 EURO. Every quarter this grows a bit.
>>>
>>> The status on the accounts is (OSGeo EU : 38,43 EUR, GRASS: 1389,57
>>> EURO).
>>>
>>> The income of OSGeo Europe is zero.
>>>
>>> Without organising events that produce the necessary income and VAT
>>> taxes that we can recuperate, this has no sense.
>>>
>>> So it is no rocket science that we only have 2 options (imho):
>>>
>>> Option a:
>>> Find the money to pay for the current depts.
>>> Find a way to get the minimal income to pay for the necessary Yearly
>>> costs (+/- 1000 Euro / Year)
>>> Organise elections for a new board
>>> Define/update/reactivate the mission and activities OSGeo Europe wants
>>> to do
>>>
>>> Option b:
>>> Execute the liquidation of the ngo
>>>
>>> option b would be a real shame, since we've devoted a lot of energy
>>> and community discussions to building this organization.
>>> If there is no other option, then this is unfortunately the only way
>>> to go.
>>>
>>> If option a is chosen, I want to organize the elections and help find
>>> the new mission. I am also available to engage myself if I can
>>> contribute to the mission and get the necessary energy from it.
>>>
>>> In case it becomes option b, I will take steps in October to organize
>>> the liquidation.
>>>
>>> Any comments are welcome,
>>> Thanks in advance for your contribution.
>>>
>>> Dirk
>>>
>>>
>>> On 24/08/2021 09:07, Till Adams wrote:
>>>> Hi Dirk,
>>>>
>>>> thanks for the "food" - that's a good idea. No, I am not going to
>>>> Finland, it's tha AM on FOSS4G Buenos Aires ;-)
>>>>
>>>> Till
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Am 19.08.21 um 14:40 schrieb Dirk Frigne:
>>>>> Hi Till,
>>>>>
>>>>> I will give you some food for tought, later today.
>>>>> Good to hear you go to Finland!
>>>>> I've not yet decided.
>>>>>
>>>>> Dirk
>>>>>
>>>>> On 19/08/2021 08:10, adams at osgeo.org wrote:
>>>>>> Dear European chapter!
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I know there was not much activity, but at least we planned (and
>>>>>> postproned) a FOSS4G Europe! Did any further activities under the
>>>>>> European chapter umbrella take place and is someone willing to
>>>>>> present them.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> In case no one wants to, I can also present them, as I will join
>>>>>> the AM
>>>>>> anyway - but I need some "food" for this ;-9
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Regards, Till
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Am 18.08.21 um 18:13 schrieb Astrid Emde (OSGeo Secretary):
>>>>>>> Hello Europe Local Chapter,
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> we invite you and your team to present the local chapter at the OSGeo
>>>>>>> AGM 2021.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> This year we will publish the OSGeo AGM video in advance of FOSS4G
>>>>>>> [1].
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> You find all important information about the AGM at [5].
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> It would be great if someone could volunteer to present the status at
>>>>>>> the AGM. Please send me an email and I will provide an upload link
>>>>>>> for
>>>>>>> the video.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Timeline
>>>>>>> -----------------------
>>>>>>> - 2021-08-30: upload your video and update the AGM slides [2]
>>>>>>> - 2021-09-10: AGM 2021 complete video will be published
>>>>>>> - 2021-10-01: 11h Argentinian Time Zone (14:00 UTC) Join the OSGeo
>>>>>>> AGM
>>>>>>> 2021 meeting at FOSS4G [3] [4]
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> If you have questions or problems with the upload of your video
>>>>>>> please
>>>>>>> let us know secretary (at) osgeo (dot) org.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Stay safe,
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Astrid Emde
>>>>>>> OSGeo Secretary
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> [1] https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDvJEf8hXbyeVqaYaS8sLvw
>>>>>>> [2]
>>>>>>> https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1brbBb7-sKRI6U4dZ7LKnBT_-NnWzyS2TaZqVXzy8RDo/edit#slide=id.p4
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> [3] https://callforpapers.2021.foss4g.org/foss4g2021/talk/WDEW3P/
>>>>>>> [4]
>>>>>>> https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/meetingdetails.html?year=2021&month=10&day=1&hour=14&min=0&sec=0&p1=51&p2=26&p3=49&p4=155&p5=217&p6=312&p7=250&p8=71&p9=248&p10=240
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> [5] https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Annual_General_Meeting_2021
>>>>>>>
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