[Marketing] Estonia and OSI

[Brian M Hamlin]

Hello #marketing -

   I am preparing some materials related to #torchGeo .. stumbled upon 
some Estonia info.. also all things Open Source.

   In one US Federal github repo, I see references to the Open Source 
Initiative  https://opensource.org

   They assert

   * The OSI is the authority that defines Open Source, recognized 
globally by individuals, companies, and by public institutions.

     https://opensource.org/programs/      "Learn more"

   * OSI is the leading voice on the policies and principles of open source

   * We support institutions and individuals working together to create 
communities of practice in which the healthy open source ecosystem thrives.

   At least there is "synergy" with #osgeo goals and OSI efforts !

   Q. What strategy does #osgeo have for collaboration with OSI ? what 
about public #osgeo statements about OSI ?

--

   Secondly, the #torchgeo project is part of a new geoAI ecosystem.  
geoAI topics are getting a lot of attention at many levels. Here is a 
link to an OSI page about AI Models

https://opensource.org/blog/open-source-ai-definition-on-the-road-looking-back-and-forward

   #osgeo will have a "geoAI" project with #torchGeo .. I am preparing 
some documents to share for an event in Washington DC on May 16, in 
coordination with Microsoft AI for Good project, the Remote Sensing and 
Information Science Department at Delft University NL, and the Data 
Science in Earth Observation group, Technical University of Munich.

   #torchGeo is a benchmarking framework, not an end-user application 
itself.  #osgeo could promote geoAI via this #torchGeo project. Please 
be advised that many contributors in geoAI work directly or indirectly 
with non-civilian partners. So the language of any #osgeo promotion 
would have to be simple and clearly civilian, in my opinion.

   Finally, as I wrote to Jeroen Ticheler recently.. I believe that the 
population around Tartu, Estonia are under economic pressures with 
relatively low access to local jobs. Therefore asking for volunteer 
participants is not very helpful for many attendees, although the spirit 
of community is bright. Estonia has signed a memorandum of cooperation 
with the United Nations Economic Council to build and improve community 
housing in Estonia, including Tartu.  I believe that uniform services 
recruiters will be present at the FOSS4G show, offering job applications 
for geospatial skilled people, for non-civilian purposes.  Personally I 
would like to see the promotion of civilian jobs and career paths, but I 
do not have a simple alternative proposal for that. geoAI may impact the 
jobs of a small number of specialists as analysis is automated. There is 
an overwhelming amount of remote sensing data coming in daily, with more 
on the way. Automation of geospatial analysis using cloud frameworks is 
inevitable.

   Summary:

   #osgeo will be very visible at FOSS4G Estonia in Tartu

   many civilians in Estonia and other places need paid income, usually jobs

   geoAI is getting a lot of attention for real reasons, and some hype 
reasons.. #osgeo will have a geoAI project with #torchGeo. #torchGeo 
does not create jobs for typical skilled users, however.. #torchgeo is a 
framework for science engineering advancement of geoAI models.

   uniform services recruiters will probably be present at FOSS4G 
offering jobs, which is not fully aligned with a peaceful advancement of 
science in my opinion. There are worse outcomes that are possible in the 
short term in the Baltic area involving uniform services.

   Oil and gas industry will be present at FOSS4G but maybe not 
publicly.  There is a lot of behind the scenes activity related to oil 
and gas commerce at this time, more than ever perhaps, including in the 
Baltic area.

   FOSS4G Tartu has potential, and these notes are an attempt at 
maximizing the outreach and onboarding for #osgeo participants.


    best regards from Berkeley    --Brian M Hamlin    MAPLABS / 
OSGeoLive PSC