[OSGeo Oceania] Geospatial industry representation

[Oscar So]

Hi Andrew,

To your first question, maybe - depends if I want to buy what they are offering.

To your second question, A lot of things I imagine. Off the top of my head: sense of community, belonging, professional development, networking. Things like the Economic impact of geospatial services in Australia study. Certification. There's more, but to your point about it not being clear what the void is left, that's something that never goes away with industry associations in general is what the value of them are? Personally my views on associations have been if they don't offer value to you, are you going to want to change that? If not, then are you missing out not being involved with them?

To your third question, its a good question and I imagine that was the void that GCA and its predecessors filled. Unsure on whether OO should fill that role or not. Its a good question though.

All of this is to say I see and hear where you are coming from Andrew. You've asked good questions, I don't have the answers for you, but appreciate you starting a discussion on it.

Kind Regards,
Oscar
________________________________
From: Oceania <oceania-bounces at lists.osgeo.org> on behalf of Andrew Jeffrey via Oceania <oceania at lists.osgeo.org>
Sent: 26 June 2026 15:11
To: OSgeo - Oceania <oceania at lists.osgeo.org>
Subject: [OSGeo Oceania] Geospatial industry representation

Hi,

Does anyone here intend to join any of these geospatial industry representation bodies that are popping up?

I noticed one announced today in Victoria for Victorians but it's probably too early to tell what their intention is - https://www.spatialsource.com.au/new-state-based-geospatial-body-launches/

So far all three have indicated they are filling the void left by GCA, but I'm not clear what void that left? I'm sure they existed for a reason, but them not being around hasn't had a visible impact from my perspective.

Recently, I attended the first Locus Alliance webinar; about 30 people were present. They conducted a poll at the start asking about professions, and over half chose "GIS professional". However, their presentation focused on surveyors and recognisining national accreditation for surveyors........so Locus Alliance is a no from me.

Getting to my point: I remember the early OO conversations focused on it existing to support the local FOSS4G conference. It's since done other great things supporting grassroots events and other activities in the region. More recently with the "Map the Mappers" project it looks to be promoting and advocating for open source professionals and businesses in the region. I know it's incredibly hard finding the time for anything else in life as a volunteer and that OO runs on volunteer power. But would OO have the capacity to represent the open source community if we needed an industry voice? Not as a fulltime business like GCA was, but as a vehicle for rallying the troops if we collectively need a voice on an issue? Or is joining one of these new bodies beneficial for that purpose?

Thanks
Andrew
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