[Qgis-psc] Idea: launch a annual QGIS community member award?

[Nyall Dawson]

Hi PSC,

I'd like to raise an idea which has recently been on my mind: I'd love
to see us launch some type of annual "QGIS Community member award".
The QGIS project is only successful today because of the tireless
efforts of the QGIS community - and the contributions made by some
community members have been totally crucial to us achieving this
success. I'd love to see us have some way of formally acknowledging
these community members who've gone "above and beyond expectations"
with their contributions to QGIS.

(Just to clarify - I'm not equating community members to developers
here, I'm referring to the entire community of PSC/documenters/bug
reporters/user group & event organisers/local promoters/etc... No
limits!)

Osgeo has the Sol Katz Award (http://www.osgeo.org/solkatz) for wider
contributions to GFOSS. I think we could take the same model and have
a QGIS-specific award, which is presented at the annual user
conference.

I'd see this as a way we can celebrate the fact that QGIS is very much
a community driven project, and as a way of bringing the huge "behind
the scenes" contributions which community members have made to the
attention of the wider QGIS userbase. It'd be both a good way of
thanking these contributors and also giving us a marketing opportunity
to encourage new contributors into the community.

(Potentially we could also have a second award for contributing
organisations too, but that's a different topic...)


Nyall