[Qgis-user] A new chapter in life begins

Thu Jan 22 23:05:34 PST 2026

Hi.....
At the risk of breaking out a barrage of 'reminiscence' 
emails......(only from South Africa? 🙂 )

It is nice to hear the experiences of the people who have spent decades 
in the industry.
I started Geograph (spatial data capture focus) in 1984 with a ...wait 
for it....full multi-user mainframe based Siemens SICAD system!
The mapping SW had proper physical topology (shared geometry) and a 
scripting language.
 From there it was on to Unix (SCO then Linux) based Genamap which I 
used full time from ~1989 to 2013 and then again for a 4 month project 
in 2016.
Since ~2018 I got sucked into working on site using client SW (yes, ESRI 
and other specialist SW) - nothing wrong with that, but the message is, 
is that one CAN survive very well without having to pay massive license 
fees.

To the main point, I too take my hat off to the QGIS developers and 
their history with their product.
Truly amazing what has been accomplished.

Dr Horst: Have a great next chapter in your life.

Kind regards,
Zoltan

On 2026/01/23 08:35, Nigel Berjak - General via QGIS-User wrote:
> Thank you Horst for your history and inputs. I wish my dad, us being 
> in South Africa, who started his journey around 1986 after moving 
> partially away from Statistics and Computer Science lecturing, could 
> have been part of the early journey. In those times with no internet, 
> he wrote his own GIS, printer drivers etc., but found no support 
> locally and so ESRI was adopted as their sales force was second to 
> none. He would have really enjoyed being part of working with the QGIS 
> family.
>
> ---
> Regards,
>
> Nigel Berjak
> Please consider the environment before printing this email.
>
> On 2026-01-22 19:12, Dr. Horst Düster via QGIS-User wrote:
>> Dear colleagues
>>
>> After 38 years of geoinformatics, geographic information systems, and 
>> everything related to them, I am now retiring from professional life 
>> at the end of January and starting a new chapter in my life. It has 
>> been an eventful time, which began at ESRI in Kranzberg near Munich 
>> in 1988. While working on my dissertation at the University of Bern, 
>> I quickly came across open source software and open source GIS. Much 
>> to the surprise of my colleagues, the GIS of my choice at the time 
>> was GRASS. It allowed me to do everything I needed for my work. A 
>> series of fortunate circumstances led to FOSS4G becoming the focus of 
>> my work from then on. In Solothurn, starting in 1999, all doors were 
>> open for my FOSS4G ideas, as the canton had decided on a Linux 
>> strategy and the necessary financial resources were available.
>>
>> During this time, projects such as UMN MapServer played a key role – 
>> pragmatic, powerful, and developed by an international community. The 
>> big gap in the software stack was desktop GIS. Around 2003, I 
>> discovered Quantum GIS and was very impressed by its potential, even 
>> though it was still in its infancy and didn't offer much 
>> functionality. But if you believe in the small, it can become big. 
>> Lucky circumstances played a role here too, because Marco 
>> Hugentobler, one of the core developers of Quantum GIS, was based 
>> very close to me in Zurich. Now I had money available and a developer 
>> at my disposal. This laid the foundation for the successful 
>> development of Quantum GIS, which later became QGIS. Marco was able 
>> to develop all the functions in Quantum GIS that were necessary for 
>> the canton of Solothurn's work—data analysis, symbolization, 
>> digitization, and map production. The world was open to a free 
>> desktop GIS. Today, QGIS is an indispensable part of geoinformatics, 
>> but back then we were laughed at.
>>
>> My special thanks go to the people who made this journey possible: 
>> the developers, who often worked behind the scenes with great 
>> perseverance and passion; the colleagues in administration, 
>> universities, and offices who had the courage to break new ground; 
>> and the few who took responsibility early on and inspired others to 
>> follow suit—in Switzerland and around the world. Without this 
>> personal commitment, without trust, and without sometimes 
>> controversial discussions, much of this would not have come about.
>>
>> What has accompanied me all these years has not only been the 
>> technical excellence of these tools, but above all the community 
>> behind them: open, critical, helpful, and always ready to share 
>> knowledge. This free culture has shaped my work and my commitment—and 
>> it has made FOSS4G strong.
>>
>> With great gratitude for all the encounters, discussions, and joint 
>> projects worldwide, I am now taking a step back from my very active 
>> professional life. The FOSS4G community is in an excellent position 
>> today, and I am convinced that it will continue on its successful 
>> path. The current challenges of our time—the many unhealthy 
>> dependencies that we saw early on and which are now increasingly 
>> being recognized by decision-makers—urge us to be vigilant in the 
>> face of growing authoritarianism and nationalist tendencies, which 
>> are regaining strength in many parts of the world.
>>
>> And I will continue to be part of the community, because I am not 
>> retiring from life. Who knows where we will cross paths, what happy 
>> circumstances will enrich our lives in the future, and what 
>> contribution I will make in the future? We will see. Perhaps one or 
>> two of my companions will read this text and remember moments we 
>> shared. That would make me very happy.
>>
>> Thank you for everything. It is a great pleasure and honor for me to 
>> be part of this development.
>>
>> See you soon, yours
>>
>> Horst Düster
>> horst.duester at kappasys.ch
>>
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-- 

=============================================
Zoltan Szecsei GPrGISc 0031
Director, Geograph (Pty) Ltd.
GIS and Photogrammetric Services

Cape Town, South Africa.

Mobile: +27-83-6004028 (Signal, not WhatsApp)
         +36-20-3594428

www.geograph.co.za
=============================================