[UN] UN Open GIS ToR [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]

[Bruce Bannerman]

Regarding a definition of Open Source:

You may be interested in what I put together for one of the UN Bodies (the World Meteorological Organisation).

See WMO #1131, CDMS Specification [1], Recommendation 11.4 pp 148-150.

On the version that I have, it appears that the links that I referred to in the text may not work in the published document. You will find the URLs for the links listed at p158.

Kind Regards,

Bruce

________________________________________
From: UN <un-bounces at lists.osgeo.org> on behalf of Jeff McKenna <jmckenna at gatewaygeomatics.com>
Sent: Tuesday, 18 October 2016 5:01 AM
To: un at lists.osgeo.org
Subject: Re: [UN] UN Open GIS ToR

Hi Maria, Maxi,

Below are my comments on the draft ToR:

- in the title of the document, change the title to "UN Open GIS
Initiative - Terms of Reference"   (notice no 's')

- in section #1, change the full text to:

***
The objective of the UN Open GIS Initiative is to identify and develop
open source geospatial software and services that meet the requirements
of UN operations, taking full advantage of the expertise of mission
partners including partner nations, technology contributing countries,
international organizations, academia, NGO’s, and the private sector.
***

I believe a very important part is missing in this document: a
definition of what Open Source is.  This is especially important as the
initiative will have interested partners in many sectors, including the
private sector.  So we can use text from the OGC-OSGeo whitepaper, for a
new Section #3 in the document, as follows:

***
3. Definition of Open Source

Open Source encompasses two related concepts regarding the way software
is developed and licensed. They are codified in the "Free Software" and
the "Open Source" definitions. "Free and Open Source Software" refers to
software which has been made available under a free software license
with the rights to run the program for any purpose, to study how the
program works, to adapt it, and to redistribute copies, including
modifications. These freedoms enable Open Source software development, a
public, collaborative model that promotes early publishing and frequent
releases. The Open Source Initiative has developed a set of 10
requirements of any software license that is to be considered an Open
Source license under the Open Source Definition.  For more details
please see the OSGeo-OGC whitepaper on Open Source:
https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Open_Source_and_Open_Standards#Open_Source
***

Also, I am happy to be involved in this initiative and committee as
President Emeritus, OSGeo (especially as I worked with Kyoung-Soo to get
this started), please let me know if I can help.

Thanks,

-jeff


--
Jeff McKenna
President Emeritus, OSGeo
http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Jeff_McKenna




On 2016-10-14 4:34 PM, Maria Antonia Brovelli wrote:
> Dear All
>
> attached the ToR proposed by the Chairs of the UN Open GIS  Initiative.
> Please send Maxi and I comments, if any,  before 20th October.  Best
> regards.
>
> Maria
>

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