January | 2024 | OpenStreetMap Blog

OpenUK celebrates Tom Hughes as one of the top open source contributors on their New Year’s Honours List. It is the fourth time the UK organisation for open technology publishes this list to honour open source influencers across the United Kingdom.

Tom is an OSM system administrator and one of the maintainers of the openstreetmap.org code. He has been maintaining and improving the website project since around 2006. His inclusion in OpenUK’s 2024 Honours List is a well-deserved recognition for almost two decades of hard work as a volunteer.

Congratulations Tom, and thank you for your unwavering dedication to OpenStreetMap!

Want to learn more about how Tom maintains the OpenStreetMap website project, and find out how you can help? Check out the “Maintaining OpenStreetMap.org” talk his fellow maintainer Andy Allan gave at State of the Map Europe 2023.

The OpenStreetMap Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation, formed to support the OpenStreetMap Project. It is dedicated to encouraging the growth, development and distribution of free geospatial data for anyone to use and share. The OpenStreetMap Foundation owns and maintains the infrastructure of the OpenStreetMap project, is financially supported by membership fees and donations, and organises the annual, international State of the Map conference. Our volunteer Working Groups and small core staff work to support the OpenStreetMap project. Join the OpenStreetMap Foundation for just £15 a year or for free if you are an active OpenStreetMap contributor.

State of the Map, our annual gathering, welcomes all who are involved with or interested in OpenStreetMap. We extend an invitation to everyone passionate about OSM – whether you’re an amateur mapper, a research academic, involved in humanitarian efforts, part of an NGO or government entity, running a small business, or representing a multinational corporation. Join us in Nairobi on September 6-8, 2024, to exchange insights and strategies for advancing the OSM ecosystem. Our goal is to include as many of you as possible in State of the Map 2024! Your participation at State of the Map is anticipated and encouraged upon selection. This may involve presenting a talk if chosen by the program committee, or participating in lightning talk sessions designed for scholars. Additionally, there are various other ways to contribute to and support the conference’s success while you are there.

Apply now for support to join us in Nairobi for State of the Map 2024!

Deadline: 31 January 2024, 23:59:59 UTC

Each year, we receive more scholarship applications than we are able to support. To help us best allocate the funds, please specify the minimum types of support you need to attend. If you are requesting a travel grant, then tell us the amount of money to cover a portion of your travel and make a difference to attending or not. Please review our privacy policy covering how we will handle the information in your application.

Here are some tips to help you complete your application.

The clarity and concise answers will be helpful. Keep sentences short.
Select the minimum level of scholarship you need. This will help us to make the best use of limited funds and enable more scholars to join.
Make sure you clearly state your visa and travel requirements and other potential funding sources.
We want to hear about your contributions to OpenStreetMap, your project or your group. We do not want an account of a group’s work but your individual part in it. Try to use “I”, not “we”.
You may include links to your OpenStreetMap profile, a local group you run, or software you created. If your written answer is satisfactory to get on our shortlist, we might look at these additional details.
The motivation statement on why you decided to apply for the TGP

More detailed information on the Travel Grant Programme can be found on the State of the Map 2024 website: https://2024.stateofthemap.org/calls/travel_grants/

Stay tuned to know more about the news and the events of State of the Map 2024! See you in Nairobi and online.

The State of the Map Working Group