The OpenStreetMap Foundation Board has selected Minh Nguyễn as the Core Software Development Facilitator. Here’s Minh to introduce himself, some of his ideas and directions, and opportunities to connect. Welcome, Minh!
Hi, I’m Minh Nguyễn, an OSM contributor and community organizer from California. The OSMF has entrusted me with one of the positions funded through the recently announced Sovereign Tech Fund (STF) investment to facilitate the further long-term development of OSM’s software infrastructure. I’m grateful for the opportunity to serve the OSM community in this way.
For those who don’t know me, I started volunteering for OSM way back in 2008, cleaning up errors in my hometown, Loveland, to cure a bout of homesickness. Then I got extremely carried away, adding little details here and there all over the Midwestern U.S., nurturing a little community of mappers in Silicon Valley, translating OSM into Vietnamese, and serving on the board of OpenStreetMap U.S. In parallel, I became a professional Mac software engineer, then helped build Mapbox’s open source, OSM-based map and navigation software for several years. But I never stopped being a mapper. I’ve also spent the last few years serving on the SDRP and OpenHistoricalMap’s advisory board and will continue in these roles.
When introducing OSM to my local community, I describe the project as infrastructure for the world’s maps. Naturally, this infrastructure has its own underlying infrastructure. Many of us rely heavily on the website frontend, API backend, and related tools while mapping, debugging our map data, and generally marveling at what we’re building together. There’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes to make the site run smoothly and supply data consumers with the artifacts they depend on. For example, did you know we have not one but two overlapping API implementations running simultaneously to eke out extra performance? These aspects of OSM are less glamorous than map styles or editors but no less important.
Our software architecture is very specific to OSM, so we’ve historically relied on a relatively small number of volunteers and their domain expertise. As an open source project, we want to expand this group and keep it open to newcomers. In conjunction with longtime contributors, I’ll be prioritizing better documentation, wrangling the issue backlog, articulating a clear vision and roadmap for the core software projects, and identifying opportunities for new developers to get started and gain a foothold. This will be essential as we later onboard another role tasked more directly with daily development tasks through the same STF investment. We’ll have more to share about that in the coming months.
Lately, anyone watching the core software projects closely will have noticed the pace of development picking up dramatically, but much of it still goes unannounced and unnoticed by the rest of the community. You’re going to hear from me pretty regularly as I relate the projects’ news and current affairs for a broader audience. It’s my hope that more of you in the community will be familiar with these projects, similar to your favorite renderer or editor, and hopefully for good reasons.
As I’m making the rounds introducing myself to those involved with the core software projects, it strikes me how many ideas there are about how to move them forward and how much these ideas overlap. Over the next few weeks, I’ll also be seeking feedback from the community about where we should be headed; watch the forum for more details. While I can’t promise anything concrete at this early stage, I’m hopeful we can weave a common future for these projects that allows OSM to thrive.
The State of the Map Organizing Committee provides a Travel Grant Programme (TGP) to facilitate accessibility and diversity at the global SotM 2025 Conference, which will happen in Manila, Philippines, October 3-5. Taking into consideration the success of last year, the programme will also dedicate a portion of the budget available to support remote attendance (e.g. by providing access to a reliable internet connection) for those who cannot travel to Manila because of imposed restrictions, travel costs, or other reasons.
The call for applications to the Travel Grant Programme will be open until May 16,12:00 UTC.
It is fundamental to read all the information on this page before submitting an application.
For applicants
This section sets out the benefits of a Travel Grant to attend SotM 2025 and the process and criteria by which applicants will be selected. The TGP is administered by the State of the Map Organizing Committee.
Travel Grants
The Travel Grant will include a full conference ticket and a lump-sum contribution towards travel, accommodation and other expenses.
There will be five (5) different sizes of travel grants available:
Category
Grant Size
Likely Used For
Expected number of winners
A
£ 20
Applicants from the Manila metro area
5
B
£ 215
Applicants from Philippines and Southeast Asia (Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Brunei, East Timor, Indonesia or Singapore)
The size and number of grants may be adjusted at the discretion of the Organizing Committee, depending upon the level of funding raised and the number of applications received. Applicants will only be able to apply for one size of travel grant, and they should apply for the grant depending on their country of residence. The World Bank rating is available online
Anyone applying for more than one grant will be excluded from the application process.
For categories C, D and E, a maximum of 2 winners will be chosen for each country of origin.
Online Attendance Support Grant
For those interested in attending the conference remotely but with limited internet connectivity, smaller grants will be made available to subsidise the cost of purchasing mobile data passes. The size of each grant will vary depending on the country and mobile data packages available, but it’s expected not to exceed £ 30.
With an estimated 1GB per hour of streaming videos in HD quality (720p), it’s expected that a maximum of 40GB will be sufficient to cover the entire conference. Arrangements will be made with grant recipients to purchase the data packages directly or to transfer the amount needed via mobile money.
Criteria
In order to guarantee a transparent and fair allocation of funds, the travel grant programme uses a points system for ranking applications. Points are awarded if applicants match specific criteria. After the application phase is over, all applicants are ranked by points, and the applicants with the most points will receive funding.
Please note that the travel grant programme aims to enhance diversity at the conference. We might reserve a few programme spots for people with unique and outstanding applications. However, most programme spots will solely be determined by the point ranking.
To ensure the participation of OSM contributors who have not attended any in-person SOTM conference, the in-person Travel Grant winners of the previous two SOTM (SOTM 2024 Nairobi and SOTM 2022 Firenze) will not be eligible for this Travel Grant.
Furthermore, once the ranking has been drawn up and the scholarships assigned based on it. The next two people for each grant size will be informed of their position. If one of the first winners communicates by the 22nd of August that he will not be able to participate, the scholarship will be provided to the people who are in this second ranking. However, those people will receive a free online ticket to attend the conference virtually. Moreover, if they will be able to attend the conference in person, they could receive a free ticket if they provide support volunteering.
Applicants receive points for the following criteria:
Applicants who are currently living in Low-income economies receive 1.5 points.
Applicants who are currently living in Lower-middle-income economies receive 1 point.
Applicants who are currently living in Upper-middle-income economies receive 0.5 points.
Applicants who are currently living in High-income economies receive 0 points.
Gender and Minorities
In order to create a more diverse community, women and applicants from other underrepresented groups will receive 2 points. The minority criteria will be considered with respect to the other candidates of the same category.
Students
Students, including PhD students, receive 1 point. You may be asked to provide evidence of enrollment.
First State of the Map
Applicants who attend SotM for the first time receive 1 point.
Amount required The expected cost amount requested is to indicate in pounds sterling (£). Applications without an explicit request of the amount required will not be considered. The minimum between the expected cost and the grant size based on the residence country will be assigned.
OpenStreetMap and Community Details of their past contributions to OpenStreetMap projects or community activities: up to a total of 4 points. Up to 2 points for mapping activities based on your OpenStreetMap username and up to 2 points for other contributions to the project as you will describe.
You & OpenStreetMap
Present the most valuable experience, mapping activities, or community moment that describes the travel grant experience in the OpenStreetMap world. This is not the call for participation; the call will be open, and there will be the possibility to submit talks and workshops. So, this is not an instrument to present talks; you are invited to participate in the call for talks and workshops if you would like to present your activities. Please provide a short abstract about what you would like to present, with a maximum length of 100 words. No points; the abstract will be used as a discriminant for the final decision.
Volunteering
The travel grant winners will be asked to volunteer for a time proportional to 1/3 or less of the conference length, depending on the number of other volunteers. Indicate the roles that you are confident to do: Live Video Cutting, Remote/Pre-Recorded Talk Assistant, Session Assistant and Venueless Assistant (only for remote grants). For more detailed info on the roles, see the wiki pages of volunteers for SotM 2024. No points.
Payment
You must be able to fund the direct costs of your travel to SotM and be in possession of a valid passport and entry visa and other documents (for example, vaccinations). Successful applicants will receive a conference pass and become eligible for reimbursement of expenses up to the limit of the travel grant when they check in at the conference registration desk. Reimbursement of expenses will be by electronic means (details to be advised). Reimbursement may take up to two months after the conference date, provided that the travel grantee has submitted all the necessary information before the conference commences.
Only in the case of demonstrated needs and exceptional cases will the travel grant amount be provided in advance or used to cover specific travel costs directly.
How to Apply
If you wish to be considered for a SotM travel grant, please fill out the application form.
All data will be held confidential and only used for assessing TGP applications. Please ensure that the email address that you provide is regularly monitored, as the selection committee may wish to seek clarification of responses. If no replies have been provided to requests via mail for the Travel Grant Committee within 5 days, the Travel Grant will be removed from you and assigned to the next applicants in the ranking.
Applications must be received by the May 16 at 12:00 UTC.
The selection committee will aim to notify recipients of grants by the May 31.
Supporting the Travel Grant Programme
The travel grant programme is funded through the State of the Map Sponsors.
The State of the Map Working Group
The State of the Map conference is the annual, international conference of OpenStreetMap, organised by the OpenStreetMap Foundation. 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.
OpenStreetMap was founded in 2004 and is an international project to create a free map of the world. To do so, we, thousands of volunteers, collect data about roads, railways, rivers, forests, buildings and a lot more worldwide. Our map data can be downloaded for free by everyone and used for any purpose – including commercial usage. It is possible to produce your own maps which highlight certain features, to calculate routes etc. OpenStreetMap is increasingly used when one needs maps which can be very quickly, or easily, updated.
Official OpenStreetMap logo by Ken Vermette, CC-BY-SA 3.0 & trademarks apply.
We want to notify OpenStreetMap Foundation members about an important recent change in the renewal process for memberships set to be automatically renewed via PayPal, and how it may affect you.
If you had enabled the automatic renewal of your membership via PayPal, you must have received an email from PayPal stating: “We stop all recurring payments of all members to prevent inadvertent double payment”. We confirm that, for the time being, OSM Foundation members will need to renew their membership manually.
Reason for the change
The Membership Working Group has decided to stop automatic email renewals via PayPal for all members for now. This decision was made because many payments do not register automatically, leading to incorrect reminder emails that confuse and annoy members and can result in double payments. Over the past two years, we have been unable to resolve this issue, and managing problems with automatic renewals requires significant volunteer time, which we currently lack.
While automatic renewals offer convenience and ensure that your membership remains active without any interruption, given the current challenges, we have had to disable this feature.
Manual renewal process
Until we find a proper solution, all membership renewals will need to be done manually. We understand that this may cause some inconvenience, and we appreciate your understanding. We have set up an automatic reminder system and you will likely receive automatic email reminders before your membership is due to end.
The automatic reminder emails sent four and two weeks before your membership ends, will contain a link which you can use to renew. You will also get additional reminders if you let your membership lapse, spaced out over several months.
Fill the email address associated with your OSM Foundation membership, if you have multiple email addresses.
Have the OpenStreetMap user name ready that shall fulfill the baseline activity requirement . If you have an Active Contributor Membership with your membership fee waived via mapping contributions (so you are not affected by this issue with auto-renewals), you still need to have at least 42 mapping days in the past 365 days at the time of your membership renewal.
To ensure that your membership remains active, we strongly advise you to:
Add a reminder about your need to renew the membership to your personal calendar, and
Check that you receive a confirmation email after manually renewing.
Questions about your membership?
If you have questions about your membership, please email us at membership@osmfoundation.org, from the email address associated with the membership. Please note that we are just a few volunteers, dedicating our free personal time to Foundation issues, so there might be some delay in the replies.
We need your help
Additionally, we are looking for volunteers to help with various tasks, including managing issues with membership renewals. You can read more information about what we do here. If you are interested in volunteering your time, please let us know at mwg@osmfoundation.org with subject “Helping the Membership Working Group”. Your support would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you for your continued support to OpenStreetMap and for your membership.
Do you want to translate this and other blogposts in your language…? Please email communication@osmfoundation.org with subject: Helping with translations in [your language]
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 a very small core staff are the primary support for the OpenStreetMap project. Join the OpenStreetMap Foundation for just £15 a year or for free if you are an active OpenStreetMap contributor.
Last December, I had the privilege of attending State of the Map Latin America (SOTM LATAM) in Belém, Brazil. I want to first share my gratitude to the entire community. I may be biased because I am latina myself, but latinos sure know how to make one feel loved and welcomed.
This was my first time at SOTM LATAM, and I was deeply inspired by the energy, passion, and dedication of the OpenStreetMap (OSM) community in this region. The event showcased an impressive array of presentations and workshops, from mapping remote areas of the Amazon to using innovative tools and techniques for open mapping. I am so grateful to everyone who shared their work and insights, broadening my understanding of the challenges and opportunities in Latin America.
As a Director of the OpenStreetMap Foundation (OSMF), I had the opportunity to present about the role of the OSMF, the purpose of the Board of Directors, and how we strive to support the global OSM community. Engaging directly with attendees highlighted how essential it is for the OSMF to maintain stronger connections with regional communities. I was surprised to learn that this was the first time an OSMF Board member had attended a SOTM LATAM. Representation matters, and I am committed to ensuring this is not the last time. Strengthening our communication channels with the LATAM community is vital, and I am eager to build more meaningful and consistent engagement.
Open Conversations with the Community
A key part of this experience was the opportunity to hear directly from participants. During the event, an open online collaborative document page was shared, allowing attendees to express their thoughts, feedback, and even grievances with the Board. Some of the valuable insights included:
Regional Representation on the Board: There were discussions around creating dedicated Board seats for representatives from different regions to ensure equitable representation, particularly for communities that may struggle to gain sufficient global votes.
Lack of Awareness of Working Groups: Many attendees expressed that they were unaware of the existence and functions of OSMF Working Groups. Promoting these groups and encouraging participation from Latin American communities could strengthen regional representation and collaboration.
First Formal Board Presence: For many, this was the first time they had the opportunity to hear directly from a Board member. The engagement was positively received, and it was clear that there is a desire for more consistent interaction between the OSMF and Latin American communities.
Recognizing Regional Entities: Some established and active communities in the region are not formally recognized as official OSM chapters. This can create challenges in accessing grants and participating in global events. Greater support from the OSMF could bridge this gap.
Building Strategic Partnerships: Participants highlighted the potential for OSMF to collaborate with independent media organizations in Latin America, especially within data journalism, indigenous journalism, and environmental reporting. Strengthening these connections could increase OSM visibility and promote responsible use of open geospatial data.
Funding for Training and Capacity Building: Accessing financial resources for training journalists and other community members on OSM tools was identified as a critical need. Expanding funding opportunities for local projects could accelerate mapping efforts and amplify the impact of OSM data.
Moving Forward
The feedback shared during SOTM LATAM was invaluable. Meaningful participation and representation of all regions are essential for the growth and success of OpenStreetMap. We need to be more engaged with this and all communities. If you have any suggestions our communication channels (1;2;3;4 ) are always open.
To everyone I had the pleasure of meeting, thank you for your warm welcome and for sharing your perspectives. If you have further questions, comments, or feedback about the event or the OSMF, please feel free to reach out. ¡Obrigada, SOTM LATAM!
SOTM LATAM 2025 I’d like to also share with you all that SOTM LATAM 2025 will be in Medellin, Colombia from September 4th-6th. This is a great opportunity for all to get to know this amazing OSM Community and learn about the inspiring work they are doing.
Whether you’re passionate about maps, data, or shaping the future of OpenStreetMap (OSM), the community is always looking for your inspiring ideas! Why not sharing them during State of the Map 2025
The call for participation of SotM 2025, taking place in Manila, Philippines, on October 3 – 5, is now open! The programme committee is ready and waiting, eager to unwrap your submissions for talks, workshops, and panels. These sessions aren’t just part of the conference; they’re its beating heart, driving conversations and sparking ideas that resonate worldwide. Presenting your work, projects and ideas at SotM is also a great way to get in touch with the wider OSM community.
Tracks
Sessions can be submitted for the following tracks:
OSM Basics – Information dedicated to newcomers
Community and Foundation – Bringing people together, working group experiences, strategies & vision
Mapping – All about making the mapping easier and better
Cartography – Your ideas on how to create good-looking presentations of the OSM dataset
Software Development – Software for processing and editing data
Data Analysis & Data Model – Reflections about the OSM data, its model and analysis of quality and completeness
User Experiences – Stories of using OSM and its data as a user
Education – How you use OSM in an educational context
If your submission doesn’t seem to fit into one of these tracks, don’t worry – as long as it is clearly related to OpenStreetMap, you’re perfectly fine if you simply choose the track that feels to fit best.
Academic Track at SotM 2025
In addition to this general call for participation, there will again be a proper academic track with a separate CfP, which will be announced later. So, if you’re knee-deep in the captivating world of OpenStreetMap, stay tuned for the official call: The working group is eagerly awaiting the most riveting insights and groundbreaking results from your studies. Get your research hats on, gather your data, and prepare to submit the best of your studies.
Stay tuned for more news about the State of the Map 2025! See you later this year in Manila, Philippines, and online!
The State of the Map Working Group
Do you want to translate this and other blogposts in your language…? Please email communication@osmfoundation.org with subject: Helping with translations in [your language]
The State of the Map conference is the annual, international conference of OpenStreetMap, organised by the OpenStreetMap Foundation. 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.
OpenStreetMap was founded in 2004 and is an international project to create a free map of the world. To do so, we, thousands of volunteers, collect data about roads, railways, rivers, forests, buildings and a lot more worldwide. Our map data can be downloaded for free by everyone and used for any purpose – including commercial usage. It is possible to produce your own maps which highlight certain features, to calculate routes etc. OpenStreetMap is increasingly used when one needs maps which can be very quickly, or easily, updated.
The Philippines is made up of more than 7,000 islands, and there are more than 7,000 reasons to love it! We are delighted to share that the State of the Map global conference will be coming to Manila, Philippines, from 3 to 5 October 2025. This is a historic moment for Southeast Asia as this will be the first global SotM in the region.
The OSM Philippines community warmly invites passionate OSM contributors—mappers, data enthusiasts, developers, and community organizers and members from all around the world—to celebrate the spirit of collaboration and open mapping, look back to where we came from, look closely at where we are now, and look forward to where we would like to be next.
Following the positive feedback for the past two conferences post-pandemic, the upcoming State of the Map 2025 will once again be held in a hybrid format. We are committed to making SotM even more inclusive and accessible, bringing in new voices and new faces, to participate in this open mapping festivity.
Save the date! Stay tuned via our website, 2025.stateofthemap.org, for more updates on speakers, agenda, ticketing, and how to get involved as the event draws closer. Let’s gather our ideas, pack our maps, and gear up for a one-of-a-kind mappy experience at State of the Map 2025 in Manila!
Interested in sponsoring SotM 2025?
We invite you to become a valued partner in the mapping revolution by supporting the State of the Map 2025 conference! By collaborating with us, you will be contributing to the advancement of open data, community engagement, and mapping innovation. Your support will play a crucial role in shaping the future of OpenStreetMap and will provide your organization with unparalleled exposure within the global mapping community.
For further information or to discuss customized sponsorship packages, please contact our sponsorship team at sponsor-sotm [at] openstreetmap [dot] org.
Announcing our SotM 2025 Logo
We would like to thank everyone who took part in the SotM 2025 Call for Logo! We received more than 15 proposals from creative contributors from all over the world!
…however, only one design will be the new face of this year’s conference!
Congratulations to Andi Muhlis for submitting the winning logo inspired by the iconic jeepney of Manila, which embodies the vibrant spirit and creativity of the Philippines.
The logo features a stylized jeepney, paying homage to local cultural heritage. A detailed segment of the Manila map is also prominently displayed, symbolizing our commitment to the global mapping community. The design seamlessly integrates traditional and modern elements, reflecting Manila’s unique character.
OpenStreetMap Philippines Local Organizing Team for SotM 2025 and the SotM Working Group
Starting from the top: Long-time OSM supporters, ESRI, Meta and Microsoft have joined TomTom at the Platinum giving level. The Platinum tier is suggested for companies for which map applications are core to their business; and/or they have a product that depends on OSM data and/or revenue in the hundreds of millions.
Five new names now appear as supporters at the Silver giving level: global gaming and AR company Niantic, QGIS, calimoto, Mapy.cz, and ioki. Silver is recommended for companies who use OSM data in a product or service and have revenue in the millions.
“OpenStreetMap Foundation’s community-driven approach helps keep the map of the world as accurate as possible. As map lovers and builders ourselves, we are excited to help support the OSMF mission” – Yennie Solheim, Niantic Director of Social Impact
E–Smart, which specializes in dynamic speed management, and LANDCLAN, offering location intelligence data and tools, are new joiners at the Bronze level. Interline, a transportation network consultancy, and Verso, developing route optimization software, both upgraded their membership from Supporter to Bronze.
And Infrageomatics, offering location intelligence derived from open source infrastructure data, has joined as new Supporting member.
The OSM Foundation has recently received investment from the Sovereign Tech Fund to ensure the stability, growth and modernization of OpenStreetMap’s core software. In this context we are looking for a OSM core software development facilitator who will help the growing team of developers of the OpenStreetMap core software to coordinate and organise their work.
Please submit your application to the OSM Foundation Personnel Committee at pc@osmfoundation.org. Include CV, cover letter, and/or examples of work as attachments. Applications will be accepted until January 21, 2025.
In the role of facilitator, you will help the developers with prioritising and organising the work around the software development for the core OpenStreetMap database infrastructure. The work is mainly centered around the openstreetmap-website project and its C++ implementation openstreetmap-cgimap but also includes smaller “satellite” projects for providing data dumps and updates.
Your role is to organise communication with the OSM community to ensure visibility on the development work and to establish a space for the community to contribute productively. You will be responsible for managing the budget assigned to core development work. In that you will work closely with the OSMF Engineering Working Group and regularly report to the OSMF board.
Scope of work / responsibilities
The facilitator plans, coordinates and contributes to
taking stock of the current state of the core OSM software stack, state of development, current issues and possible future developments
clarifying together with developers what expectations for contributions are and ensuring accessible documentation
developing a light-weight roadmap plan as guideline for current and future contributors
creating a space for volunteers from the developing and general community to contribute productively
identification of areas where paid support can assist the volunteer developers
hiring and supervising of one or more persons to take on a supportive maintainer role
communication within the group of developers, with developers and maintainers from interrelated software projects, the OSMF and the OSM community at large
The facilitator will be expected to take a leading role in shaping these tasks in close collaboration with the existing maintainers and developers, to ensure a modus operandi that works for all involved.
Profile
The successful candidates should have prior experience in management in an engineering project. Ideally they have also some experience with
participating in open source projects, as developers and/or in a managing role
mentoring other developers and working with volunteers
working with OpenStreetMap and its community
Good communication skills are essential and you should enjoy working with developers with many different backgrounds. You should be able to work independently and self-directed and be able to shape your own role within a group of highly motivated and engaged volunteers.
Employment/contracting structure
Location: 100% Remote
The STF project is expected to start in January 2025.
The facilitator position will be a contractor position and is funded for 2 years with a total budget of 175 working days. We expect the facilitator to be more active in the first year, when they get to know the team and projects. At the end of the funding period, the OSMF will evaluate the impact and benefit of the facilitator position and may decide to continue funding the role.
The person will work from their premises, and determine their own schedule. The OpenStreetMap Foundation is a global organisation; working with people in different time zones and handling related scheduling constraints is expected.
We are thrilled to announce that the OpenStreetMap Foundation has been selected by the Sovereign Tech Agency for a service agreement in the amount of 384,000 EUR over two years to ensure the stability, growth and modernization of OpenStreetMap’s core software.
The Sovereign Tech Fund — a program of the newly established Sovereign Tech Agency — invests in the development, improvement, and maintenance of open digital base technologies worldwide. OpenStreetMap is a global, collaborative, open source intiative, providing vital geospatial data for public use, private sector services, humanitarian response, and an incredible number of diverse applications. OSM has become the global infrastructure for digital map data.
The commissioned work will focus on updating and modernizing code to current standards, and enhancing volunteer contributions through improved documentation and testing infrastructure. It will also identify ways OSM’s core infrastructure can improve, including forward-looking research in topics potentially like responding to vandalism and new ways to interact with OSM data.
As a result of this contract, OSMF will be creating two new roles. The first role to be recruited will be the OSM Core Software Development Facilitator. They will help the growing team of developers of the OpenStreetMap core software to coordinate and organise their work, establish a space for the community to contribute productively, and ensure good communication across the community.
Watch this space for a job position in early January and consider applying or sharing it with a good candidate.
The OSMF board is grateful to the Sovereign Tech Agency for their investment at a critical moment of growth for OpenStreetMap.
The OpenStreetMap Foundation Board is excited to announce Meta has made a major contribution of 178,710 Euros to support the OpenStreetMap community and core infrastructure. This critical funding is directed to OSM operations and infrastructure, and helping to bring the OSM community together around the world.
The major part of these funds will be directed to meet growing user and data demand, and improve our technical infrastructure and software development. A portion of the funds have already been deployed to sponsor the global State of the Map in Nairobi, and over a half dozen regional and local OSM events around the world. And Meta steps up to a Platinum Corporate Membership, a commitment to OSM in the years ahead.
Meta contributes and participates in OSM in multifaceted ways. Their editors have had particular focus on detecting and fixing errors and vandalism. Meta develops the Rapid editor to enable human-in-the-loop AI assisted mapping. Meta’s Mapillary platform has collected and made available street level imagery for OSM for years, a super valuable resource for mapping. Recently, Meta has focused on pedestrian mapping, engaging the OSM community to improving data like sidewalks and crosswalks.
The OSMF Board is grateful for Meta’s donation and the many contributions to OpenStreetMap.
The OSMF welcomes in-kind support, as well as financial support for OSM’s technical development, operations, and community:
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 a very small core staff are the primary support for the OpenStreetMap project. Join the OpenStreetMap Foundation for just £15 a year or for free if you are an active OpenStreetMap contributor.
