The OpenStreetMap Foundation (OSMF) Board of Directors is excited to share this blog post with all of our community members. From June 6th-7th, members of the Board of Directors Craig Allan (Chair), Dani Waltersdorfer Jimenez (Secretary), Roland Olbricht (Treasurer), Héctor Ochoa Ortiz, Laura Mugeha, Maurizio Napolitano, and facilitator Allen Gunn (also known as Gunner), met for two full working days in Madrid to discuss and tackle priorities and action items that need to be accomplished in the next 12 months. Amongst the discussed topics are a fundraising campaign, the “reviving” of the Communications Working Group (CWG), a new job posting which will be shared in the next coming months, the OSMF move to the European Union (EU), the launch of an Artificial Intelligence (AI) policy, and other topics. It is truly a pleasure to work with a team that is aligned on shared values including trust and respect, who are pushing for the success of a shared passion: the OpenStreetMap project. It must be noted however, that all of this could not have been possible without the leadership, patience, and tremendous organizational skills of Gunner who has been the OSMF facilitator for over 10 years. Thank you, Gunner!
What made this meeting particularly special is that we had the honor and pleasure of working from the TomTom offices in Madrid. We want to truly highlight our gratitude for TomTom for sharing their space with us, and most of all, we want to give a big shout-out to Priscilla Zachée for spending her weekend with us.
Face-to-face meetings are unlike others. For those who don’t know, us Board Members live in different countries all over the globe, so having the opportunity to work together, “ideate”, brainstorm, discuss tough topics, and enjoy our time together is quite treasured and important for us. And on the front of the importance of human connection, we promise to keep pushing forward the key that makes OpenStreetMap truly unique, unlike any other geospatial database out there: Our essence is our community.
We’d like to extend a thank you to all members of the community for your continued trust and passion for the OSM Project. We are always here for you should you have any questions or comments.
From 28th April to 1st May 2026, I attended the Geospatial World Forum (GWF) 2026, representing the OpenStreetMap Foundation. The GWF is an annual forum attended mostly by companies and public administration delegates in the geospatial domain. Henk Hoff, all the way back in 2013, was the last OSMF representative attending the GWF, when we received the award for “Geospatial Content Organisation of the year 2012”. So it was long overdue that OSM’s voice could be heard in this professional setting.
Aarti Holla-Maini, United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, speaking at the Opening Plenary. Own picture under CC-BY 4.0
This year’s theme was Sovereignty, Economy, Society. A theme greatly fitting to OSM’s mission: to collaboratively create open geospatial data, by everyone and for everyone. Data that allows reuse -including commercially-, and which runs on open source software. The forum included several days of talks and panels, and a tech and exhibition fair, where companies and governments could showcase their solutions and make business deals. OSM is integral to the solutions of many of the companies exhibiting, so directly talking with representatives of these organizations is relevant, to explain how important it is to contribute back to the ecosystem, so it can be kept sustainable over time.
Sovereignty, but not isolation, was one of the main ideas mentioned during the event. As we need to collaborate in an evolving and uncertain world, both politically and also technologically with the rise of AI agents, while keeping the infrastructure that powers so many use cases up and running, and stable for the years to come. OSM and the open-source software that powers it can be key to this, as shown by the recent decision by the French government to use a fork of OSM’s core infrastructure as its choice to renew the technology powering its Cadastral systems.
“OSM is more vibrant the more diverse its community is”, this is the main idea I shared at the panel I took part in. A panel that, paradogically, could and should have been more diverse. We need more, and more diverse, people and organizations to know how important it is to contribute to OSM and its ecosystem, so we can together build an accurate representation of our world. Contribution to the ecosystem does come in various forms: data, resources (people, money, time), community building, improving the technology that powers the project, and more. In that sense, communication goes a long way, and it is something that we are improving on at the Foundation, and we should keep aiming for. Thanks to Geospatial World for allowing us to participate in the forum, so the OpenStreetMap voice could be heard in these professional events.
Panel “Embedding GKI into Digital Public Infrastructure: Connecting Digital Systems to Physical Reality”. Own picture under CC-BY 4.0
WaterwayMap.org displays how waterways in OpenStreetMap (OSM) are connected, helping mappers find and fix tagging mistakes. The site maintains a river database based entirely on OSM data and is used as a reference source by entities like Wikipedia. The grant covers approximately one year of web hosting costs for this service. (Read more.)
Map Review Team
The Map Review Team project supports teams of mappers in collaboratively reviewing changes to the map within a specific geographical area. Its grant will support integrating with existing OSM tools and APIs, such as WhoDidIt and OSM Notes, to gather event data. A key feature is the introduction of an “approval” status, allowing teams to focus their efforts on changes that have not yet been reviewed by another team member. (Read more.)
Field Tasking Manager
HOT (Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team) will use their grant to enhance their Field Tasking Manager (FieldTM) tool. Their development focuses on improving OSM integration by creating compatible survey forms and developing a robust conflation workflow to merge field-verified data with existing OSM data. The plan includes partnering with a local OSM community/university chapter in a priority country to test the tool and field-verify a city’s data. (Read more)
UseOSM
Developed by the Unpatterned Lab team, UseOSM hels discover unused opportunities in OSM data. Its platform is live at useosm.org but is not fully operational. The launch is projected to be in January 2026. (Read more)
OSM Apps Catalog
The OSM Apps Catalog helps people discover apps that use OpenStreetMap. The grant will be used to redesign the landing page to look more like an app store, including: What’s new, daily featured apps; Language support; new categories and improved search; and a support/donate (to apps accessed) function. View the current platform at osm-apps.org. (Read more.)
StreetComplete
The StreetComplete team will use the grant to help encourage users to be more involved in the OSM community. They are working on ways to notify about nearby community events, list local community channels, and integrate Weekly OSM news. (Read more)
OpenStreetMap Stats Generator
OpenStreetMap Stats Generator reports stats about user contributions in mapping campaigns. They will use the grant to revamp the project after some years of not being maintained. The’ll move from Planet files to Parquet and are targeting SotM 2026 for the working version release. (Read More)
On 4-6 September, we attended the State of the Map Latam 2025, the Latin American OpenStreetMap conference. This year marked the 7th edition, taking place for the first time in Colombia, in the vibrant city of Medellín. Medellín has been a model of urban transformation and community-led projects in the last couple of decades, with the conference venue being a perfect example of this. The Parque Biblioteca San Javier was the first Library Park to be built, a project aimed at bringing green, cultural, and educational spaces to the less affluent districts of the city.
Parque Biblioteca San Javier surroundings in Panoramax
Day 1
Day 1 started with the welcome speech by Juan Arellano and Andrés Gómez from the Organizing Committee. Afterward, we enjoyed a live performance of traditional Colombian dances, courtesy of Ballet Nacional El Firulete.
We at the OSMF had the privilege of conducting the first keynote presentation. Most attendees were unfamiliar with the Foundation and its role prior to the event, so attending events like this is a great way to spread awareness and diversify our membership.
The second keynote was presented by TomTom, one of the two event sponsors (the other being Geoapify). We thank all the sponsors who make this and other community events possible, as well as for their continuous support of the OpenStreetMap project.
Ballet Nacional El Firulete dancing Cumbia1OSMF Keynote2
After lunch, the program continued with the talk from Trufi, on how OpenStreetMap can be used for mapping Public Transport, and become the foundation of MaaS in the Global South. Informal transport is a common occurrence in many parts of the world, yet knowing where these routes go can be a challenge for both users and planning authorities. The day continued with a discussion on the future of Humanitarian Mapping after the stopping of USAID funding. Parallel to these two sessions, attendees could also take a guided visit to the neighbourhood around the event location, accompanied by social entities.
To conclude the day, we took part in the General Assembly of OSM Latam for three hours, which included a lengthy discussion on the challenges both the region and OSM face in the future. Following the official program, we continued to have dinner together and celebrated the 15th anniversary of HOT.
The second day featured a diverse range of talks and workshops, with up to four sessions running in parallel! Since it is impossible to discuss all of them, we encourage you to explore the program and contact the authors of the talks of interest to you.
The topics discussed during the day were categorized into Governance and Community, Risk Management, OSM Data, OSM Tech, Informal Settlements, Amazonia, Academic Talks, and Workshops. Community partnerships are a cornerstone of the Latin American mapping community, where making a social impact and strengthening the social fabric are among the most important aspects of mapping, a characteristic that is very present in the day’s talks.
Risk management panel discussion, showcasing experiences in Peru, Mexico, Colombia and Ecuador4natural=tree survey mapping workshop5
From gender representation in the OSM community to localized geocoding, from social justice slum mapping to student training and engagement, from indigenous mapping to infrastructure and risk mapping, from storytelling to public transport maps. A blog post cannot do justice to the use cases and social transformations the Latam community is creating. An engagement that is possible through the power and openness of OpenStreetMap.
We invite you to review the slides from each talk and workshop in this Commons category.
Merchandise and snack exchange table. Shout out to the volunteers who make it all possible!6
After the event, we continued on to socialize and have dinner together.
Day 3
Day 3, the final day of the conference, started strongly, with four parallel talks already scheduled in the first allocated slot. This day featured more technical talks compared to day 2, with topics categorized into the following areas: Public Transport, OSM Tech, Governance and Community, Trees and Forests, Pedestrian Mapping, OSM Data and Use Cases, Academic Talks, and Workshops.
From OSMCha to OpenHistoricalMap, from OSM and Wikidata integration to mapping with OSMTracker, from sidewalk mapping to Python, and from YouthMappers to Government collaboration. The exchange of technical knowledge is an important way to connect ideas and use cases with the tools that can bring them to life. Additionally, the engagement of the younger generation and governmental entities is crucial to the long-term sustainability of the data in the region.
Sidewalks as a separate geometry, or as attributes on the street?7Youth panel discussion8
A personal highlight of the day was the drone imagery workshop. Most Latin American countries lack high-quality government mapping imagery and, therefore, must rely on satellite imagery. But mappers took matters into their own hands to produce high-quality drone imagery to meet their surveying needs! And while the workshop was underway, we used the same drone to take the group pictures of the event; we were quite a crew!
Drone mapping workshop9Group picture, hands up and wave!10
The day then concluded with the event’s closure, which included the election of the venue for SotM Latam 2026. There was only one bid, but the attendees agreed it was a strong one. So see you in Mexico City in 2026, ¡órale!
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
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SotM-Latam-2025_Show5-9.jpg by Andrés Gómez “Angoca” under CC-BY ↩︎
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SotM-Latam-2025_OSMF2.jpg by Andrés Gómez “Angoca” under CC-BY ↩︎
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SotM-Latam-2025_15a%C3%B1osHOTOSM2.jpg by Andrés Gómez “Angoca” under CC-BY ↩︎
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SotM_Latam_2025_-_d%C3%ADa_2_-_imagen_20.jpg by Héctor Ochoa Ortiz “Robot8A” under CC-BY-SA ↩︎
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:TallerMapeoTree_SotMLatam2025.jpg by Paul Dassori “Pdassori” under CC-BY-SA ↩︎
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SotM_Latam_2025_-_d%C3%ADa_2_-_imagen_13.jpg by Héctor Ochoa Ortiz “Robot8A” under CC-BY-SA ↩︎
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SotM_Latam_2025_-_d%C3%ADa_3_-_imagen_17.jpg by Héctor Ochoa Ortiz “Robot8A” under CC-BY-SA ↩︎
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SotM-Latam-2025_Panel8-2.jpg by Andrés Gómez “Angoca” under CC-BY ↩︎
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SotM_Latam_2025_-_d%C3%ADa_3_-_imagen_36.jpg by Héctor Ochoa Ortiz “Robot8A” under CC-BY-SA ↩︎
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SotM-Latam-2025_participantes-6.jpg by Andrés Gómez “Angoca” under CC-BY ↩︎
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SotM_Latam_2025_-_d%C3%ADa_3_-_imagen_43.jpg by Héctor Ochoa Ortiz “Robot8A” under CC-BY-SA ↩︎
Hello all! My name is Pablo Brasero Moreno, a software engineer and long-time enthusiast of Open Source Software and Open Data. I am honoured and grateful to have been selected by the OSMF as Core Software Engineer, thanks the funds provided by the Sovereign Tech Agency.
At a personal level, I grew up in Seville, Spain. In 2004 I moved to the UK and, after living for many years in London, England, now I’m established in Belfast, Northern Ireland. In my own time I explore Northern Ireland with my family, read sci-fi novels, listen to heavy metal music, attend concerts, play bass guitar (badly), and try to learn languages (even more badly, currently attempting Mandarin Chinese). Did I mention I have a B1 certificate in Esperanto?
I have been involved in some capacity with Open Source Software since I first installed Linux in my computer in 1998, first contributing with Spanish translations (over email!), and later taking part in the OSS explosion brought by the creation of GitHub. I have worked with many technology stacks over my career, but for a long time the primary one has been Ruby on Rails. I have used Ruby in many environments, from helping clients bootstrap businesses out of napkin sketches, to participating in the architecture and growth of banking applications. Since 2019 I am a freelancer, and I cannot but feel so lucky to have been available at the time when OSMF announced this position.
Without being a huge contributor to OSM, I was aware of it at least as early as 2015, when I made my first edits while visiting Mexico. In the last couple of years I have started mapping playgrounds, as that strikes a balance between my interest to contribute and my family’s patience to wait for me while I fiddle on my phone.
I am not here to dictate what features should exist in the the OSM website, or what specific issues should be fixed. I am here to learn about the needs of the community, relieve the workload of the volunteers, support contributors new and old, provide reviews and guidance on software engineering questions, and overall help bring our collective vision of OSM to fruition.
You will be hearing from me soon, in the form of GitHub comments/issues/PRs, working with Minh Nguyễn with news and summaries related to development of the platform, talking to many of you directly in order to understand your points of view, and generally anywhere where I can help.
Official OSM logo by Ken Vermette, CC-BY-SA 3.0 & trademarks apply.
Voting for the 2025 board election has started. You can read the board candidates’ answers and manifestos here.
Emails were sent to eligible OSM Foundation members today, and link directly to the voting page – listing each candidate in random order and allowing you to rank the candidates in order of preference.
Eligibility to vote
You are eligible to vote in the election if
you have been a member for the full 90 days prior to the date of the Annual General Meeting(which will take place on 13 September 2025), and
your membership is not in arrears 7 days before the date of the Annual General Meeting, and
you are a natural person.
OpaVote voting email
If you are eligible to vote, the OpaVote email was sent to the email address associated with your OSM Foundation membership.
The subject of the email is: [OpenStreetMap Foundation] Voting on 2025 board election [some_random_letters]
The sender is: noreply at opavote.com
If you believe you should have received a voting email but can’t find it, please check your spam folder. If it’s still missing, send a message to the email addresses mentioned here.
The polls will remain open for one week, closing on Saturday 13 September 2025 at 16:00 UTC, when the Annual General Meeting (which you can join online) will commence. We kindly ask you to vote in advance.
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.
by Minh Nguyễn Core Software Development Facilitator, OpenStreetMap Foundation
In June, I had the privilege of representing OpenStreetMap as part of the Sovereign Tech Agency’s delegation at UN Open Source Week in New York City. Joining me was Sarah Hoffmann, who maintains several well-known OSM software projects. This was a unique opportunity to raise OSM’s profile among global institutional supporters of open source projects and promote best practices for fostering and sustaining authentic open source communities.
Among the open source projects represented at the event, OSM stands out as an open data project, giving us a special perspective on issues of governance and community-building. At the unconference-style “Maintain-A-Thon”, Sarah shared some of her deep experience as maintainer of Nominatim in discussing how to create accessible entry points for new contributors. A few steps away, I joined open source maintainers from around the world as we discussed our challenges in internationalizing our projects and communities to serve a more global audience.
(Meanwhile, Wikipedians onboarded a large group of new contributors at an editathon across the room. Maybe in the future we can carve out some space for a mapathon too.)
The UN’s Trusteeship Council room is full as an International Telecommunication Union official speaks before attendees at DPI Day.
As the discussion came around to topics such as contributor retention and developing governance models, I was struck by the familiar challenges that our various projects have faced, even though they’re in different fields and at such different stages of maturity.
How do we accommodate volunteers coexisting with paid developers and individuals coexisting with institutional partners?
How do we build a pipeline that transforms “takers” into “makers”?
How do we ensure that the community feels heard without allowing the project to fall victim to analysis paralysis?
It was fascinating to hear about the approaches that larger projects with institutional backing have taken, but our grassroots, decentralized structure would likely require some extra creativity. At least we’re in touch and can learn from each other going forward, since there are no magic solutions.
Just like at any OSM conference, the most interesting part was the hallway track. We had the privilege of meeting a number of representatives from open source program offices (OSPOs) in the public sector, civil society, and academia. Some had heard of OSM but only knew us as a map data vendor or some sort of alternative to Google Maps. It’s always fun to meet people who think they know about GIS and maps and introduce them to the very concept of a map rooted in a community. University OSPOs were particularly interested in our story, as OSM is a whole constellation of projects that use a variety of technologies. Here’s hoping something comes of that.
In the meantime, we have plenty of technical debt as well as some low-hanging fruit for improving how the projects run day to day. I’m excited about the opportunity to bring in a Core Software Engineer who over time can hopefully complement the irreplaceable efforts of our volunteers. Whether you’re a coder or not, there’s a place for you to thrive in OSM.
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
We are not accepting applications for this role at this point. Thank you to all who have applied.
OpenStreetMap powers maps and services used by millions of people around the world every day. To better support the community that makes this possible, the OpenStreetMap Foundation is seeking a dedicated mid- to senior-level software engineer with a passion for open data, collaborative software, and digital commons.
The ideal candidate is proficient in modern Web development (frontend and backend), experienced with open source collaboration, and comfortable working in public repositories with community feedback.
Your main responsibilities will focus on the openstreetmap.org website and its underlying API-a critical part of the infrastructure powering a global mapping movement. Your work will directly support an ecosystem of tools used by tens of thousands of contributors monthly, producing map data relied upon by millions worldwide.
You will collaborate closely with the OSMF’s Core Software Development Facilitator (CSDF). This position is made possible through funding from the Sovereign Tech Fund. We strongly encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds, especially those underrepresented in open source and geospatial communities.
Scope of work
The engineer will primarily contribute to the openstreetmap-website, with responsibilities divided into the following two categories:
Core Responsibilities
Analyze and understand the existing architecture and codebase of openstreetmap-website
Collaborate with the CSDF and project maintainers to define and prioritize development goals
Design and implement features that enhance the platform and empower community contributions
Triage and resolve issues reported by users and review incoming pull requests
Over time, the engineer may assume responsibility for deeper infrastructural areas and contribute to the long-term maintainability of the platform.
Collaboration & Communication
Maintain open and frequent communication with the CSDF and project maintainers through GitHub, mailing lists, and real-time chat
Participate in public discussions, support issue triage, and assist in release planning
Help document development workflows, decisions, and architecture changes
Profile
Required Qualifications
Proficiency with Ruby on Rails
At least 3 years of professional Web development or related software engineering experience
Experience working with large-scale, production-ready codebases (OpenStreetMap serves as much as 13 TB of data, growing all the time)
Experience collaborating in open source projects, working in public repositories, and engaging with contributors
Willingness to learn and use technologies in the stack as needed (e.g., JavaScript, SQL)
Preferred Qualifications
Previous contributions to OpenStreetMap (as a mapper or developer)
Enthusiasm for engaging with users of open source tools and platforms
Strong technical communication skills, especially in asynchronous, text-based environments (GitHub, chat)
Have previous experience with geospatial software and/or data
Contracting structure
Location: Remote (global)
This freelance/contractor position is available immediately, at approximately 80% time. It is funded through the end of 2026 by the Sovereign Tech Fund. Continuation will be evaluated based on impact and future funding availability.
The person will work from their premises and set their own schedule. However, your working hours will need to overlap at least minimally with those of the CSDF, who is based in the UTC–7/8 time zone. As the OSMF is a global organisation, working with people in different time zones and handling related scheduling constraints is expected. Communication will be in English.
To apply for this position, please send your CV with a cover letter to the OSMF Personnel Committee at pc@osmfoundation.org.
Have a bold, brilliant idea that could improve the OpenStreetMap (OSM) ecosystem? Got a vision for the future of OSM? Then we’ve got good news for you: the OpenStreetMap Foundation is thrilled to launch the 2025 edition of our Engineering Microgrants program!
This program is designed to support community members working on software projects that strengthen the OSM platform and ecosystem. We’re setting aside a total of £30,000, which may be distributed across several innovative and impactful projects. The per-project limit is £6,000, but if your idea goes beyond that, don’t hold back! The Engineering Working Group (EWG) may explore other funding avenues through the Foundation to help bring ambitious proposals to life. As such, we’d still encourage you to apply.
What’s the Process?
It’s simple and fair:
Submit your project idea via our GitHub template. This ensures transparency and reduces the chance of any conflicts of interest.
Our independent jury will review, score, and help select winning proposals through a multi-round process. Each idea will be reviewed not only for its score, but also for feasibility and implementation potential.
Pro tip: Before you hit submit, we strongly encourage all applicants to reach out to software maintainers if your idea touches existing tools, projects, or platforms. This helps align efforts, avoid duplications, and possibly even uncover opportunities for collaboration. If you need help identifying any software maintainers, you can contact the Engineering Working Group or the OSM Foundation Board, or ask directly on the announcement thread, so you can be put in contact with the correct parties.
Got questions? You can reply to the announcement thread, reach out to the jurors, or message the EWG directly. Jurors might also contact applicants during the review process if clarification is needed,so keep your inbox open.
We’re excited to see what you all come up with and submit! Whether it’s a tool to improve mapping workflows, enhancements to core OSM infrastructure, or entirely new ideas that fill a gap—we want to hear from you.
Submit your idea today and help shape the future of OpenStreetMap!
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
Official OSM logo by Ken Vermette, CC-BY-SA 3.0 & trademarks apply.
OpenStreetMap Foundation members will vote to elect a new board in September. There are seven seats on the foundation board and board members are volunteers. Board members typically serve for two years until their seat is up for re-election.
There will be at least three board seats available in this election: of Dani Waltersdorfer, Guillaume Rischard and Roland Olbricht, whose board terms are ending. The terms of Craig Allan, Héctor Ochoa Ortiz, Laura Mugeha and Maurizio Napolitano will continue.
The two main pages that have the information about the board election and the 2025 Annual General Meeting, which will take place on 2025-09-13, are:
A lot of the foundation’s work is done by the volunteers of our Working Groups, and if you want to help the foundation, you can also look at joining one of them.
Eligibility criteria
Any natural person may be elected to become a board member, provided that:
they have been a normal OSM Foundation member [1] or an associate member[2] during the full 180 days before the General Meeting, which will take place on 13 September 2025, and
have been a normal member for the full 28 days prior to the General Meeting, and
are willing to act as a board member, and
are permitted by law to do so.
[1] Normal members provide their full residential address and can vote on all issues. Their residential address may be disclosed to other members. [2] Associate members provide just their country of residence - which may also be disclosed to other members - and can vote - but not on all issues. Additionally, they cannot be board candidates.
If you want to find out the type of your OpenStreetMap Foundation membership (normal or associate), please check the most recent approval/renewal membership email or email the volunteers of the Membership Working Group at membership@osmfoundation.org from the email account associated with your OSM Foundation membership.
Submission of community questions to board candidates is now open
OSM Foundation members can submit questions to the board candidates on the OSM wiki until July 12 (“by end of day”, in UTC). An official set of questions, based on the community questions and questions from previous years, will be published on the page above by the facilitator, Brian Sperlongano, on July 26.
Resolutions proposed by OSM Foundation members
OSM Foundation members can submit resolutions and ask the membership to vote on them. The resolutions need to be supported by at least 5% of members eligible to vote, in order to be added to the ballots. Please read: Companies Act 2006: Members’ power to require circulation of written resolution. The deadline for providing the supported resolutions is the end of July 12 (in UTC).
How you can help
A few of the current and past board members have mentioned that the thought of being a candidate did not cross their mind until it was suggested to them. So, you might want to consider running for the board or suggesting it to others.
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
