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.

Additionally, I’d like to ask our sponsors and contributors to consider becoming sponsors of this event. This is an amazing opportunity to become involved and support the Latin American Community. You can find more information here: https://www.osmlatam.org/2025/03/22/convocatoria-a-patrocinios-sotm-latam-2025/

Dani Waltersdorfer
OpenStreetMap Foundation board

The OpenStreetMap Poland Association is pleased to invite all members of the OSM community to the State of the Map Europe 2024 conference, to be held in Łódź, Poland, from 18–21 July 2024. In addition to many interesting presentations and talks, it will be an opportunity to meet, discuss and exchange experiences.

Conference tickets

Conference tickets can be purchased at: https://tobilet.pl/state-of-the-map-europe-2024.html

Traveling and accommodation

If you would like some advice on how to get to the conference, and suggestions for accommodation, we have compiled some information at: https://stateofthemap.eu/accommodation.html

If you have questions about traveling to Poland or you would like to ask something else related to the conference, you can write at: https://community.openstreetmap.org/t/invitation-to-the-state-of-the-map-europe-2024/114661

Volunteering

As you know, ’State of the Map Europe’ is a non-profit event, and for organizational purposes we need people who can help us on a volunteer basis.

During the event, we will need volunteers who will be ready to support us in Łódź — mainly on the premises of the Łódź University of Technology (unless other requirements are mentioned). To check what we need and what we offer in return, please see this page: https://stateofthemap.eu/volunteering.html For volunteers from outside Łódź, a limited accommodation will be available.

We are looking forward to seeing you at the conference!

OSM Poland board

OpenStreetMap Poland is a Local Chapter of the OpenStreetMap Foundation, which supports the OpenStreetMap project.

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.

Are you living in Argentina or visiting in October?

Mark the following days on your calendar: 23-28th of October 2017!

The OpenStreetMap and FOSS4G communities will meet at a combined event in Buenos Aires, for six days full of geomatics workshops, presentations, exhibitions and interactions, ending on Saturday, October 28th, with a mapathon and hackathon day!

Are you interested? Read the detailed program.

The conference will take place at the National Geographic Institute in Buenos Aires, where many OpenStreetMap related events are hosted.

The Argentinian OSM community is very lively and you can get a glimpse of it at this recent interview on the OpenCage data blog.

You can follow the conference news on the various social media (see the image above) and the related hashtag is #foss4gAR.

Let’s meet in Argentina!

We invite you to join State of the Map Asia 2017 on September 23-24 in Kathmandu, Nepal.

State of the Map Asia (SotM-Asia) is the annual regional conference of OpenStreetMap organized by OSM communities in Asia. The first SotM-Asia was organized in Jakarta, Indonesia in 2015, and the second was organized in Manila, Philippines in 2016.

This year’s conference, the third in the series, is going to be organized on September 23 – 24, 2017, at Park Village Resort, Budhanilkantha, Kathmandu – an oasis of tranquil greenery in the midst of Nepal’s crowded urban Kathmandu.

The event aims to bring together around 200 OpenStreetMap enthusiasts from Asia and beyond. The event will provide an opportunity to share knowledge and experience among mappers; expand their network; and generate ideas to expand the map coverage of the Asian continent. The theme we have chosen for this year’s meeting is ‘from creation to use’ of OSM data. This theme has been chosen as in the last decade there has been significant growth in the amount of data generated, however Asia still lags behind several other continents in terms of making use of this data. We believe that this decade will see a dramatic growth in the geospatial sector and in the ways people will utilize OSM data. Furthermore, this event will deepen the bond and enhance collaboration among the scattered OSM communities of the largest continent.

You can refer to http://stateofthemap.asia for more details and updates.

Features

The conference will feature remote keynote address from Kate Chapman (Chairperson of OpenStreetMap Foundation), and keynote speeches from Dr. Lee Schwartz (Geographer of the United States of America) and Prof. Taichi Furuhashi (professor at Aoyamagakuin University and President of CrisisMappers Japan).

We are proud to announce that one of the major highlights of this year’s State of the Map Asia will be 15 country presentations, representing all regions of Asia (Central, Eastern, Northern, Southern, South-Eastern and Western). The conference will also feature presentations ranging from Creation to Use of OpenStreetMap Data and several parallel sessions featuring speakers working in diverse fields such as disaster, governance, entrepreneurship and fine arts. Finally, a special government panel, featuring high level government officials from Southern Asia, will discuss creation and use of OSM data and how government is working to officially recognize OSM data as a source of service delivery.

Participation

Kathmandu Living Labs, this year’s conference hosts, has been able to secure full scholarships for more than twenty OSM Asia community members and an additional five partial scholarships.

The conference is free to attend for all OSM community members, and registrations can be made using this form. Park Village Resort, the conference hotel, has provided discounted conference rates for participants. Conference rates apply only for registrations made through this form.

Autumn is one of the best seasons to visit Nepal. Dashain -Nepal’s most celebrated festival- also falls during this time and we encourage all people to participate in the festivities after the workshop.

We are looking forward to see you in Kathmandu on September 23-24, 2017!

The organizers of SotM-Asia 2017