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)	10
C	£ 675	Applicants from other Asian countries	8
D	£ 750	Applicants from other countries classified as High-income economies based on World Bank country rating by income	5
E	£ 1000	Applicants from other countries classified as Upper-middle-income economies or lower based on World Bank country rating by income	8

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:

Nationality

The allocation of points is based on the World Bank country rating by income.

• Applicants from Low-income economies receive 1.5 points.
• Applicants from Lower-middle-income economies receive 1 point.
• Applicants from Upper-middle-income economies receive 0.5 points.
• Applicants from High-income economies receive 0 points.

Residence

The allocation of points is based on the World Bank country rating by income.

• 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.

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.

To learn more about sponsorship packages, please see our Sponsorship Prospectus.

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

If you missed all SotM 2024 calls for participation, here is a chance to submit a presentation: Lightning talks are quick 5-minute talks about any topic related to OpenStreetMap. Since SotM 2024 is hybrid conference, there are two options for holding a lightning talk:

In-person lightning talk in Nairobi: These are traditional lightning talks held during one of the lightning talk sessions on-site at the conference. The registration for in-person lightning talks opens in-person when the conference starts in Nairobi. You can register for a slot directly at the conference venue.

Online pre-recorded lightning talks: We offer the opportunity to submit short videos (maximum 5 minutes). So if you don’t make it to Nairobi, you can still participate with a lightning talk and present your topic to a wider audience virtually.

Submission of online pre-recorded lightning talks is now open. We are looking forward to your videos on OpenStreetMap-related topics. The deadline to register and upload pre-recorded lightning talks is 20 August 2024 23:59:59 UTC https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?msg=SotM+2024+Prerecorded+Lightning+Talks+Deadline&iso=20240820T235959

For more details and to register a pre-recorded lightning talk, please visit the OpenStreetMap Wiki at https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/State_of_the_Map_2024/registration_lightning_talks

The State of the Map Working Group is happy to announce that tickets and program are now accessible through the SotM 2024 website at https://2024.stateofthemap.org/programme/

Tickets

OSM contributors and enthusiasts can now purchase tickets to attend the SotM conference in person or online, via https://2024.stateofthemap.org/tickets. There are two different ways you can attend this year:

Nairobi Ticket

This is the ticket to attend the conference in person in Nairobi. This ticket includes meals at the conference’s breaks and social events. If you are contributing to OpenStreetMap as a hobbyist, you may choose the discounted Community Ticket. Otherwise please get a Regular Ticket.

Venueless Ticket

This is the ticket to attend the conference remotely. This will give you access to the conference talks, and a chat to interact with other participants and allows you to send questions to speakers during Q&A sessions.

Early Bird Ticket

We are offering limited Early bird tickets at a discounted price until 31 July 2024 at 23:59 UTC. Regular ticket price will apply after.

Program (General Track)

We thank everyone who submitted their proposal to speak and organize a session at SotM 2024! We received a lot of amazing proposals and we are delighted to share the first version of our programme for the General Track, now accessible via https://2024.stateofthemap.org/programme/. We will provide continuous updates on the programme (including the Academic Track Programme – https://2024.stateofthemap.org/calls/academic/).
Stay tuned for more updates about State of the Map 2024!

For any questions, do not hesitate to contact us at sotm [at] openstreetmap.org.

See you in Nairobi 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.

This year’s State of the Map conference, a hybrid conference taking place in Nairobi and online simultaneously, will feature OSM Science 2024, aka the 7th edition of the Academic Track of State of the Map – a full day of sessions dedicated to academic research about, and with, OpenStreetMap. See see past editions:

• 2018
• 2019
• 2020
• 2021
• 2022
• 2023

The goal of OSM Science 2024 is to showcase the research and innovation of scientific investigations into OpenStreetMap, while at the same time providing a bridge to connect members of the OpenStreetMap community and the academic community through an open passage to exchange ideas and opportunities for increased collaboration. We expect empirical, methodological, conceptual, or literature-review-based contributions addressing any scientific aspect related to OpenStreetMap, in particular, but not limited to, data collection, integration and quality analysis in OpenStreetMap; contribution patterns and the human/social dimensions of the project; integration of Artificial Intelligence techniques and other applications in which OpenStreetMap takes a central role.

Submission Guidlines

Authors are invited to submit abstracts (800-1200 words in plain text, without figures) using the OSM Science 2024 Pretalx submission system by 10 May 2024. Authors of selected abstracts will be invited to deliver an oral presentation, a 5 minutes lightning talk, or to present a poster (in case a poster session will be organized) at OSM Science 2024 and to submit an extended abstract to the OSM Science 2024 Conference Proceedings (see the 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 proceedings.)

Submit your proposal today!. Learn more about the requirements and the scientific committee on the official State of the Map 2024 website.

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 State of the Map (SotM) conference is the annual OpenStreetMap (OSM) conference run by the OpenStreetMap Foundation (OSMF). It is organised by the SotM Working Group, a team of volunteers. This year, SotM 2024 will again be a hybrid event, held in person in Nairobi, Kenya and online!

State of the Map is intended as an opportunity for the OpenStreetMap community to get to know each other, both personally and regarding their work in OpenStreetMap. We want to offer a programme that covers all topics relevant to OpenStreetMap. Sharing OpenStreetMap knowledge is the essence of SotM. Apart from presentations, we value the interaction between listeners and speakers, so we want to create an environment that boosts critical and healthy discussions, including contentious topics. This year we meet in the vibrant city of Nairobi in Kenya. This will be the first international SotM on the African continent. We hope that many of you join us there. At the same time, we recognise that many people may not be able to travel due to personal reasons or governmental restrictions. Therefore, we intend to share the programme virtually as well and give the virtual visitors the opportunity to participate and interact.

We would love to see your submission for one or more of these tracks:

• OSM Basics
• Community and Foundation
• Mapping
• Cartography
• Software Development
• Data Analysis & Data Model
• User Experiences

Tracks

Don’t worry too much about the track categories. They are mainly there to give you an idea on what kind of talks we are looking for and to help us organise the conference. If you find it difficult to select the right track for your talk, choose the one that fits best.

OSM Basics

OSM has grown a lot. Many newcomers or “newbies” have a great thirst for knowledge in areas that may seem uninteresting and basic to existing contributors. We want you, the expert, to pass on your knowledge to the next generation of community members. Considering we have a variety of participants from across the globe, these talks should focus on being easy to follow and understand. Please note in the submission what approximate level of previous knowledge is required for the participants.

Examples for this kind of talk are: Explaining the OSM data model. Introduction to OSM Editors or cartography tools. Working with OSM data using the Overpass API. How to render a map? How to print a map?

Community and Foundation

Want to recount your experiences while building a community? Or talk about the vision of OSMF? Or maybe discuss the strategy of the Board? Then this is the right track for you. Reflections on community diversity and questions on etiquette are also suitable. Other possible topics include why to become an OSMF member, working group experiences, and everything related to OSMF and the OSM communities.

Mapping

This track is all about mapping, surveying, data collection, tagging; tips and reflections on OSM editors, or new editor features; reflections on automated mapping, organised editing and imports.

Cartography

Possible topics can include cartography and data visualisation, rendering raster and vector maps, map styles, CartoCSS, MapLibre, maps with QGIS, printing maps and more. All your ideas on how to create a beautiful, fun, quirky and out-of-this-world map! The track also provides a space to present your artistic and creative projects that use OSM data or themes to create clothing, jewellery, 3D printed objects, engravings, visualizations, computer or mobile games, virtual worlds, augmented reality, flyers, postcards, etc.

Software Development

This track awaits talks by or for developers of applications that make use of OSM data: OSM editors, (vector) tile servers, geocoding, routing, navigation, editor layer indices; tips and tricks with new PostGIS features, or new features of other tools and applications.

Data Analysis and Data Model

This track is dedicated to OSM data itself: analysis of OSM data quality; reflections about enhancing the data model; or discussing the way the OSM data is accessed through the API. Also submissions about the use of AI with OSM data are welcome in this track.

User Experiences

This track is all about the usage of OSM. Examples are how OSM is used in governments, public transport, humanitarian response, and scientific context, among others, as well as OSM as an educational tool in classrooms. You can present citizen projects that are using OSM data to understand and manage their environment.

Submission Types

You may choose for most submission types whether you attend in person or participate virtually. We will try to make all events available for online and offline attendance. Exceptions are noted below. Please keep in mind that the conference will take place in the EAT timezone (UTC+3). We will try to accommodate the timezone of participants when scheduling events but we will be restricted to the usual conference hours between 9am and 6pm local time (i.e. EAT).

Talk (20 minutes)

Classic talk of about 20 minutes for the talk itself followed by a question and answer session. This is the preferred submission type. Talks can either be held in-person at the conference or, if you cannot attend, you may submit a pre-recorded talk. The QA part of the talk is always live. Virtual speakers will join via a video call. That means that even with a pre-recorded video, you need to be available.

Extended Talk (40 minutes)

An extended talk has 40 minutes for the talk and 15 minutes for questions. These are for topics you want to explore in more depth. The same rules as for classic talks apply. You should outline why your talk needs more time.

Workshop (60–90 minutes)

Workshops are sessions in which the participants are actively involved, for example by following some steps on their own devices. We welcome workshops that cover basic beginner’s topics as well as innovative technologies.

Please communicate the technical equipment that participants need to bring in order to attend your workshop. Please ensure that your participants shouldn’t be told to create an account at a commercial platform or a platform with user tracking. Or if so, communicate that in an clear way in your submission and provide guest accounts for your participants.

Workshops will be held either in-person or virtually, not with a mixed audience. If you want to offer the workshop for both audiences, you are welcome to hold it twice. For virtual workshops, we will provide video conference rooms. Online workshops will have a limited number of places to ensure a successful session.

Panel Discussion (60-90 minutes)

Panels are for hot, controversial discussions around OSM community, mapping and data. Topics may cover for example diversity, legal questions or the future of the data model. You should outline the format on how you intend to organise the discussion and make sure to invite the key players for the discussion. Panels must be held in person with all participants present at the conference. We welcome panels that include the audience. Just keep in mind that questions come from virtual and in-person participants. A designated moderator is therefore strongly recommended.

Other

Your submission does not fit into any of these submission types? Please get in touch with the programme committee via email (program-sotm@openstreetmap.org) before the end of the call for participation.

Spontaneously Organised Sessions

We plan to provide space for sessions which cannot be submitted in advance. Details will be announced before the conference.

Lightning Talk

Lightning talks will be short 5 minute talks. There will be some spaces for last-minute in-person talks with an on-site signup on a whiteboard as well as spaces for pre-recorded videos. This will be announced separately.

Birds of a Feather

Birds of a Feather (BoF) sessions are informal, spontaneous discussion rounds centered around a specific topic. It is not possible to submit a BoF session in advance. BoFs will usually be held in person only.

Free Spaces

We will try to provide free spaces to meet or just chitchat for working groups, local chapters, local groups, user groups, etc.

Rating Criteria

In rating submissions, we will apply the following criteria:

• OSM as the subject: A submission where OSM is the main subject or an important ingredient will be rated higher than one that is more generic (e.g. a general talk about GIS software).
• Preference of “open”: A submission about open data and open source software will be preferred over one that deals with proprietary data or proprietary software and closed platforms.
• Preference of innovation: A submission about something new, or something not discussed at previous conferences, will be preferred over one that discusses more widely known issues (exception: OSM Basics).
• We are hoping for talks from a multitude of speakers and hence we would prefer accepting a talk from a “new” speaker over accepting a second talk from someone who has already an accepted talk.
• We will also try to avoid accepting too many talks from members of the same organisation.
• We prefer talks from members of underrepresented groups.
• We value transparency. We expect submitters to disclose affiliations and sponsors of their work.

Sometimes we will make some changes or have suggestions:

• We might ask if several speakers can merge their talks.
• We might also ask if a change of format would be possible (for example, we might suggest the lightning talk format instead of a regular talk when we find there is not enough space in the programme for a complete talk, but it is an interesting subject).

Language

The conference language of the State of the Map is English. All presentations shall thus be held in English. It is an important aspect of the conference that participants can interact with the speakers for questions and discussions. This restriction does not apply to Birds of a Feather sessions. They may be held in other languages, according to the preferences and needs of their participants.

Publication

Video recordings and slides of the lectures will be published under the Creative Commons Attribution International 3.0 or later (CC BY 3.0+) license.

Tickets

State of the Map is a non-commercial event where neither the organisers nor the speakers are being paid. Speakers have to get a conference ticket just like everyone else. Details will be announced later.

Programme Committee

Your submissions will be reviewed by a programme committee consisting of OpenStreetMap community members from various parts of the world.

• Manfred Stock (lead programme committee, mapper, Switzerland)
• Sarah Hoffmann (developer, Germany)
• Arun Ganesh (mapper and cartographer, India)
• Christine Karch (chairwoman SotM Working Group, Germany)
• Federica Gaspari (OSM community, Italy)
• Feye Andal (OSM Philippines)
• Ilya Zverev (forum moderator, Russia)
• John Bryant (geospatial consultant & mapper, Australia)
• Laura Mugeha (local team, Kenya)
• Miriam Gonzales (Geochicas, Mexico)
• Raphael de Assis (president of UMBRAOSM/Union of Brazilian OpenStreetMap Mappers)
• Satochi Iida (OSMF Japan, Japan)
• Stefan Keller (Geometa Lab Campus Rapperswil, Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences (FH OST), Switzerland)
•  Séverin Menard (Geomatician, France)

The programme committee is aware of possible conflict of interest situations. We try to balance that in the composition of the committee. Nevertheless, we have imposed some rules upon ourselves to handle conflict of interest situations:

• We do not rate submissions from our workmates, clients or relatives.
• We act carefully and are aware about possible conflicts (especially the situation of horse trading. We act particularly careful in cases associated to a sponsor.
• We communicate to other programme committee members when we are in a conflict of interest situation.
• We report any outside attempt of influencing our decisions to the chair of the SotM Working Group.

We hope this detailed “Call for Participation” helps to increase the transparency of our programme selection process. Questions are welcome. You can reach us at the following email address: program-sotm@openstreetmap.org.

Timeline and Deadlines

• 23 April 2024 23:59:59 UTC: Deadline talk, workshop and panel submissions
• End of May 2024: End of review phase, speakers will be informed
• June 2024: Talk video production (test video and final video)
• August 2024: Lightning talk video production
• 6-8 September 2024: State of the Map

Submit your presentation

Please submit your presentation proposal to our submission form.

— The SotM 2024 Programme Committee, 5 March 2024

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.

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

Get ready to meet and connect with old and new mappy friends from the global OpenStreetMap community again!

We are thrilled to officially announce that the global conference of the OpenStreetMap community, State of the Map (SotM), will be making its way to Nairobi, Kenya from September 6th-8th 2024! This landmark event will bring together passionate mappers, data enthusiasts, technologists, and community members from all corners of the globe to celebrate the spirit of collaboration and open mapping.

Following the good feedback for State of the Map 2022 Firenze, the upcoming State of the Map 2024 will once again be held in a hybrid format. Building on the valuable lessons and experiences from the previous events, we are committed to making this edition even more accessible to everyone who wishes to partake in this grand celebration of open mapping, sharing passionate voices with the entire community.

Photo: View of Nairobi, Kenya from KICC by Daryona, CC-BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

We are very looking forward to collaborating with the local Nairobi team to organize an innovative and inclusive experience at State of the Map 2024, with sessions being as accessible and inclusive as possible for our global community.

Mark your calendars and get ready to be part of SotM 2024! Stay tuned for more updates on speakers, agenda, ticketing, and how to get involved as the event draws closer. Let’s gather our maps, pack our ideas, and prepare to embark on an unforgettable journey at State of the Map 2024 in Nairobi!

SotM Organising Committee

Follow us @sotm to stay updated on the next steps of the process!
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 in the UK 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. The State of the Map Organising Committee is one of our volunteer Working Groups.

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.