FOSS4G 2015 Press Release 00

= Seoul to host FOSS4G conference in 2015 = ''“Toward Diversity! FOSS4G Bigbang from Seoul!!”''

Seoul (South Korea) selected to host the 2015 international conference for "Free & Open Source Software for Geospatial" (FOSS4G).

Monday, 19 May 2014

OSGeo Korean Chapter  Sanghee Shin 

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The OSGeo Korean Chapter is pleased to announce that we have been selected to host the FOSS4G 2015 international conference. The conference is planned for Seoul in September 2015, and is expected to attract the leading developers, users and service providers in the Open Source geospatial community from not only South Korea but also all over the world.

Holding the FOSS4G conference - the biggest Open Source GIS event in the world - for the first time in Asia will definitely bring countless benefits to the region and provide the geospatial communities, local business, and societies with the wonderful opportunities to know the power of Open Source geospatial technologies.

Sanghee Shin, CEO at Gaia3D and Representative of OSGeo Korean Chapter explained that his motivations for leading Seoul’s bid were to make Seoul the starting point of a FOSS4G “big bang” and then spreading out FOSS4G to the whole region via this conference. He said, “When I tried to introduce Open Source GIS to South Korea in 2008, no one even tried to listen to my opinions. However, over five years passed and now the even Korean government opened a bid for Open Source GIS R&D projects in May 2014, meaning that Open Source GIS has a sign to become mega trend in South Korea. I’m absolutely sure that FOSS4G 2015 will ignite and strengthen this trend.” Regarding the Open Source GIS R&D in Korea, the Korean government - Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport - opened a bid for selecting a research team for Open Source GIS R&D in which they would invest around USD 9.5 M for 3 years and 6 months.

The OSGeo Korean chapter has held FOSS4G Korean events every year since 2011 and the attendance of the event grows rapidly. FOSS4G Korea events always occur around the Smart Geo Expo, the biggest geospatial event in South Korea, so many people from Government, universities, institutes, companies, and so on have a chance to attend the FOSS4G Korea conference when they come to Smart Geo Expo.

For the success of FOSS4G 2015, KSIS (Korea Spatial Information Society), the academic society with members of geospatial professional, researchers, students, and policy makers regarding the geospatial field, will closely cooperate with the OSGeo Korean Chapter. Also, KAOS-G (Korean Alliance OpenSource for Geospatial), an alliance of Open Source GIS companies in South Korea, will actively help OSGeo and KSIS to create a vibrant FOSS4G 2015 event.

The local organizing committee (LOC) of FOSS4G 2015 knows that the FOSS4G Seoul 2015 conference will increase the awareness of Open Source GIS and raise the bar for Open Source GIS in South Korea. The LOC also expects that the experience and knowledge gained from the event will spread out to the World over Asian countries from Seoul.

About OSGeo

The Open Source Geospatial Foundation has been created to support and build the highest-quality open source geospatial software. The foundation's goal is to encourage the use and collaborative development of community-led projects, data development and education.

About OSGeo Korean Chapter

The OSGeo Korean Chapter applies OSGeo principles locally. In particular, we focus on promotion and outreach in Korea.

About FOSS4G

FOSS4G is the annual international conference on Open Source geospatial software. From its beginning the FOSS4G conference has been the gathering of the spatial tribes and has a reputation of being a melting pot for great ideas in the spatial industry and a catalyst for many successful geospatial products, standards and protocols. The 2013 conference was held in Nottingham, United Kingdom and was a huge success. The 2014 conference will be held in Portland, Oregon U.S. this September. FOSS4G Seoul 2015 will be the eleventh "formal" gathering of the Open Source geospatial community.