FOSS4G2008 Press Release

Keep to each one <500 words. This is a 'formal' press release to be sent to news agencies and media partners.

1. for release on Sept 8
make this more introductory, informative Cape Town, South Africa, September 8, 2008

Open source software is a form of collaborative programming and knowledge sharing that allows a global community of programmers to pool their efforts and build software systems. The resulting software is often available for free, or at a cost far less than traditional software licensed from large corporations. This affects many industries, including computer mapping, otherwise known as Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

Around 800 software programmers, Government officials, business people and technology experts will be converging on Cape Town from 29 September to attend the 2008 international Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial conference. The theme of the conference is "Open Source GIS: and option for developing countries", the intention being to provide a platform for industry members to explore and debate issues around its application for developing countries.

The geospatial software users attending this conference work with open source software to crate and share maps, build online mapping sites, analyse satellite imagery data in order to calculate flood zones, plan housing and infrastructure developments, asist in planning for the 2010 world cup.

(OUT) Conference chair Gavin Fleming sees Cape Town as a hotbed of open source programming. “There are whole categories of software that depend on open source software written right here in Victoria. The provincial and federal governments have been very supportive and helped build a unique local industry over the past five years”, said Fleming. (*OUT*)

This year’s conference is sponsored by local and international organisations such as Autodesk, Google, ** GIMS and the South African State Information Technology Agency (SITA). In addition to presentations and hands-on software classes throughout the week, there will be a community stree party to map Cape Towns's streets on Sunday the 28th. An education outreach programme has been developed to assist teachers to learn about GIS as it is now part of the higher grade school geography cirruclum.

For more information on FOSS4G 2008, please visit http://www.foss4g2008.org or contact Gavin Fleming at +27-11-7094668 or email gavinf@mintek.co.za.

2. for release on Sept 22
quote numbers and more immediate info

Cape Town, South Africa, September 8, 2008

For more information on FOSS4G 2008, please visit http://www.foss4g2008.org or contact Gavin Fleming at +27-11-7094668 or email gavinf@mintek.co.za.

--- from Carrin

Open source software is a form of collaborative programming and knowledge sharing that allows a global community of programmers to pool their efforts and build software systems. The resulting software is often available for free, or at a cost far less than traditional software licensed from large corporations.

Around 800 software programmers, Government officials, business people and technology experts will be converging on Cape Town from 29 September to attend the 2008 international Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial conference. Geospatial is a term used to describe the combination of spatial (mapping) software and analytical methods using earth or geographic datasets. The theme of the conference is "Open Source GIS: and option for developing countries", the intention being to provide a platform for industry members to explore and debate issues around the application of the technology for developing countries.

Computer mapping, known as Geographic Information Systems (GIS), allows map data to be combined with information normally provided in tables, and for new maps to be created. The software is used for a wide range of purposed, from mapping archeological finds to calculating flood zones, planning housing and infrastructure developments, plan for the 2010 world cup and for tsunami relief efforts

This year’s conference is sponsored by local and international organisations such as Autodesk, Google, Geographic Information Management Systems (GIMS) and the South African State Information Technology Agency (SITA), and will be attended by delegates from 100 countries around the world. The geospatial software users attending this conference work with open source and proprietary software to crate and share maps, build online mapping sites, analyse satellite imagery data and. Delegates will be coming to Cape Town to share their expertise, and to have a debate about the role of open source software in countries where the costs of proprietary software is taking up substantial portions of their budgets.

In addition to presentations and hands-on software classes throughout the week, there will be a community street party to map Cape Town's streets on Sunday the 28th. An education outreach programme has been developed to assist teachers to learn about GIS as it is now part of the higher grade school geography curriculum. The conference is open to anyone with an interest in mapping and geospatial technology, and special rates are provided for students at tertiary institutions.

For more information on FOSS4G 2008, please visit http://www.foss4g2008.org or contact Gavin Fleming at +27-11-7094668 or email gavinf@mintek.co.za.