Italiano Chapter Report 2008

Italian Chapter

 * Contact name: Massimo di Stefano

Key Accomplishments

 * substantial grassroots activities (with 20 events in one year, mostly in Northern and Central Italy)
 * First edition of the GFOSS day held in Pontedera in November (130 participants). The event does not replace the traditional GRASS/GFOSS meeting, typically held in the first months of the year with a focus on research & development and a strong participation of the academic community.
 * media coverage, with presence in radio and magazines.
 * increase in registered members
 * Formal action towards the National Statistics Institute, in response to a tender which presented issues in the possibility of proposing FOSS solutions. This action is being conducted with the support of ASSOLI, another association for the promotion of free software.
 * ECDL GIS: preparation of a test for GIS certification, based on QGIS, for the ECDL Foundation
 * substantial support to the OpenStreetMap project in the first part of 2008 (January-July)
 * liaison to other organizations and institutions (OpenStreetMap, Italian PostgreSQL user group)
 * election of new board (February)

Areas for Improvement

 * OSGEO liaison can be further consolidated (new liaison officer appointed in Feb 2009)
 * some administrative issues still to be cleared

Opportunities to Help

 * not immediately identified. Stay tuned for announcements from our community on the OSGEO mailing lists.

Outlook for 2009

 * Hackmeetings are in the process of being planned. We expect to hold one or two events during 2009.
 * Second edition of the GFOSS day to be held in Bolzano, 11 Nov 2009
 * Interest in providing additional momentum in Italy, and in connection with other European chapters, towards FOSS4G 2010