Europe

Europe

Welcome to the wiki page of the Europe OSGeo chapter.

proposed time line:

• reaching out to interested founding members - 3 October 2015
• discuss this draft and get it supported by the founding members - 24 May 2016
• formal request to the board of OSGeo to recognise OSGeo.eu as a local chapter xx June 2016
• next board meeting: 15 October 2015 (decision about the acceptance of the proposal)

todolist

We need:

• done - Europe Mailing list (with founding members subscribed as start), open to anyone.
• Finish initial discussion of this wiki page and change the draft into release
• Make an agenda to realise the local chapter and present it at the Bonn FOSS4G 2016
• Decide about the legal structure
• prepare the workshop for GWF May 24
• ...

Introduction

FOSS4G Europe is rooted in the FOSS4G Central and Eastern Europe conference series, back in 2012. The latter evolved in 2014 as the first edition of FOSS4G Europe in Bremen. The conference is now becoming the main european FOSS4G event, gathering people and OSGeo local chapters from all over Europe and beyond.

Since the conference in Bremen, thoughts and ideas where exchanged to organise OSGeo more on a European basis. The Industry group was started, a platform of people supporting the idea arose, but there was no real initiative for action.

This year we (OSGeoEU) have the ambition to organise a legal entity OSGEO-EU to create a stronger software group in Europe to defend the rights of open source from the perspective of the Geo-ecosystem.

In preparation for this official expression of interest, a couple of meetings have already taken place. a physical BOF @FOSS4G 2014 in Bremen, some mails, a BOF @FOSS4G 2015 in Como and some one physical meetings. (todo: put meeting minutes on the wiki)

Why should an OSGeo European local chapter be important

• Europe has specific needs in terms adoption rate of open source software.
• An important initiative called 'INSPIRE' needs specific localised attention.
• .EU is a sparring partner and representation (Single point of contact) for the European institutions in Brussels on behalve of the other committees local chapters and projects. Resulting in giving the existing local chapters a voice in Brussels.
• Europe also has specific business ecosystem.
  • more than 99% of all the European businesses are SME's
  • software industry in Europe is as big as the software industry in the US, but the driving forces are more divided
  • FLOSS can be used as an opportunity to create a strong industry leadership in Europe
  • OSGeo.EU can play a supprting role in this process

Mission and objectives

After discussion amongst the active local chapter members we come to the following list of mission objectives:

• Community-building and networking around specific European themes.

• support the European OSGeo members using FOSS4G software, help them to organise and bring into contact with governmental agencies and research institutes. Help them with European funded projects.

• encourage interoperability in European projects

• support European open standards and European directives such as INSPIRE

• provide support for the use of OSGeo software in education via European curriculum development, outreach, and capacity building

• to encourage communication between the different European local chapters

• to encourage different communities to work together where relevant

• Organisation of events

These two mission statements are working together. We believe it is important to meet people face2face. To help them to start open source initiatives, to start using open source solutions, to establish an eco-system that benefits from the cooperation, the sharing and the co-creation open source delivers.

• promote the use of freely available geodata - free software is useless without data

• Lobbying (method)

We think it is important to speak as one voice, and to get involved with other organisations: administrations, industries, user groups, ... OSGeo.eu will actively speak as an organisation to defend the OSGeo open source spirit in the broader European community (government, academic, industry, other open initiatives).

• Networking with other organisations and groups (notably OSG, OSM, JRC, European projects, FIWARE)

• Support to OSGeo.org and other European Local Chapters

We believe that OSGeo only can grow if supported from the base. So OSGeo Europe is willing to help OSGeo where necessary, to leverage idea's or act as an advisor if appreciated. We aim at bringing the different local initiatives together, creating a stronger group that is able to speak as one voice. To promote open source in the European administrations and their member states. To help the European geo-ict industry, learning them to promote and reuse open source technology and solutions.

• Support to OSGeo.org in lobbying European Union Institutions (Commission, Parliament, etc) related to specific EU-Themes (INSPIRE, H2020, Procurement policy, FIWARE, ...)

• Provide resources for foundation projects - e.g. infrastructure, funding, legal

List of initial members

The European OSGeo Chapter has the support of the following initial founding members (alphabetic - first name):

• Dirk Frigne - board member
• Vasile Crăciunescu - board member
• Jáchym Čepický - Secretary of OSGeo
• Stephan Meißl - charter member
• Till Adams - charter member
• Marc Vloemans - Charter member
• Markus Neteler - Charter member

Building relations with other European communities

SMESpire

• Goal: look if SMESPire is a good platform to organise the European FOSS Geo-ICT industry
• action: contact Giacomo Martirano / action: Dirk Frigne

FIWare

• [[1]]
• action: investigate if structural relationship can be of interest for OSGeo.

Europe DG Connect Action 23 Digital Agenda

• Workshops:
• 12 June 2015 - Brussels - [Open Standards for ICT Procurement]
  

OSGeo advocates present:

• • Dirk Frigne

• 13 November 2015 - Brussels - [OPEN STANDARDS FOR ICT PROCUREMENT: PLANNING FOR A STRONG FUTURE]

OSGeo advocates present:

• • register your name if you will participate

Tradeshows and events

• European Events where OSGeo is represented

ISPRS

ISPRS 2016

• contact: Jachym

FOSSDEM

FOSSDEM 2016

• contact: Johanvdw

GWF2016

GWF 2016

• contact: Dirk Frigne

FOSS4G 2016

FOSS4G 2016 Bonn

• contact: Marc Vloemans

Contribution of OS Geo members to FP6, FP7, H2020

• Early draft ...
• Goal: create an inventory of all the European projects OSGeo members where involved...

This inventory will be used for documentation in future calls.

ToDo: add your contributions!

ToDo:

• H2020 - GiCases - Creating a University-Enterprise Alliance for a Spatially Enabled Society - [2016 - 2018]

Dirk Frigne - Geosparc, technical GI company, expert for collaboration platform and a sandbox for testbed allowing students to co-create services and apps

• Geosparc led on “Authentication, Authorization and Accounting for Data and Services in EU Public Administrations” in the context of the ARE3NA project (EU DG Informatics €1350K ), taking on the role of project lead as well as responsibility for the testbed environment.

• UNCAP - Giuseppe Conti

please add details

• EIP AHA CSA - Birgit Blaaiberg Bisgaard

please add details

• succeeded INTERREG applications

please add projects

• Succeeded COST applications

please add projects

collected regional support

(R&D financing, startup projects, funding)