Italiano Chapter Report 2007

Italiano Local Chapter

• Period covered by report: Jan-Dec 2007
• Contact name: Massimiliano Cannata --Maxi71 11:55, 22 February 2008 (EST)

Key Accomplishments

• “back office”/administrative management
• Wiki, IRC, mailing list set up and maintain
• productions of howto, help ecc.
• created a debian.gfoss.it package
• ECDL freeGIS, (The European Computer Driving License (ECDL) is the European-wide qualification demonstrating competence in computer skills.)
• works on open geodata
  • elaboration Italian toponimi ISTAT database
  • participation to petition and license definition
• Support to mapping parties initiatives (Pavia, Arezzo, ...)
• Extension of network contact (OpenStreetMap, Italian PostgreSQL User Group)
• Public relations
  • presence in the press (radio, journals)
  • developed presentation material (flyer, presentation layout, Youtube spot, gadgets)
• started the population of the Italian web service on FOSS4G users (mapserver, grass, pmapper, etc...)

Areas for Improvement

• try to set up a more effective decision making processes, with activity areas and teams

Opportunities to Help

• Have OSGeo educational material, courses and tutorial for the different OSGeo projects.

This in order to organize workshops at the Italiano annual meeting and disseminate OSGeo products

• Have a task and priorities list of OSGeo expected outputs.

Such a kind of list could be helpful to better coordinate the Local Chapter activities with the OSGeo goals and to focus the resources where are more needed.

Outlook for 2008

• 2008 will be the year of promotion.

In Feb. 2007 we started to set up the Italian association gfoss.it and we had to manage many administrative aspects. Then we worked on organization task, in order to set up rules and procedures (members, sponsors, site, etc.). In Sept. 2007, we became the "Italiano official Chapter", approved by the OSGeo board.

The next year will be dedicated in promoting OSGeo projects trough Italian geo community and administrative offices.

• 2008 Italiano OSGeo meeting.

We are working to organize the first OSGeo/gfoss.it meeting, in addition to the traditional Italian GRASS user meeting.

• 2008 increase the number of members.

In 2007 we had a continuous positive trend in members subscription (30 €). Currently members are about 25% of the Italian gfoss.it mailing list users: in the next year we hope to reach a 50%