[Osmf-talk] SOTM Africa

Thu Dec 5 19:59:31 UTC 2019

> It sounds like SotM Africa had requested attendance from the OSMF board - is that true? Is it possible to share the reason or the date of the board meeting that it was discussed in?> Were any alternatives offered to SotM Africa, like putting them in touch with the founder of OSM or an OSMF Working Group (i.e. if they wanted an informed speaker)?

We had a lot of emails between the Board and SotM Africa this year, because we were asked to help with sharing the OSMF CiviCRM instance for ticketing. I don't remember an explicit request for the OSMF Board to attend, but it's possible I'm just forgetting.

Definitely the Board has gotten requests from regional SotM's to attend and speak. The reason for when this doesn't happen typically is just time availability. There's been lots of interest on the Board to do these. 

I like the idea of sharing these opportunities with a wider group in the future.
* Mikel Maron * +14152835207 @mikel s:mikelmaron 

    On Thursday, December 5, 2019, 01:22:46 PM EST, Gregory <sotm at livingwithdragons.com> wrote:  

"Every SOTM should have at least one board member present."There's a question of what counts as a SOTM. There is only one "SotM" conference each year that can be counted as run/backed by the OSMF. Only in the last year or so have official agreements been made to use the "State of the Map" trademark, is that a danger that the board stop allowing use of the name if they can't attend the conference?Should an OSMF board member be present at even a small 5-person gathering if calls it self "State of the Map" for some small village? Steve's statement is not as simple as just telling the board to go to every one.
I have a strong view that the OSMF board should go to more things. Not just those events that call themselves "SotM". Christoph Hormann did a blog post reviewing OSMF membership levels and representation compared to mapper activity. Maybe this should be looked at. Members of the OSMF board could try and visit the under-represented places, they could also visit the represented places! The board face-to-face is also a chance to choose a location and attend an OSM meetup somewhere they would benefit from a visit.
One year (the international) SotM requested an OSMF board member to be keynote speaker, they turned it down and were going to HOT Summit instead. It was possible no board members would be at the OSMF-run SotM, how do you think that made the SotM working group feel?!!!!Thankfully and wisely, board members are now allowed to claim the international SotM on expenses and can request expenses for other conferences (HOT is important to!). This at least removes financial barriers that others have said. The barriers of time and desire to travel are more troublesome and depend on the board we have.
It sounds like SotM Africa had requested attendance from the OSMF board - is that true? Is it possible to share the reason or the date of the board meeting that it was discussed in?Were any alternatives offered to SotM Africa, like putting them in touch with the founder of OSM or an OSMF Working Group (i.e. if they wanted an informed speaker)?
I big part of my running for OSMF board was to ensure it proactively represented and promoted OpenStreetMap, hopefully that cane through in my manifesto and answers.
All the best,Gregory Marler

On Wed, 27 Nov 2019 at 20:17, joost schouppe <joost.schouppe at gmail.com> wrote:

Regarding the elephant: it would be good if Board members were more transparent vis a vis employer support for their Board role. I have the impression that some members might have an overstated view on that in some cases, but there is no real way of knowing.
Regarding Steve's suggestion:- usually there is at least one OSMF Board member at larger SotM's
- I think that's great, and it's a bit of a shame if we collectively miss one entirely
Personally, I did not have the time (winter is coming and I'm self-installing central heating) to travel right now. I missed SotM SEE as well, unfortunately. Next year should be better for me.
There's also the issue of money. As a Board member, I can have my flight to the international SotM in South Africa refunded, but I must say it feels awkward to ask OSMF for that money. On the other hand, putting this much time into OSM is a bit of a strain on family-time, and then on top of that also taking money out of the family budget for travelling "for the unpaid job" would be problematic. That is without looking at what this would imply for Board members who do not have the good fortune to have a nationality that allows them to travel almost anywhere visa-free. And then there's the little issue of the carbon involved. I wouldn't do several intercontinental flights yearly without a decent carbon offsetting scheme, adding more costs. 

If the community thinks paying for travel to SotM's is a good idea, then sure, why not. Otherwise it could be yet another barrier for people with a bit more limited time, money or visa-power to join the Board.

Joost
(not in official capacity)

-- 
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