[OSM-talk] Announcing State of the Map 2024: Join us in Nairobi and online on 6-8 September 2024!

[Frederik Ramm]

Hi,

On 8/16/23 20:01, John Whelan wrote:
> If it was in the EU or the USA a 
> higher proportion of members would not need a passport or visa.

... but almost all visitors from Africa would, and more importantly, 
many would have a very hard time obtaining it. Whereas the average 
"westerner" wanting to go to Nairobi simply fills out an online form and 
gets their visa within a couple of days.

> For future SotMs I might suggest starting with accommodation, many 
> universities have halls of residence available during the summer 
> months.

These are good ideas but remember that SotM is not centrally organised. 
The SotM team puts out a call for location, and local groups can then 
apply. An application from a local group who have thought about these 
things, and who say "we've talked to our local university and there's 
affordable accommodation there" will certainly be looked upon 
favourably, but that's about all - the OSMF SotM team will not scout the 
world for locations with affordable accommodation, simple visa rules and 
cheap travel, all they can do is evaluate the bids that have been 
submitted.

> Ottawa for example has halls with double beds and ensuites 
> plus there are lecture halls etc available.  Meal plans can be purchased 
> which means that you're eating in the cafeterias true but many 
> conversations at SotM will take place outside the conference rooms and 
> over a meal is a useful place to talk.

I would love to go to a SotM in Canada, however there has only ever been 
one bid from a Canadian team and that was withdrawn over the 
announcement of SotM US being at the UN in New York that year! If you 
can get a few Canadians to submit a bid for a SotM in one of the coming 
years, I'm sure that would be very attractive.

> The EU might be easier than the UK since britexit the UK is no longer a 
> free travel zone for EU citizens and the EU has trains which means a 
> lower average carbon footprint per attendee.

The OSMF has been criticized for having run the last three in-person 
SotM conferences in Europe (two in Italy, one in Germany) so you can't 
blame them for looking elsewhere! Which doesn't rule out future European 
SotMs - after all, that's the continent where OSM was invented - but 
it's certainly good to go elsewhere once in a while, even if that is 
outside of the comfort zone for the average European or American traveller.

Bye
Frederik

-- 
Frederik Ramm  ##  eMail frederik at remote.org  ##  N49°00'09" E008°23'33"