StateoftheMap Organizing Committee/StateoftheMap safety policy

About State of the Map conferences
The State of the Map (SotM) conference is the annual, international conference of OpenStreetMap and it is organised by the State of the Map Organising Committee of the OpenStreetMap Foundation. SotM conferences not organised by the OSM Foundation (such as SotM-Asia, SotM-Africa, SotM-LatAm) are organised exclusively by local teams, which run their own sponsorship programs and have separate budgets from the OSM Foundation. The organisers of these conferences need to apply for a trademark licence to use OpenStreetMap marks.

The following State of the Map safety policy was approved by the OpenStreetMap Foundation board on 2021-10-29.

State of the Map safety policy

OpenStreetMap welcomes and encourages participation by everyone. This is enshrined in our Diversity Statement. There are, however, places in the world where people with certain attributes may face discrimination or are systematically made to feel unsafe.

The OpenStreetMap Foundation (OSMF) will only host global State of the Map (SotM) conferences in places where the safety of all segments of the population is ensured.

Applications to host a SotM should describe and assess the risks in that location for certain vulnerable populations, and must certify that State of the Map will be safe from systematic or institutional discrimination for all attendees. Details of how this is assessed is the mandate of the State of the Map Working Group.

Local and regional State of the Map conferences should do everything reasonably possible, in their local context, to ensure the safety of all segments of the population. It is recognized that in some regions and locations safety cannot be guaranteed for all vulnerable groups, and that this should not prevent a local or regional SotM from being held. Applications for trademark licenses should include a safety assessment. Details of the trademark are the mandate of the Licensing Working Group .