Board/Minutes/2022-09-08

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Draft minutes.

Location: Video room at https://osmvideo.cloud68.co
using BigBlueButton.

Date and time: Thursday, 8 September 2022 - Countdown

Please note that this board video chat is not open to observers.

Acronyms

Participants

Board members

  • Amanda McCann
  • Eugene Alvin Villar
  • Roland Olbricht (disconnected at 37' and reconnected at 41' after start)
  • Tobias Knerr

Officers and board
Biographies

Not Present

  • Jean-Marc Liotier (Apologies)
  • Guillaume Rischard
  • Mikel Maron

Guests

Not open to observers.

HOT trademark agreement status update

  • There was no organised meeting between the OSMF board and the Humanitarian OSM Team (HOT) board.
  • Amanda McCann talked to a HOT board member and HOT's Tech Director (Underpass was mentioned. The name was a marketing decision.)
  • Roland Olbricht and Guillaume Rischard met Tyler Radford (HOT) but didn't talk about the trademark, or about OSMF fundraising (Tyler is a member of the OSMF Finance (ex "Fundraising") committee).

State of the Map 2023

Suggested by Amanda McCann

At the time of the board chat there were two bids to host the international State of the Map 2023 conference: one from Cameroon and one from Kosovo. The decision is taken by the State of the Map organising committee (SotM-WG).

One point was not minuted after request. Some points have been reordered.

  • Announcement: In previous years the selected bid for the international State of the Map conference was announced by the SotM working group, as it doesn't need approval by the OSM foundation board.
  • It would be good to have a decision of the board before the decision of the SotM working group.

Suggestions during discussion

  • The international State of the Map 2023 could take place at other countries in Africa, which are substantially safer than Cameroon.
  • Involve the absent board members in the conversation and decide before the next board meeting.
  • Ask the SotM working group to inform the board about the selected bid and not announce anything before sorting out the issues due to concerns.
  • Organise a meeting of the board with the SotM working group to productively discuss the concerns, before a decision is made.

On Cameroon bid

  • Safety for LGBTQ+ mappers is very concerning.
  • Violence: not only against the LGBTQ people. Probably not safe to go there with a small child either.
    • It is not a war zone.
    • Homophobic attacks occur even in Germany.
    • Civil wars occur even in Europe.
  • Policy: We have a safety policy for State of the Map, which seems to disqualify Cameroon.
  • Statements of non attendance: two board members mentioned they would not travel to Cameroon.
  • Visa: It could be hard to apply for one. If you don't have an Embassy you might have to inform organisers 3 months in advance.
    • We force many community members outside of Europe to get a Visa when the international State of the Map is in Europe and this is very hard for them.
  • Diversity: There is a diversity case for holding the conference in Cameroon.

Other points mentioned

  • The mood against marginalised groups is a good indicator for general safety of people.
  • The SotM working group probably knows that it is a difficult situation, as if they don't choose Cameroon, there will be criticism from the African community, while if the do choose it, there will be criticism from the LGBTQ+ community.
  • If Cameroon is chosen, one of the board members mentioned that they will focus their energy on the lack of attribution by major corporate members.
  • There was a state of the Map in a developing country (Argentina in 2014).
  • There are many things that are progressive elsewhere and not in Europe (example mentioned: self-declaration gender recognition law in Argentina).
  • South Africa has sex marriage equality because they redid their constitution.

On Kosovo bid

  • It has a large NATO force and is not recognised by many countries.
  • Visa: It might be less hard to get one.
  • There was a suggestion to merge FOSS4G and State of the Map in 2023, which would continue the convention of having both conferences close together.
  • It doesn't look good to have another international State of the Map in Europe.

On French bid

  • In Schengen.

Please note that the French bid for State of the Map 2023 was withdrawn before the board chat.

Roland Olbricht had to disconnect 37 minutes after start.

Action item

  • The Secretary to suggest a meeting of the board with the State of the Map working group. (Post meeting addition: The meeting was declined, as the SotM working group is already under pressure).

Roland Olbricht re-joined 43 minutes after start.

Meeting adjourned 48 minutes after start.

Next meeting

Next meeting open to OSMF members:

Open board meetings take place online once a month, usually on the 3rd or 4th Thursday of the month, at 13:00 UTC. Closed board video chats usually take place on the 1st or 2nd Thursday of the month.

See the Monthly Board meetings page to find out where board meetings are announced and for a subscription link to have future board meetings automatically added to your calendar.

Acronyms

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