Craig Allan

A manifesto is usually a set of promises that a politician makes to encourage you to elect them. I would rather talk about my track record in the last two years of being on the Board than make a bunch of promises. Think of this as CV for a job application. What you got for the last two years is a good indication of what you'll get for the next two years. If you want to know my opinions on policies please see my answers to the questions. If you want to know about me personally, there is a Bio on my profile page here. If that all seems Ok to you - then please vote for me.

Improving on-boarding

I was first elected in late 2022. I was then surprised to be completely ignored by the Board. As a consequence of experiencing that initial abandonment I have worked to improve the on-boarding process for new members. Dani (elected end of 2023) was the first new Board member to get a proper welcome. After this election I will be actively welcoming three new Board members with a far better on-boarding process. With Dorothea, I have much revised the on-boarding information and the pages on the Board wiki.

Implementation of the Strategic Plan

My first big project after election last time was re-developing the Strategic plan. If anything, I was trying too hard and the first plan ended up as too big and detailed for people to cope with. We cut it down and the current plan is the result of that process. We have fallen behind on implementation due to not having an implementation process in place, so to fix that problem I have moved the plan to the GitLab issue tracker and I am working on unpacking the plan into implementable tasks. It is a work in progress but many of the tasks are now substantially complete and ready to be assigned to volunteers.

Being the Secretary

In my second year I was elected as Board Secretary. Being Secretary means being at the core of the administration processes. You have a lot of emails coming across your desk from internal and external sources and they should all be tracked and dealt with swiftly and properly answered and archived. I inherited no past processes - the system was by email only and responses were typically lost. I leveraged GitLab as the communication channel for consulting Board members about correspondence. We now put all external queries into GitLab Issues and allow Board members to comment for a few days. The final replies are also filed on the same GitLab issue so we now have a good accessible correspondence archive with a trail of how we came to the decision. As Secretary I inherited a short repeating slot on every Board agenda, but had no indication of how to use it. I decided to use my slot to review the activities of the board over the last month. I collected stories from the issue tracking, Board chat and other sources a short talk on the interesting, complicated and boring things that the Board deals with. I didn't cherry pick only the interesting topics because a lot of what we do as the Board is pushing routine administration. The reports have been well received and have helped members understand what the Board does between meetings. I will continue in the same way.

Chair of Finance

I have been Chair of the Finance Committee for the last year. The post covers both fund raising and fund spending. It falls across the portfolios of the Treasurer and the Communications Working Group and has a connection with the Advisory Board. I have been holding regular meetings, in busy times we meet every week. Initially we were working hard to get the budget for 2024 out. Our processes were poorly developed and we ended up publishing 3 months late, but the content we produced was considerably better than any previous Treasurer produced. We are currently working to get the 2025 budget prepared and I have set out a detailed 3 month long process to do that. This time around we will produce a good budget and we will do it on time. As Chair of Finance I also have a responsibility for fundraising. I have been researching fundraising and it becomes clear that we do a lot of 'passive' fundraising. In essence we wait for people to offer us funds. I want to move to active fundraising which requires a lot of ongoing contact with potential sponsors, sharing a prepared selling 'pitch' and asking for a contribution. Many of those contacted may not end up contributing at all. Tracking all the potential sponsors, the pitches made and accepted or refused, and counting the donations made requires a good amount of database work. CiviCRM is designed for this work and we are already using a copy for tracking membership. I have set up a separate 'sandpit' version of CiviCRM and am now developing a database for tracking sponsorship appeals. I hope to raise our fundraising game in the next year.

Note: Removed duplicated content, after request by Craig Allan.

Moving to Belgium

I have been asked to take over from Sarah to guide the Foundation to its new home in the EU. I have been following and supporting her work and have contributed some legal reviews and comments on the form of the new Articles of Association. I am excited to be taking on this work.

Working as a Team

I have tried hard to build good relationships with all Board members and work as a team player. I think I have had a great success at that. I volunteer for random tasks that come up all the time and I deliver on them. I do stuff when stuff needs to be done. This Board is a lot of work and I find we do more and do it better if we all share the load.

Ok. Enough already

This is getting a bit long. I leaned in my first term on the Board the power of keeping things short. So this is probably already enough evidence (not a bunch of promises) to show that I work in the best interests of the Foundation, that I have made a good contribution and that I will continue to make the same kind of contribution if you vote for me this year.

Brazil Singh

Brazil Singh
OSM: Brazil Singh
OSM Community: Brazilsingh
OSM Wiki: Brazil Singh
Mastodon: Brazil Singh
Linkedln: Brazil Singh
Facebook: Brazil Singh

Vision Statement

I envision a world where open mapping is not only a tool for geographic accuracy but also a force for social good, empowering marginalized communities and promoting environmental sustainability. Through my work, I seek to elevate local voices, build resilient communities, and use maps to tell stories that inspire positive change.

About Me

Hello, I’m Brazil Singh, a passionate mapper, community leader, and technology enthusiast from Dhaka, Bangladesh. Since joining OpenStreetMap and YouthMappers, I have been driven by the idea that maps can bridge gaps between people and solutions, especially in regions vulnerable to disasters, like my own. My journey, from leading flood relief efforts to developing educational platforms, has strengthened my commitment to making open mapping more accessible, inclusive, and impactful.

Why You Vote for Me?

My background in Computer Science and Engineering, combined with my experience in open mapping, has equipped me with a unique blend of technical skills and community engagement. I have been an active mapper for years, contributing to local and global projects, including flood mapping in Thailand and various humanitarian initiatives. Here’s why I believe I can make a strong impact:

1. Local Leader with a Global Vision: Born and raised in Bangladesh, I deeply understand the challenges faced by developing countries in disaster preparedness, environmental protection, and digital inclusion. My leadership roles in community-driven projects have shown me the power of grassroots solutions. I want to bring that local experience to the global OpenStreetMap Foundation (OSMF) table, ensuring that voices from underrepresented regions are heard and prioritized.

2. Building Educational and Accessible Platforms: Through my work on initiatives like osmacademy.org (Ongoing) , I am dedicated to making GIS and mapping more accessible to young people, marginalized communities, and those new to technology. I am committed to providing learning resources that are inclusive and empower individuals to take action in their communities.

3. Technical Expertise and Problem-Solving: With experience in web development, cybersecurity, and open data, I have a strong technical foundation that enables me to contribute to OSMF’s goals of maintaining and improving its platforms. I have coded websites, managed servers, and contributed to mapping projects using tools like QGIS and OSM, and I understand the technical challenges we face.

4. Advocating for Inclusivity and Diversity: I believe in building inclusive spaces in OSM. My work with YouthMappers, OSMF Communication Working Group, and State of the Map Asia has made me a strong advocate for increasing diversity in mapping. I will continue to push for greater representation of women, youth, and marginalized communities, especially from the Asia-Pacific region.

5. Strategic Leadership and Collaboration: I believe my experience leading teams, organizing workshops, and participating in global initiatives like the NASA Space Apps Challenge Youthmappers Leadership Fellowship Open Mapping Guru Hot's Skiil Share Session has prepared me to contribute meaningfully to the OSMF. I understand the importance of effective communication, conflict resolution, and governance in making OSMF more efficient and accountable.

My Goals for OpenStreetMap and OSMF

1. Strengthening Local Chapters and Engagement: I aim to support and grow local chapters, particularly in underrepresented regions, by fostering collaborations and providing resources to overcome barriers to participation. Building capacity through local engagement will strengthen the global community.

2. Fostering Innovation in Mapping and Technology: As a web developer and aspiring cybersecurity expert, I am passionate about integrating technology with mapping to create innovative solutions. I will advocate for better integration of technology in OSM projects, improving accessibility and security in our platforms.

3. Creating Safe and Inclusive Spaces: I believe in ensuring that OSMF provides safe digital spaces where all contributors can share their ideas and collaborate without fear of harassment. This includes supporting the implementation of etiquette guidelines and promoting diversity within the community.

4. Promoting Storytelling through Maps: Maps tell stories, and I am passionate about using OSM to highlight issues like climate change, disaster resilience, and cultural heritage.

In Closing

I am committed to working hard for the future of OpenStreetMap, using my skills, time, and passion to contribute to its growth and inclusivity. Whether through building educational resources, supporting local communities, or enhancing the technical backbone of OSM, I am ready to take on the responsibility of being a Board member and making a lasting impact.

Courtney Cook Williamson

A successful team depends on diverse talent. Great teams have operational thinkers, subject area experts, and analysts who benefit from strategists, systems thinkers, and team-builders, and vice versa. Multilingualism strengthens a team. So does having representation from different age groups. Outside-the-box thinkers help teams innovate and solve; detail-oriented thinkers make sure things are structurally sound and scalable. Competitors move a team forward; perfectionists make sure the quality is good.

By this definition, OpenStreetMap is easily the greatest team in the world, probably in human history. It’s why I love being a part of it.

This definition of a successful team is also why I am running for the OSM Foundation board: I think I have unique skills that would be an asset to the team.

My contribution would fall in the following two areas, if elected.

Strategic Communications: as a board member, I would work closely with the CWG and other OSM volunteers to tell the OSM story to all of its many audiences. I would also be able to bring a strategic and data-backed approach to how the OSMF communicates with and listens to OSM mappers, partners, and users, worldwide.

My experience with how OSM communicates started during the time when my team and I were learning how to engage with mappers in upwards of 150 countries for TomTom. Around that time, I also joined the Communication Working Group, which furthered my interest in how OSM communicates, including for fundraising. Then, I deepened my understanding with a preliminary study of OSM communication channel data that my friend Marjan Van de Kauter (OSM BE) and I conducted. (Here is a summary of our findings, which we presented at SotM US in 2023 [1].)

After I left TomTom, I continued volunteering with the CWG. Some examples of my work include:

I presented on storytelling (aka “talking about talking”) at last year’s SotM EU in Antwerp. (The recap is here: [2].)
I wrote most of the 20th Birthday website at [3].
I helped concept, write and implement the new fundraising website at[4]
I helped lead the broad base giving campaign on social media that raised more than £100k in 2023.
I am also a regular contributor to the OSMF blog [5].

What this experience has taught me is that while OSM’s tagging schema works because it is local and flexible, its OSMF level communications—the kind that drive consensus on prioritization and new initiatives for the global OSM community—could be improved by making them more centralized and stable.

Nonprofit Governance: as a board member, I would be a voice who advocates for evolving the ways of working of the OSMF board. I know this is a controversial statement, but I believe that just as the OSM.org and the OSM community have evolved and grown, so too, should the governance of the project.

I have about 15 years experience in nonprofit governance, most of learned on the job. I currently work at an education technology company, but most of my career has been spent in higher education or nonprofits. I started as an English literature teacher. Later, I did social media messaging and online content creation for the schools. When social media made it easy to reach millions of people who could give small donations (i.e. broad base fundraising), I began to work as a fundraiser. When my online campaigns were successful, I was promoted to more specialized forms of fundraising (in the US we call it Advancement) which meant I was on the leadership teams of nonprofits. Being on the leadership team of a nonprofit means working with boards of directors. Working with boards of directors means learning about nonprofit governance.

For a long time the OSMF was able to take a very hands-off approach because editing the map was free and the mission was relatively simple: build the map. This is not as true as it used to be. Editing the map is still free, but not all areas that need editing can be done for free by volunteers. More importantly, maintaining the map infrastructure is unquestionably not free. It is, in fact, expensive in terms of volunteer hours and financial and ‘in kind’ donations required. And, building the map itself is not as simple as it used to be. To me, it is not surprising that the current bubble gum and sticky tape system of governance needs to evolve to keep up. OSM is now too big and complex for it to be administered by a board that is designed to observe and influence, rather than lead and administer. Here are some examples of what I mean:

I think that prioritization re: technology improvements and innovation that impact the global map should happen at a strategic level, not at the Github level.
I think prioritization of community programs should be driven by mapper feedback that is then piloted, tested, and improved, based on more mapper feedback.
I’d like to see grants for focused improvements to address timely challenges (security, stability, AI); improvements to operational infrastructure for the OSMF (i.e. a working CRM and processes to support clean lists and good reporting); and priority community development programs.
I think all fundraising should be built on a foundation of good record-keeping and opportunity analysis.
I think there should be a paid executive director of the OSMF board and at least two seats on the board that are reserved for subject matter experts who can commit to longer terms with a higher time commitment (legal and financial).

I realize these changes couldn’t happen quickly, but they are examples of the point of view I would bring.

Maurizio Napolitano

My name is Maurizio Napolitano, but most people know me as "napo." I was born in Trento, Italy, over half century years ago. Despite my background in sociology, I now lead a research lab in computer science at the Fondazione Bruno Kessler (FBK), an institution that focuses on artificial intelligence. The lab, called Digital Commons Lab, is dedicated to open-source, open data, data governance, AI ethics, and, most importantly, the promotion of digital commons like OpenStreetMap.

The creation of this lab reflects my professional journey. I came into contact with computer science through the open-source movement, adopting its ethical spirit wholeheartedly. Around 25 years ago, I was asked to develop a WebGIS solution, which led me to expand the concept into digital commons. Naturally, OpenStreetMap became a core part of my work, alongside the FOSS4G movement.

For over 10 years now, I have been fortunate enough to turn my passion for open knowledge into my career. I have contributed to scientific research on OSM, organized OSMIT conferences (the italian version of SoTM), contributed as the foundation of the Italian OSM chapter with Wikimedia Italia, and represented OSM at international conferences, including three TEDx talks (Trento, Siena, and Potenza) several appearances in Italian newspapers and television programs. I am also an advocate for OSM in European policy discussions, particularly in relation to open data.

I also teach Geospatial Analysis for the master in Data Science for the University of Trento.

My Vision for OSMF and Policy Engagement

OSM has often been cited as an example in open data policy discussions, but the OSMF itself has not consistently been present at key decision-making tables. I believe it is crucial for the OSMF to play a more active role in discussions with institutions like the European Commission, particularly around directives such as INSPIRE and the Open Data Directive. The OSMF should not simply be an observer but a key player in shaping the future of open data. A stronger lobbying presence would ensure that OSM becomes a central figure in these discussions, rather than a peripheral example.

Key Priorities as a Board Member

Promote OSMF’s Presence in Policy Discussions: Engage the OSMF more directly in European policy conversations, ensuring that OSM’s role is solidified and expanded.
Empower Local Chapters: Strengthen the role of local chapters in community outreach and education, ensuring tools and resources are available to underrepresented regions.
Foster Innovation and Collaboration: Encourage partnerships with companies and NGOs to enhance OSM’s infrastructure, data quality, and technology while keeping OSM’s core values intact.
Maintain OSM’s Pioneer Spirit: Ensure continuous improvement in data quality and foster an environment that encourages technological innovation and community-driven solutions.

OpenStreetMap has provided me with countless opportunities, and I am ready to give back to the community by contributing to the growth of OSMF. I believe that by increasing OSMF’s involvement in political and policy discussions, we can ensure that OSM remains at the forefront of the open data movement for years to come.

PS: I'm also a volleyball coach with an experience longer as 35 years ... This is another story, but it's also relevant to understand some of my soft skills.

Can Ünen

About Me, Briefly

Hey, my name is Can (pronounced very similar to John), a long-time OSM contributor based in Izmir, Turkiye. I was born in Ankara, then spent a considerable portion of my career in Istanbul, and for the past two and a half years, I’m living in Izmir, working from home, married, with two cats.

I had my undergraduate degree in civil engineering which I was not particularly excited about at that time, and in my last year I found my calling after taking GIS and remote sensing classes as electives. My master’s study was on GIS models and during my Ph.D in Geomatics I heavily focused on disaster management and earthquake engineering with GIS. My non-OSM career consists of researcher or assistant professor positions in Turkey and the US between 2005 and 2022 and those have made me highly experienced in learning & training, measurement and evaluation methods, curriculum development, reporting and technical writing.

About My OSM Journey, Less Briefly

My first acquaintance with OSM was in 2012 when I was still a research assistant at the university, minding my own GIS stuff on disasters and earthquakes using all proprietary software. After a major earthquake struck south-east Turkey in 2011, there was a collective mapping effort by a community to produce open and accessible data. By everyone, for everyone, WOW! So I found my side gig.

I became aware of a group called the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT), and their Tasking Manager. I got in touch with other contributors, met some of them. One day I learned that there’s a field mapping activity part of a EU project and along with some interested students of mine, we tagged along and met Mr. Manfred Reiter and the WeeklyOSM project. That encounter then led me to contributing to the Turkish edition of WeeklyOSM, which is something I still try to do. I learned what a mapathon is and wanted to organize one. And sometimes we ran mapathons with two organizers but a single attendee. But eventually the patience persevered and we experienced mapathons at national GIS conferences with 100+ attendees. Meanwhile I tried to let more and more students know about what OSM is and throughout my academic career and I’ve tried my best to incorporate OSM in my classroom.

With my colleague, we received the honour to attend the United Nations Geographic Information Working Group (UNGIWG) 2013 Annual Plenary in Istanbul, Turkey in early 2013 to talk about OSM and conduct a small mapping exercise with the attendees representing the Turkish OSM community.

In 2016, I attended my first SotM in Brussels which gave me an amazing opportunity to meet with numerous people and organizations I met and coordinated with online, including HOT.

In 2017 we established Yer Cizenler, a local NGO based in Istanbul to have a legal entity within the Turkish OSM community which enabled us to receive and manage funds and conduct OSM-related projects within the humanitarian ecosystem in the country. At Yer Cizenler, I have managed multiple field projects and organized editing activities until 2021 with HOT funding. I chaired the Yer Cizenler board from January 2018 to February 2024 and as the board we have managed to build Yer Cizenler’s capacity, visibility and reputation up to become one of the staples within the Turkish community. With extensive community & partner outreach we have established solid relationships with student communities and departments at universities, local governments, other NGOs and institutions through trainings, dialogues and workshops. We have established ourselves in UNHCR Turkey’s protection and information management working groups. We went on to represent the works and developments withinYer Cizenler and OSM-TR in SotM 2018, HOT Summit 2019, SotM 2020, HOT Summit 2020, SotM 2021, and SotM 2022.

Yer Cizenler has led disaster mapping efforts with HOT over its presence. Most significant ones were the coordination for the 2020 Aegean Sea Earthquake which struck Izmir in Turkey. Although the casualties were low, the city experienced relatively high structural damage. Yer Cizenler, with the city coordination council of the union of professional chambers, have supported the post event data collection and management efforts to assess the structural and infrastructural damage, as well as the needs of the affected population. One of the biggest activations to date, Yer Cizenler again coordinated the mapping efforts following the Turkey Earthquakes in 2023. As a result of the effort, more than 9000 contributors have mapped more than 2.2 million buildings and more than 88,000 km of road segments in OSM. With the additional support of satellite image providers, we were able to map the damaged buildings as well, which had become the most downloaded datasets of HDX in 2023.

In 2022, I joined the Open Mapping Hub Asia-Pacific, one of the regional Hubs of HOT as the OSM Trainer where I coordinated the learning & training activities and projects of the Hub. Since August 2023, until my departure from HOT in July 2024, I worked as the senior manager for community & partnerships at the Hub. In that pos, I have found the opportunity to utilize my experience with university groups within the Asia-Pacific communities and have led a project to sponsor student clubs in order to support their capacities and knowledge on their way to become part of the greater OSM community.

Now, I want to make use of all this accumulated knowledge and experience I stated above within the OSM community. Yer Cizenler has given me great experience on multiple facets of NGO management. Given its relatively small scale, I needed to take part hands-on rather than delegating on multiple functions (operations, finance, comms, partnership, etc.). And HOT has given me a great deal of understanding on project management within remote teams and invaluable opportunities to communicate with multiple communities worldwide.

I believe that these experiences have made me capable of handling the board duties of OSMF, and I feel that the time is right for me to nominate myself to this duty.

More of Why I Am Running

I’m not very big at identifying myself with something. I don’t showcase any strong belonging or fanaticism based on my hometown, the sports teams I support, or my alma mater and I don’t let those identities dictate my behaviours. But there is one identity where I feel a sense of belonging, happiness, pride, and ownership. And it’s the global OpenStreetMap community.

So my plan is to stick around within this community professionally. I also want to keep serving this community in a volunteer capacity, and not just by editing data. I have acquired valuable NGO & program management experience within the OSM ecosystem over the years.

My work has enabled me to interact with multiple diverse but underrepresented communities over the years. There are multiple reasons for those communities to actively contribute to OSM but stay distant from the OSMF and its WGs. Coming from one of those communities, I’m aware of some of the barriers for inclusion and I want to work towards making OSMF more accessible for the community members who might be intimidated by the bureaucracy of governing or maybe simply not knowing where to start.

Apart from that, I want to make use of the program management skills and carry these experiences to serve the community I identify with most and support the OSMF on tasks like EU registration, partner & community engagement, fundraising, hiring, etc.

I sincerely wish for your support to get elected to the board so we keep shaping ourselves and the future of the open geospatial ecosystem together.

Michael Montani

About Me

Nice to meet you, I am Michael Montani. My OSM journey starts in 2016 while I was a student of Environmental Engineering at Politecnico di Milano. Almost serendipitously, I decided to participate to an extracurricular event in which some PhD students and professors where organizing some activities on OSM. It is like this that I found myself randomly co-founding the first European chapter of YouthMappers, PoliMappers, together with other students and friends, including Lorenzo Stucchi, Federica Gaspari and Said Turksever.

Back at the times, I still remember I was mapping consistent chunks of my neighbourhood in my hometown in North Italy, as many things were not mapped yet. And I remember other PoliMappers and I were self-learning most of the things related to open geospatial information testing out editors and teaching each other on a monthly basis during extracurricular time at the university, sometimes eating pizza together.

In 2018 I got a strange idea and I proposed to my ecology professor (which mainly relates to automation engineering) that we could use OSM to solve research problems associated with health conditions on waterborne diseases in Senegal, a research line in which he was involved. We submitted the proposal and (after reading a mail I missed for 3 months lol) I was awarded the 2018 YouthMappers Research Fellowship. I conducted an international research project funded by USAID and The World Bank to produce health risk maps to fight schistosomiasis, a Neglected Tropical Disease, in North Senegal. The work was published in several places, but I covered community aspects on a pubblication on Springer Nature in 2020. This experience was literally life-changing, especially when I found myself swimming with crocodiles to recover a fallen drone lol.

Until 2020, PoliMappers grew and became an active community that organizes (certainly also with the help of professors) events like the State of the Map in Milan or with big organizations like the European Space Agency or the United Nations. It is like this that I ended up working for the United Nations Global Service Centre (UNGSC), the logistic base of the United Nations, which provides geospatial services to the UN Peacekeeping missions (mostly known as Blue Helmets). Here, I coordinate crowdsourcing activities of UN Mappers for which OSM contributors can directly contribute to cartographic efforts of the United Nations, in exchange of training opportunities, social visibility, personal gratification, career development opportunities. Sometimes I found myself doing OSM trainings for national cartographic agencies in war areas. Apart from this, I was able to work with and learn a lot from some "OSM behemoths", like edvac, SeverinGeo, Ale_Zena_IT, isoipsa, GeoFrizz, mbranco2, Jrachi, cronoser and Alban Vivert. On my wikipage and Q9 you can read some of my community contributions to OSM.

This is just to say how an incredible journey OSM has been to me in just 8 years. It definetely changed my life, and I presented OpenStreetMap and directly or indirectly trained thousands of people to edit it along the way. Despite having a technical background, I always found myself contributing to the social aspects of OSM and in particular volunteer attraction and training. I am 100% sure that, thanks to my and other community members' passion of OSM, many people I encountered were able to improve their lives significantly, maybe becoming relevant or experienced members in their local communities or got geospatial job opportunities elsewhere, some of them also related to OSM.

OSM is really important to me, and I would like it to continue improve people's lives.

About OpenStreetMap

OpenStreetMap is a big empty virtual paper on the Internet.

People in the UK, which brought the paper and gave the title, started drawing the road network of London.
Other people arrived and added building footprints, rivers, points of interest and many other data.
Others came and mapped features in other continents. They started like everybody from the main features, and added details later on.
Some mappers got in touch with municipalities and brought some data to OpenStreetMap.
Small companies started using that map and making business out of it. It's free and complete enough, why should I pay?
Humanitarian workers saw it and thought it could be used for disaster response.
Some university students and researchers formed groups and started editing together across the world.
Some big companies started liking the map and exploring ways to use it, but also contribute to it. They started drawing a lot and bought lemonades and new pencils for everybody.

By now there is a huge crowd around this paper! Some people speak loudly, others silently continue drawing. Some are more friends with others, and have pizza together. Others teach beginners how to draw better, while others spiritedly discuss what is the best way to map the name of a terrace, not the name of the building with the terrace but the name of the terrace, that terrace, on that building. And the map gets better and better.

Lately some things happened.

Some of the mappers saw that map is really beautiful now, and it gathered a lot of attention. A lot of GIS professionals know about it and even national cartographic agencies and intergovernmental agencies use it! But there are even some national governments or individuals threatening not to draw things on this public paper map or else!!
One day, some malicious individuals, together with some bots, started scribbling all over the map. As they see a lot of people use that map, they think they can send political messages or just want to ruin it. Luckily enough, some of the mappers are so skilled they managed to send them away!
Another day, some videogame nerds came in and started drawing imaginary things on the map in order to be able to catch new imaginary creatures on their videogame, that was using the map.
Recently, some of the big companies teamed up together and brought up a copy of that nice paper map and said, let's make it better than that painting by the famous artist Van Google. They started privately working on that copy, modifying a bit the colors, correcting details, recruiting bots to add more data while still promising to keep drawing on the original paper, OpenStreetMap. They kept drawing on OpenStreetMap, but they also started attracting the attention of data users, for example, the videogame nerds.

The situation is a bit chaotic and some of the mappers fear the competition, others start feeling like those lemonades are a bit bitter, some just want to keep to map silently. Others keep remembering us the project has always been mainly driven by volunteers!

Overall, though, life goes on and the mappers continue to happily map within the loud crowd.

About my candidacy

What this story teaches us? OpenStreetMap will continue to do well until human communities are active, diverse and can easily draw and use the big paper map as long it is easy to contribute to, accessible, there are no pressures on what has to be or not to be on it and there are some simple rules to live together happily.

I wrote my view on many topics all over the questions, and I invite you to read them if you like. I don't necessarily have strong implementation or innovative ideas, but I just throw down some thoughts and would like to see if they resonates with you. I have stronger stances on some topics and much looser on others; if I get elected to the OSMF Board, I will be eager of learning more about the complexity and the pending topics of the OSMF and ensure to listen to everybody's opinion and experience, especially on topics I am not expert about.

In general, I am happy with the strategic plan, which is very well thought, and do not feel like proposing anything new to it. Given my long experience in the United Nations, I feel I can help with institutional adoption of OSM (governments, institutions and academia), ideally across the world. My mapping experience is mostly in Africa, Middle-East and Europe, and I have somewhat a broad knowledge of the OSM community scene across the world, especially in Africa and continental Asia. I believe it is important to ensure the participation to everybody to the work of the OSMF and to make its work more visible to the broader OSM community.

But back to the story lol

Why some mappers do not speak with others? Until they do not speak, we cannot know they are there, and we cannot understand if they are doing ok or would need anything from us. Maybe they don't know the OSMF exists, or maybe they don't care, or usually speak on other channels. Maybe they know other people that would be interested in mapping! More on this in Q10.
Those mappers correcting errors... they are truly cool! It is important we ensure these people can work more and more efficiently, and to have a big pool of people always ready if something happens. More on this in Q12.
DO NOT THROW AWAY YOUR OPEN-SOURCE PENCILS!! Q13.
My ideas on relationships with governments (and what we should work on if we want to widespread OSM adoption in Q7) and big companies' map (Q14). Also Q2 is important.
My thinking about ensuring we all continue have nice drinks (like lemonades) in Q8. I think it would be nice if we could get some orange juices too, which I believe could be found in Q6.

If you made it back until here alive, congratulations! And wish you happy voting!

Andrés Gómez Casanova

Who I am

I am Colombian (Colombia, not Columbia, the country in the north of South America, just after Panama). I studied systems engineering, and on the personal side, I have a wonderful family with a 5-year-old son. On the professional side, I have worked in IT departments for almost 20 years, mainly in financial institutions, and currently, I work as a DBA (Database administrator) in a Canadian bank.

I lived in France for several years. I studied for a master's degree in computer science, focusing on software engineering in Grenoble, and worked in different industries in Lyon. During my life in France, I understood the importance of open-source software and open data. That's how I discovered OpenStreetMap and started contributing to the project.

I live in Bogota, Colombia, and a few years ago, I studied for a Master of Business Administration (MBA), so I know the elements needed to manage an organization.

I can communicate in several languages (Spanish, English, French), and I am currently learning Portuguese for the SotM LatAm 2024 in Belem, Brazil.

As I said, I joined the project several years ago, but since the lockdown of COVID-19, I have been committed to strengthening the OSM community in Colombia and Latin America.

My alias in different Internet services, including OSM, is AngocA.

What have I done in OSM?

I supported the reactivation of the community in Colombia and LatAm, having regular meetings at the LatAm level. As a result, we could organize the SotM LatAm this year after five years without having done it.

Documentation is essential to me, so I have made over 10,000 changes to the wiki. Also, I have revisited all the Spanish translations of the website (about 2,300 sentences).

On the other hand, I created the MaptimeBogotá chapter, one of the most active chapters in the last years, with which I've been able to organize mapping parties in different places of the city and virtual mapathons.

I don't publish many things on my social network accounts. Still, I recognize their power, so I have created multiple social networks for the Colombian community, obtaining outstanding results. An example is the interviews we did for the 20 years of OSM (OSM_Colombia account in most social networks: https://linktr.ee/osm_colombia).

My contributions are entirely as a volunteer, and my day-to-day work has nothing to do with OpenStreetMap, GIS, maps, open data, or open-source software.

Why my candidacy to the Board?

After all these years of contributing to OpenStreetMap in different ways, I have a broad view of this ecosystem. In addition, I have technical expertise in computer science and business management knowledge, so I can offer my best to represent the foundation's interests.

I see great potential in OSM as a brand where the data, logo, website, social media, sponsors, working groups, committees, local chapters, contributors, and users reflect the foundation's interest in having the best map. There is a lot of disintegration and a need for knowledge of how all these elements are articulated, which has prevented us from becoming more robust as a community. Being such an important project, it is little known by ordinary people, and this leads to few contributors, low diversity, and the maintenance of the project requires a lot of effort.

OSM's social networks, which are on all platforms, should reflect an articulated and continuous campaign, generating content that attracts more people, reflecting the work of the working groups, chapters, and other communities, and inviting people to meetings, events, or to contribute, either by mapping, translating, etc.

The OSM Foundation is small, and part of our spending goes on tile servers, which many entities use for free and often without attribution. The foundation cannot continue to sponsor this practice and must define processes to limit or block it.

On the other hand, the documentation must be improved, and ways must be found to make new users aware of the wiki's sea of knowledge. A new mechanism must be found that is attractive to new users and allows translation into multiple languages.

Before concluding my manifesto, I want to include that many processes that help disseminate changes in the map should be improved. For example, imports, organized editions, mapathons, mapping parties, and welcoming new members. These processes, which can be bureaucratic from a wiki perspective, offer a lot of health to the project, yet only some people use them or perform the steps.

Laura Mugeha

Who am I?

Hello, I am Laura, a Geospatial engineer based in Nairobi, Kenya. I focus(try to) my work on the intersection of open data, free and open-source software, and sustainable development. My journey with OpenStreetMap began in 2016 as a university student in Kenya, evolving from random contributions to co-creating and leading OSM Kenya and being a YouthMappers Regional Ambassador. Currently, I serve as an Implementation Officer at Ushahidi - living a dream that I have had for a long time -- working full time at an organization that uses and contributes to OSM.

Why do I map?

I map because I believe in the power of open mapping to create positive change, especially in developing regions. OpenStreetMap is not just a project; it's a movement that empowers communities, supports sustainable development, and democratizes access to geographic information.

Why I'm running for the board?

I'm running for the OSMF board to bring a perspective from this side of the global community. My experiences have shown me both the challenges and immense potential of OSM in diverse contexts. On the board, I aim to champion initiatives that support emerging OSM communities, enhance diversity, and drive technological innovation while staying true to OSM's collaborative spirit.

Why vote for me?

I bring a unique perspective shaped by years of active involvement in OSM. My experience spans community building, technical contributions, and global collaborations. I understand the challenges that emerging OSM communities face and the potential for growth in these areas.

My vision is an OpenStreetMap that represents our diverse world – accessible, innovative, and impactful. I commit to being a voice for underrepresented regions, a bridge between different OSM communities, and a champion for sustainable, community-driven growth.

Héctor Ochoa Ortiz

Who am I?

I am Héctor, a PhD student researching Open Data Ecosystems (with a focus on OSM and commercial organizations), who has been contributing to OSM since 2011, and I am currently based in Italy. I studied for my B.Eng. of Informatics in Spain, with a year abroad in Turkey, and my love for OSM led me to then join the international M.Sc. of Cartography in Germany [6][7] and Austria, where I met people from all over the world.

I have been involved with local communities since 2016, and I have helped organize OSM events together with mobility-impaired user associations, humanitarian organizations, local governments, universities, and for-profit organizations. As time goes on, I am moving from my technical background to a more social profile with interdisciplinarity in mind. My strong point is, therefore, being a bridge between technical and social people.

As for my hobbies, I like transportation (trains, urban mobility, and urban structure), maps (of course!), and traveling (who doesn’t like to discover new places, cultures, history, and food).

Why am I running?

I believe that my interdisciplinarity and background are a great fit for the OSMF: tech and non-tech people should get along and understand each other’s needs. I also aim to be a pan-European representative, bringing experiences from my time living in different countries and seeing diverse realities.

I am a young voice (I am 27 y/o), but, at the same time, I have experience in the project (as I made my first edit when I was 13 and have been actively contributing since I was 18). As every year passes, I get increasingly involved in the project, discovering, learning, and getting amazed by new things. It is an ever-learning experience, given how broad and diverse the community is. I believe that the OSMF has to be a representative body to the community, supporting and amplifying its voice.

Please continue by reading my answers to each of the questions, and if you feel that I am a good candidate, remember to vote for me in October. Good luck to all the candidates. ¡Salud y mapas!

Español

¿Quién soy?

Soy Héctor, un estudiante de doctorado que investiga Ecosistemas de Datos Abiertos (con un enfoque en OSM y organizaciones comerciales), que he estado contribuyendo a OSM desde 2011, y actualmente estoy basado en Italia. Estudié Ingeniería Informática en España, con un año en el extranjero en Turquía, y mi amor por OSM me llevó a unirme al máster internacional de Cartografía en Alemania [8][9] y Austria, donde conocí a personas de todo el mundo.

He estado involucrado con comunidades locales desde 2016, y he ayudado a organizar eventos de OSM junto con asociaciones de gente con movilidad reducida, organizaciones humanitarias, gobiernos locales, universidades y organizaciones comerciales. A medida que pasa el tiempo, estoy moviéndome de mi formación técnica hacia un perfil más social con interdisciplinariedad en mente. Mi punto fuerte es, por lo tanto, ser un puente entre personas técnicas y sociales.

En cuanto a mis aficiones, me gusta el transporte (trenes, movilidad urbana y estructura urbana), los mapas (¡por supuesto!) y viajar (¿a quién no le gusta descubrir nuevos lugares, culturas, historia y comida?).

¿Por qué me postulo?

Creo que mi interdisciplinariedad y formación son una gran combinación para la OSMF: las personas técnicas y no técnicas deben llevarse bien y entender las necesidades de los demás. También aspiro a ser un representante paneuropeo, aportando experiencias de mi tiempo viviendo en diferentes países y viendo diversas realidades.

Soy una voz joven (tengo 27 años), pero, al mismo tiempo, tengo experiencia en el proyecto (ya que hice mi primera edición cuando tenía 13 años y he estado contribuyendo activamente desde que tenía 18). Cada año que pasa, me involucro más en el proyecto, descubriendo, aprendiendo y asombrándome con cosas nuevas. Es una experiencia de aprendizaje continuo, dada la amplitud y diversidad de la comunidad. Creo que la OSMF debe ser un órgano representativo de la comunidad, apoyando y amplificando su voz.

Por favor, continúa leyendo mis respuestas a cada una de las preguntas, y si crees que soy un buen candidato, recuerda votar por mí en octubre. Buena suerte a todos los candidatos. ¡Salud y mapas!

Arun Ganesh

This year will be my 17th being an active contributor to the map and with time my amazement with it has only grown. It's been a hobby that has been truly rewarding for connecting me to the most interesting people on earth, the kind who enjoy using their spare time to find something new to add on a map!

OSM is becoming one of the most valuable structured data resources on the planet, the only citizen-controlled global street map in existence. It is important to appreciate this fact in the context of the increasing power of AI at the hands of humans. Creating a web page that can take a spreadsheet, geocode it and plot points on an interactive map today takes a few minutes of AI prompting, for someone who has never written a line of code.

We're at a time where we will see an explosion in the personalized applications of maps, and OSM will have a vital role to play in enabling this. While it's hard to say what kind of threats or opportunities will emerge in these times, my commitment is to work towards a goal of ensuring that the OSM project continues to be protected as a vital public resource that remains under community control.

I believe that the project needs to focus on the following priorities:

1. Visibility and Reputation: The project needs to be more visible and its value proposition needs to be more widely communicated. This includes not only the technical capabilities of the map, but also its unique features such as the ability to edit and query the map which is still widely unknown to the public.

2. Supporting and empowering field mappers: Developing tools, resources, and recognition systems that encourage and facilitate contributions from those who map based on direct field observations.

3. Enhancing data quality and validation: Encouraging the development and adoption of tools for data validation, making them more accessible to editors, and improving the overall quality of OSM data.

2024 OpenStreetMap Foundation's: Board election - Voting information and instructions - Annual General Meeting

Foundation/AGM2024/Election to Board/Answers and manifestos/Manifestos

Craig Allan

Improving on-boarding

Implementation of the Strategic Plan

Being the Secretary

Chair of Finance

Moving to Belgium

Working as a Team

Ok. Enough already

Brazil Singh

Vision Statement

About Me

Why You Vote for Me?

My Goals for OpenStreetMap and OSMF

In Closing

Courtney Cook Williamson

Maurizio Napolitano

My Vision for OSMF and Policy Engagement

Key Priorities as a Board Member

Can Ünen

About Me, Briefly

About My OSM Journey, Less Briefly

More of Why I Am Running

Michael Montani

About Me

About OpenStreetMap

About my candidacy

Andrés Gómez Casanova

Who I am

What have I done in OSM?

Why my candidacy to the Board?

Laura Mugeha

Who am I?

Why do I map?

Why I'm running for the board?

Why vote for me?

Héctor Ochoa Ortiz

Who am I?

Why am I running?

Español

¿Quién soy?

¿Por qué me postulo?

Arun Ganesh

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