Open Source Geospatial Conference calls for speakers

The Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial (FOSS4G) conference is reaching out to speakers interested in presenting at the 2011 conference that will be held Sept. 12 – 16 in Denver, CO, USA. FOSS4G is the premier international conference focused on open source geospatial software. The open source geospatial toolset is mature with enterprise-class deployments across the globe at all levels of enterprise for a wide variety of applications.

Users and developers are encouraged to present their latest projects and software development work to demonstrate the power of open source geospatial solutions. The organizers are looking for a good mix of content for all levels of ability and experience with open source. In addition to high-caliber sessions for developers, there are plans for several workshops and sessions that will welcome non-technical decision makers to the power, capability and compelling business case for open source geospatial software.

Presentation topics will include case studies of open source applications, benchmarks of performance between different components, visualization tips and tricks, and new tool developments, hacks and mashups. In addition to the core focus on free and open source software, this year’s conference will also feature a major focus on free and open data. Content may cover systems that are solely open source or a combination of open and closed source solutions.

Sessions will run in seven concurrent tracks with space for around 135 presentations in both a regular program and an academic program. Presentations will either fill 30-minute slots with time for questions or 5-minute lightning talks. Proposals can be submitted online here.

There is pent up demand in the North American market for this content given the growth in open source geospatial solutions and the fact that this is the first time this international event will return to a North American venue in four years. “With the current strong interest in open source geospatial solutions, we anticipate an attendance of around a thousand people” said Peter Batty, conference committee chair and vice president of geospatial technology at Ubisense, Inc. “We have a great venue and an experienced organizing team, and believe this will be one of the premier geospatial events of 2011.”

This year’s FOSS4G event is also adjacent to State of the Map, the annual international conference focused on OpenStreetMap, the wiki-style creator and provider of free geographic data that has recently garnered corporate support from both MapQuest and Microsoft. The ability to attend both events with one trip to Denver in September makes for a great opportunity to learn about the latest developments in the geospatial industry.