Hi all, Even though I did not attend the conference this year I was definitely a bit taken aback when I saw ESRI as a sponsor and completely understand the feelings of those who have been burned not only by regional distributors, but also strong ESRI advocates. However, I believe our community (especially young and recent graduates) is made up of many 'converted' ESRI users, and in some cases we're basically preaching to the choir. I see this as a positive step, where it opens the opportunity to build a bridge to many individuals on the other side who are just as passionate about their work and looking to belong to a community as awesome as ours. At the end of the day, we all utilise what works for us, whether open or commercial. I definitely sound naive, but as Eli has mentioned, I've also learned to value and trust individuals over large (and sometimes scary) organisations, and I think it would be a step back to close our community off to organisations such as ESRI, which could also make individuals associated feel unwelcome.
This discussion is incredibly valuable, and I hope it continues as it would be useful for the organising committee for next year's global FOSS4G in Auckland! Vinaka, Carrol On Thu, 21 Nov 2024 at 11:12, eli via Oceania <[email protected]> wrote: > Thanks to Andrew and everyone else who has contributed to this discussion. > It seems to have stirred quite a reaction in the community, and it’s > important to address it. > > As Alex pointed out, the committee's decisions are somewhat separate from > the board. That said, I personally supported this initiative. Like many of > you, I’ve been ‘burned’ by ESRI regional distributors, who in some > countries actively try (and sometimes succeed) to poach potential clients. > This creates significant damage to small companies like mine, all for a few > thousand dollars that likely don’t even cover their Christmas party > expenses. > > However, I was thrilled to have Kate Fickas as one of our (all female) > keynote speakers. In my opinion, she’s an amazing person who genuinely > cares about community building, as demonstrated through her Ladies of > Landsat group and her ongoing activism on social media. She’s also a > long-time friend of FOSS4G OO, having been a keynote speaker at our online > 2021 conference, waking up at an ungodly hour to help us deliver quality > content during a challenging time. It’s also worth noting that she was > selected and agreed to be a keynote speaker for the Hobar conference before > anyone considered having ESRI as a sponsor. > > From what I understand, Kate played a pivotal role in encouraging ESRI to > sponsor the conference, as one of her roles is community building. I > recognise that some may view this as an attempt from ESRI to interfere in > our community, and I don’t want to be naïve and discard that possibility. > Nevertheless, I tend to value and trust individuals over large > organizations. My experience has shown that we shouldn’t judge people’s > intentions and behaviour based solely on the companies they work for. > > We have talented, passionate members in our community who work for > ‘questionable’ big companies, and we embrace them. If we cut off ESRI, > should we also discuss those other companies? Perhaps, and I’d be happy to > contribute to that conversation. But if we accept contributions from other > companies, why not try to build a bridge with ESRI, which is undeniably > doing good things with GDAL and in the OSM world? Additionally, having ESRI > at our conference could attract to the OS world people and countries that > primarily use ESRI software, like the Cook Islands. > > For these reasons, I was pleased that the committee decided to explore > this bridge-building opportunity at the conference. I thoroughly enjoyed > Kate’s keynote address and our discussions, as she had many interesting and > practical ideas for empowering specific members of our community, including > women and non-native English speakers. > > That said, what matters most to me is our community. I want it to thrive, > grow, and feel comfortable and safe above all else. I’m more than willing > to advocate against ESRI sponsorship in the future if the majority feels > it’s a threat rather than an opportunity. OO exists because of all of you, > and your needs always come first in our decisions. Let’s continue this > discussion and see where it leads us. > > Cheers, > > Elisa > > > Il giorno gio 21 nov 2024 alle ore 10:32 Alex Leith via Oceania < > [email protected]> ha scritto: > >> Hi Andrew >> >> Thanks for raising this, and I'm glad we're having the discussion. >> >> The local organising committee for FOSS4G SotM Oceania operates >> independently of the Board, even though some on the committee may be Board >> members. And as a committee, we talked a lot about decisions on keynotes, >> making sure we were bringing the right influence to the event, the right >> "vibe". We talked less about sponsors, really, and that was mostly >> delegated to the sponsorship team (which was mostly Nick Forbes-Smith and >> me). >> >> So, there are two separate items here, as you note. Kate Fickas was >> invited as a keynote speaker because she's been an incredible advocate for >> women and I think her keynote was really good. She spoke about specific >> initiatives, like how she worked with others in the USGS to get Virginia T. >> Norwood recognition as the person who actually invented Landsat! >> >> The Esri sponsorship came up separately, though I think Kate may have >> encouraged it. And Esri were able to justify their sponsorship internally >> due to their support for the SotM component of our conference. Kate >> acknowledged in her keynote that Esri uses open source software in their >> applications. It's worth noting that Esri supported the GDAL Barnraising >> efforts in a significant way (https://gdalbarn.com/.) >> >> Now, I know that some have been burned by Esri resellers doing things >> that are not good, and there's a lot of hard feelings around. I don't >> discount that at all. But I feel as a community we should keep the gate >> open. We need support from business to make the conference happen, and >> we'll need it for the global event next year in a big way. Other >> organisations that may sponsor may or may have imperfect reputations in >> some areas, but good people work in all of these organisations. I believe >> it’s reasonable to welcome sponsorship from any organisation, provided they >> agree to our code of conduct and other reasonable conditions set by the >> community. >> >> My honest personal take is that we should expect sponsors to not be >> anti-open source and not be anti-competitive. But I think we should hold >> ourselves to similar standards. The era of militant anti-proprietary >> software movements has largely passed, and in many ways, we’ve already won. >> As I mentioned during the “pitch a future” session at the conference, the >> open movement feels inevitable. Microsoft’s journey from labeling open >> source a “virus” to embracing it wholeheartedly is a prime example. Should >> we have rejected Microsoft's contributions to past events? >> >> Kind regards, >> >> On Thu, 21 Nov 2024 at 02:53, Andrew Jeffrey via Oceania < >> [email protected]> wrote: >> >>> Hi All, >>> >>> I hope everyone that was able to attend the FOSS4G SOTM Oceania Hobart >>> conference had a great time. I'm still very much bummed that I wasn't able >>> to make it down there and my only start at the OO conference remains >>> Melbourne in 2018. I plan on improving my numbers as best I can into the >>> future, but from the outside looking in, it looked like all those that >>> attended had a blast - well done conference committee and OO board. >>> >>> I am writing to the list because I have a question that has been bugging >>> me ever since I talked to a colleague who attended the event. That question >>> is "What's the deal with ESRI being a sponsor?". I have genuine >>> curiosity when it comes to the decision process in having them on board. I >>> understand these things take money to put on and the conference needs to >>> turn a profit, a healthy conference makes for a healthy OO which allows the >>> organisation to do many of the great things that they do. However, I think >>> this sponsorship from ESRI should be reconsidered in the future. >>> >>> Just to be clear, I am not opposed to speakers who work for ESRI coming >>> and talking, from all reports the keynote from Kate Fickas was amazing (as >>> were all the keynotes from what I hear) and these are the industry people >>> that we all crave to hear from - top job in landing that line up! But as >>> for sponsorship I feel that ESRI is putting their brand on a community that >>> a lot of us turned to when looking for refuge from them. >>> >>> I acknowledge that my opinion on this is biased as a QGIS advocate and >>> trainer. But something about this just feels off! I don't see what's in it >>> for the FOSS4G community having ESRI involved in our conferences, to me it >>> looks more of a cheap way for them to buy some good news without doing >>> anything to improve the relationship with the FOSS4G community. >>> >>> However, I know I wasn't there, and I could be wrong about the whole >>> thing. Maybe the overwhelming opinion is that it's a good thing and this is >>> a step in the right direction? I would be interested in hearing what people >>> think and even hearing from someone on the conference organising committee >>> that has more knowledge about this. Is this something the conference would >>> do again? Is there a limit to their involvement? What would have happened >>> if they were a platinum sponsor and got the primary logo placement + verbal >>> mention at opening and closing of the event? >>> >>> Thanks >>> Andrew >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Oceania mailing list >>> [email protected] >>> https://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/oceania >>> >> >> >> -- >> *Alex Leith* >> m: +61 419 189 050 >> https://auspatious.com >> _______________________________________________ >> Oceania mailing list >> [email protected] >> https://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/oceania >> > > > -- > Potrebbe andar peggio...potrebbe piovere! > _______________________________________________ > Oceania mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/oceania >
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