The International Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial (FOSS4G) Conference Comes to Boston

The 2017 International Conference for Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial (FOSS4G) kicks off next Monday, August 14th with 56 pre-conference workshops at Harvard University. The main conference begins on Wednesday in Boston’s Seaport Innovation District at the Seaport Hotel and World Trade Center. AppGeo staffers, Michael Terner and Guido Stein, are co-chairs of the conference and AppGeo has shown further corporate commitment to FOSS4G as a Supporter Sponsor.

The FOSS4G conference plays an important role in both supporting and building the Open Source for Geospatial community by offering a chance to gather in person, exchange ideas and start new collaborations.

This year’s international event, which is only held in North America every third-year, promises 6 packed days of workshops, keynotes, and concurrent sessions, plus multiple social gatherings capped by a gala event at the New England Aquarium, and the conference concludes with a day of code sprints on Saturday.

The diversity of the Open Source community will be visible, with keynote speakers and sponsors from a wide variety of industries including traditional geospatial, big data/analytics, as well as satellite and drone-based imaging firms.  The FOSS4G participants come from all over the world with over 40 countries and 40 states represented.  Further, the conference represents users and developers from all levels of government, business and academia.

The arrival of FOSS4G to Boston reflects Boston’s vibrant and growing Open Source community and it is the result of the countless hours volunteered by the Boston Local Organizing Committee (BLOC), which itself reflects the diversity of participation described above.

“There are many ways of giving back to an Open Source community beyond committing lines of code” said Michael Terner, Executive Vice President of AppGeo and Conference Chair for the 2017 FOSS4G. “The whole BLOC is thrilled to give back by planning and presenting FOSS4G Boston 2017. After 20 months of hard work, we enthusiastically welcome the world to Boston next week.”