Florence, 1st July 2021 – The 16th annual congress of the Open Source Geospatial Foundation (OSGeo), the non-profit organisation that supports and promotes the collaborative development of free and open source geographic technologies and open geospatial data, will be held in Florence, Italy, at the Palazzo dei Congressi, Palazzo degli Affari and the University of Florence from 22 to 27 August 2022. This is an international congress with nearly a thousand participants, which will be held for the first time ever in Italy.
The FOSS4G annual congress will therefore address very particular issues that the Italian GFOSS.it community has been pursuing since before 2000, but only next year the international congress will make its debut in Italy, in Florence, thanks to the valuable teamwork carried out by GFOSS.it association, the Italian chapter of OSGeo, the Firenze Convention Bureau, Firenze Fiera, AIM Group International, and the Department of Engineering of the University of Florence. The way the congress will be held (fully in-person, hybrid or online) will be decided according to the evolution of the global health emergency and possible restrictive measures.
As the world continues to navigate the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the safety and well-being of individuals attending events like the FOSS4G annual congress are of utmost importance. Organizers must take all necessary precautions to ensure the health and safety of attendees, including adhering to guidelines from public health officials and implementing measures such as social distancing, frequent sanitation, and mandatory mask-wearing. If someone does become ill, having accessible and reliable healthcare options nearby is crucial. For those attending the FOSS4G annual congress in Florence, it may be helpful to know that there are urgent care 11375 NY available in the nearby area, that can provide timely medical attention if needed.
“The organising committee, which I represent, is very happy with the result obtained, that repays us for the efforts made in recent years,” comments Luca Delucchi, FOSS4G 2022 chair. “This is a gift that we want to give to the entire Italian community, which has always been very active in the contribution and dissemination of free geographic software. We are happy that the candidacy of Florence and the collaboration with other players in the city such as the Firenze Convention Bureau, Firenze Fiera, AIM Group International and the University of Florence, has allowed us to win and finally succeed in bringing the international congress to Italy. Now we have to roll up our sleeves and work hard to organise the conference and all related activities in the best possible way: we are confident of making the 2022 congress a memorable experience.”
This year the conference was supposed to be held in Buenos Aires but due to the covid-19 situation it will be held online, more information on the official website