State of the Map 2024/Call for venues
The call for venues for SotM 2024 is now closed. We are reviewing the bids in June/July and aim to announce the venue in August.
Bids
Old call for venues information
Each year the SotM working group (aka The State of the Map Organising Committee) organizes the global OpenStreetMap conference State of the Map (SotM). When the conference location is chosen, additional members will join the group as a "local team".
The local team is essential in providing on the-ground information about the venue (rooms, video, network, etc.), catering during the conference, suitable accommodation, how to use public transport and everything else that we have to organize locally. Additionally, the local team members can also work on tasks that can be done remotely. As the conference draws nearer, the working group will look for additional volunteers to assist during the conference. A good community of local volunteers helps here too.
In recent years, the annual OpenStreetMap conference State of the Map has attracted around 300-400 attendees. Normally it runs for three days; the weekend plus either Friday or Monday. SotM has started in a traditional conference format. But we also have some unconference elements which we appreciate. Our vision is sufficiently broad to accept all styles of bids - we're open to new ideas if you provide a compelling case.
In 2020 and 2021 SotM was a virtual conference due to Covid, which allowed many more people to attend. We wanted to stay with that new virtual format and combine it with our traditional conference format; thus, SotM 2022 was held in a hybrid manner, which we want to continue.
The last three in-person editions of the State of the Map were all held in Europe: SotM 2018 was in Milano/Italy, 2019 in Heidelberg/Germany and 2022 in Firenze/Italy. To better reflect the global nature of the OSM community, we prefer not to hold the next SotM in Europe and would especially like to encourage local teams from previously underrepresented regions to put in a bid.
How to apply for SotM 2024
Would you and your team like to apply for holding SotM 2024 in your city? For a proper official application please complete the following steps:
- Copy the Example Bid and fill it in. Make sure to answer all questions, but do not hesitate to add anything extra you think makes your bid more attractive.
- Add your application at the bottom of this page in the section "Bids"
- Send the filled in form (File:Bid for sotm XY form.odt) to the SotM working group.
Do you need help with your bid? Or do you have any questions? Please contact the SotM working group via email: sotm@openstreetmap.org.
You can find details about how we select a venue on our selection criteria page.
Key dates
- Call for venues open: 31st March 2023
- Submit your proposal by: 31st May 2023
- We will review the bids for SotM 2024 in June/July 2023 and will inform the teams immediately after the decision.
- Announcement of venue 2024: August 2023
- Also observe other relevant event dates, e.g. avoid collisions with FOSS4G and local SotMs.
Helpful links
- Compare last years' call for venues: 2020, 2019, 2018, …
- State Of The Map/Planning
Contact the SotM Working Group
Do you need help with your bid? Or do you have any questions? Please contact SotM working group via email: sotm@openstreetmap.org