Though i might not know directly all the excellent 33 nominees, i can sense from the nominations and the supporting emails that all of them share thier dedication to OSGeo . OSGeo is a global organisation and it is great to see the geographic spread of the charter members.
Ravi - you made a very important point which i fully agree "Spread of Open Source GIS in Asia and developing countries can bring in a difference how technology can be used to mitigate corruption". It is sad fact that the biggest suffers from corruption are the most poorest people. Technology will play a key role in the fight against corruption but to truly get rid of corruption we also need spiritual awakening at all levels. Technology is a big leveller and openness (education,data, software, standards, governance ) is key to bring the benefits of technology advancements to the bottom billions also. Inspite of all the technological advancements, it is a sad fact that majority of the world's poorest do not still have access to basic facilities (clean water, proper sanitation and hygiene facilities , good quality education opportunities etc). GIS is fundamental technology in infrastructure development and high cost proprietary GIS is unaffordable to governments, town planners and local authorities in developing and economically poor countries. In order to achieve UN Sustainable Development Goals 2030 it is essential to provide free and open source geospatial tools to universities, government organisations etc in developing countries for helping them achieve these targets .Now with the availability of Open Source GIS technologies and open data, it offers a great opportunity for governments and municipal authorities in developing countries also to implement GIS tools for their decision making and implementation needs and help improving the lives of some of the most poorest people . By giving geospatial tools to the municipal authorities for their decision making and implementation needs (without having to pay huge annual licencing costs to proprietary GIS vendors) will help in improving the living standards of the people in the long term. We need to empower people and communities to make sure future generations are fully empowered . I believe that is why we all have to contribute our combined knowledge and efforts for the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development for building a better world for everyone. Geo for All is commited to do this [1] . Best wishes, Suchith <http://opensourcegeospatial.icaci.org/2016/02/future-of-gis-should-be-empowerment-not-enslavement-examples-needed-for-geo4all-newsletter/> [1] http://opensourcegeospatial.icaci.org/2016/07/how-can-we-contribute-our-efforts-for-united-nations-2030-agenda-for-sustainable-development-for-building-a-better-world-for-everyone-3/ ________________________________________ From: Discuss <discuss-boun...@lists.osgeo.org> on behalf of Ravi Kumar <manarajahmundry2...@gmail.com> Sent: 21 July 2016 5:08 PM To: discuss Subject: [OSGeo-Discuss] Vote for Charter S.Rama Murthy and Shailesh Chaure have one thing in common. They are both Geologists, and so go around India a lot, which is essential for an OSGeo Promoter. While the former taught professional Geologists in Remote sensing using Open Source Tools, the later is a teacher with many programs that help a Geologist at Field work. They both wish to see tools of OSGeo to promote GIS in India, which is essential for various reasons including Transparent administration. Wish to see them on the OSGeo Charter. Spread of Open Source GIS in Asia and developing countries can bring in a difference how technology can be used to mitigate corruption. Cheers V.Ravi Kumar This message and any attachment are intended solely for the addressee and may contain confidential information. If you have received this message in error, please send it back to me, and immediately delete it. Please do not use, copy or disclose the information contained in this message or in any attachment. Any views or opinions expressed by the author of this email do not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Nottingham. This message has been checked for viruses but the contents of an attachment may still contain software viruses which could damage your computer system, you are advised to perform your own checks. Email communications with the University of Nottingham may be monitored as permitted by UK legislation.
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