My journey from field biologist to GRASS GIS board member exemplifies the accessibility of open source contributions. Curiosity and a willingness to learn propelled me into the world of geospatial analysis, leading to a deep appreciation for the power of open source tools and community. I had the chance to witness firsthand the transformative power of open collaboration and this was really inspiring and engaging. However, I also recognized the need to bridge the gap between the global open source community and regions such as Latin America.

In this keynote, I will explore and reflect on strategies for breaking down barriers and fostering a more inclusive open source community, emphasizing the importance of mentorship, education, and accessible resources. By drawing on my personal experiences and lessons learned, I aim to inspire and empower attendees to become active contributors and leaders to build a more sustainable open source ecosystem!

GRASS GIS is an open source geoprocessing engine for efficient spatio-temporal data management, analysis, and modeling. The software comes with a Python API, command line and graphical user interfaces, and additional APIs for C and R.

In this talk we will give a comprehensive overview of the latest GRASS GIS developments and upcoming new features. We will cover several improvements to the graphical user interface aimed at increasing the usability and ease the adoption of GRASS GIS. We will also highlight a number of improvements and existing features relevant for industry and academic users to facilitate the integration of GRASS data processing and analysis tools into their workflows using Python or R, either on the command line or in the cloud. Finally, the latest community activities, as well as contribution and funding opportunities will be presented.