2026-09-01 –, Ran1
Discover how the QGIS Brazil community uses translation and local networking to democratize FOSS4G. This talk highlights how breaking the language barrier is essential for empowering local governments, students, and professionals in South America, turning translation efforts into massive software adoption and community growth.
In many countries of the Global South, the English language remains a significant barrier to the adoption of Free and Open Source Software. In Brazil, the QGIS community has turned this challenge into a movement. As a member of the QGIS Brazil coordination team, I will share our experience in organizing translation sprints and maintaining a 100% localized software environment.
We will look at how our ecosystem operates in practice:
Localization as Inclusion: Maintaining QGIS in Portuguese isn't just about translation; it's about accessibility. By localizing the software, website, and docs, we remove the first and most significant barrier for public servants, students, and local researchers.
A Living Support Network: Our community doesn't wait for official tickets. Through active channels on mailing lists, Telegram, and WhatsApp, thousands of users exchange knowledge daily, creating a massive, peer-to-peer technical support system.
From Community to Governance: Our support network has made QGIS the standard in Brazil. It is now the primary tool for state environmental licensing, university research, and municipal administration. By providing a localized and reliable environment, we’ve shifted from being a 'low-cost alternative' to the first choice for professional public management and academia.
This presentation shares the Brazilian experience to show that for non-English speaking regions, localization is not a secondary task—it is the foundation for technological sovereignty and professional growth.
QGIS Brazil Official Website: https://qgisbrasil.org - To understand our local organization and resources.
QGIS Localization on Transifex: https://app.transifex.com/qgis/ - The platform where our community manages the Portuguese translation.
OSGeo Local Chapters: https://app.transifex.com/qgis/ - Background on how regional communities like ours fit into the global OSGeo Foundation.
Indicate what is (are) the open source project(s) essential in your talk:QGIS, Transifex, OSGeo
I make my conference contribution available under the CC BY 4.0 license. The conference contribution comprises the abstract, the text contribution for the conference proceedings, the presentation materials as well as the video recording and live transmission of the presentation:
Geographer and OSGEO Charter Member and founding member of OSGeo Brazil, I participated in the organizing committee of FOSS4G 2024 Belém. As coordinator of the Brazilian QGIS User Group, I lead the localization and support for the Portuguese-speaking user community. My goal is to democratize FOSS4G tools for professional public management and scientific research.