Welcome to the Call for Presentations and Pre-Conference Workshops for the 2024 FOSS4G NA Conference being held September 9 - 11 at the Hyatt Regency St. Louis at the Arch, 315 Chestnut St, St. Louis, MO 63102.

DESCRIPTION

The aim of the conference is twofold: the exchange of information and experiences between users of geographic data and free and open source software for processing geographic information, and the possibility for new or potential users to discover the functionality of these systems and the availability of data, and to meet developers and experienced users.

WHAT TO CONTRIBUTE

At this time, FOSS4G NA is seeking the following:

• 30-minute podium style presentations with the intention of a 20-minute talk, 5 minutes of Q&A,
  and 5 minutes for transition time (CLOSED FOR SUBMISSIONS)
• 3-hour pre-conference workshops (CLOSED FOR SUBMISSIONS)
• Posters - DEADLINE August 1st 2024 Midnight America/Chicago

PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOPS

Workshops are intended to be highly stimulating 3-hour blocks of time that guide participants through the features of various software projects. These can be designed for beginner, advanced, or all levels to cover the majority of user needs. It is encouraged to hold workshops in a hands-on manner where everyone is invited to use their own computer and bring back home all of their achievements.

All workshops will be scheduled for Monday, September 9th at either 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM or 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM. Workshops will be scheduled by the FOSS4G NA Program Committee.

Workshop Presenter Expectations

• There is a limit of two workshop presenters and they do not need to register or pay.
• If your proposal has been accepted and you are no longer able to present, please notify the organizers as soon as possible.

30-MINUTE PODIUM PRESENTATIONS

If you have developed a free and open source project related to geospatial technologies, if you have implemented a FOSS4G solution or product, or participated in a project that uses FOSS, we invite you to participate by submitting a proposal.

Presentations are expected on experiences both in the use of free geographic data and metadata, and in the use or development of free and open source geographic software. Your contribution could present how you use open source geospatial software, how it helps to solve your company’s/organization’s problems, a new development you are involved in and what it has improved, as well as presentations in the various application fields.

Submissions promoting restricted licensed software will not be accepted. This is a Free Open Source Software conference and FOSS is the main interest.

30-Minute Podium Presenter Expectations:

• All presenters will be expected to register and pay the conference registration fee.
• If your proposal has been accepted and you are no longer able to present, please notify the organizers as soon as possible.

POSTERS

These will be showcased in a poster session
Max size allowed is 34"x44".

HOW TO SUBMIT A PROPOSAL

All proposals must be submitted via an online portal powered by the PreTalx platform therefore emailed proposals will not be accepted. The following items are required, and please plan to have ready for completing the online submission form:

• Proposal Title (maximum 10 words)
• Proposal Abstract (maximum 40 words); this will be used in marketing materials to promote your talk.
• Proposal Description (maximum 800 words); this should be a comprehensive description of your presentation
  which is what will be used to determine acceptance or rejection.

Track: You will also be asked to select a track that best fits your proposal. The options are:

• State of Software - Projects give a state of their current projects, and what's in present, upcoming
  release.
• Use Case and Applications - Describe how software is used
• Open Data - Initiatives for providing open data. Examples include publishing to OpenStreetMap; tools for
  collecting data; and new and advancing open data formats.
• Transition to FOSS4G - Case studies of how organizations migrated from proprietary to open source GIS
  solutions. Lessons learned. Also tips on how to get more involved in FOSS4G/OSGeo community
• Academia - Initiatives to teach use of free and open source GIS tools and research presentations
• FOSS4G in Government - FOSS4G used to meet a specific need in government to meet business needs
  and/or satisfy regulations on transparency and interoperability
• Climate, Environment and Sustainability - Use cases for analysis and mapping of climate change and
  resiliency planning, species and habitats, environmental hazards, and sustainability planning and
  accomplishments.
• Image Processing - Topics related to methods and case studies of processing of raster data to
  accomplish various tasks
• The Business of Open Source
• Infrastructure, Emergency Management and Humanitarian - Use cases on FOSS4G in Disaster
  Preparedness, Disaster Response, and Community Recovery from an event or ongoing problems.
  or managing infrastructure (Water, sewer, telecommunications, farmland, etc.)
  or geospatial infrastructure (metadata, catalog services, etc.)
• Geo AI/ML - AI/ML libraries, utilities, frameworks and other oss tools specifically for geospatial data
• Data Management and Interoperability - Data interoperability, storage, search, formats, interfaces

Presenter Contact Information

• How many presentations have you given at either a global or regional FOSS4G event?
• Workshop Submissions Only - Workshop Level (All Levels, Beginner, Advanced)
• Workshop Submissions Only - Maximum Number of Attendees (10, 20, 30, 40, 50, or No Maximum)

FOSS4G NA is committed to increasing equity, inclusion, and diversity in our organization. To help us track our progress, there are also optional questions pertaining to age, race, and gender identity. These answers will remain strictly confidential and will only be available to the FOSS4G NA Executive Committee.

REVIEW PROCESS AND NOTIFICATIONS
The online submission process has extended to a soft deadline of June 30th, with an option of closing submissions early when sufficient proposals have been received. Submissions given earlier will be ranked higher.

NOTE: Those who submitted before the Original Deadline will get preferential treatment and their submissions will be reviewed and approved first.
We will be approving submissions on a rolling basis starting June 3rd.

Submitters will be notified of the final decision on or around July 1st and will receive a Presenter Toolkit outlining details needed to provide you with a successful experience.

IMPORTANT DATES

• Call for Presentation Original Deadline June 2
• Extended Deadline June 30th (End of Day US/Chicago)
• Review Period June 3 - June 30
• Full Schedule Announcement by Week of July 15th

QUESTIONS

Please contact cfp@foss4gna.org if you have any questions or need assistance with the online submission process.

You can enter proposals until 2024-08-01 00:00 (America/Chicago), 3 weeks, 6 days from now.