The Close Bond Between Open Standards and Open Source
10-17, 11:50– (Pacific/Auckland), Te Iringa

One strength of FOSS4G is the ability to support open standards, yet the standards process is a mystery to many. Two experts discuss recent developments in ISO and OGC standards and how one longstanding OSGeo project plans to implement these improvements.


This talk, presented by two people with decades of experience developing and implementing open standards and open-source software, will illustrate the symbiotic relationship between open standards and open source software. The first presenter is an OGC chair of both the recently launched GeoDCAT standards working group and the Metadata and Catalogues domain working group, as well as a member of the recently launched ISO TC 211 work to develop the technical review of 19115-4, a JSON encoding of 19115-1. The second presenter founded the OSGeo GeoNetwork opensource project and will discuss recent developments in GeoNetwork to implement these standards to benefit users.

Byron has over 30 years experience as a leader in providing interoperability and data linking solutions in a large number of contexts across the globe. His greatest expertise is in Open Data Standards implementation and development - particularly in the geospatial realm.

Byron has served at various levels of government, the military and private industry, both in New Zealand, Australia and the US. He has often been turned to by organisations wishing to develop, organise and manage their disparate data using standards based interoperability solutions.

In recent years Byron has contributed to multiple international interoperability efforts including the W3C Spatial Data on the Web, numerous test bed and interoperability experiments for the Open Geographic Consortium and standards development for ISO Technical Committee 211.

In his spare time Byron enjoys exploring the Nelson region, getting to know the local craft beers, keeping abreast of current affairs, and picking on his mandolin when its all becomes a bit too much.

This speaker also appears in: