QOD last week

[Emma Hain]

Hi All

Last Friday was QGIS Open Day (QOD) and they had a great ask anything session on QGIS User Groups. 

( N.B. You can check out the links here for the other presentations. )

These are the elements that I took away from it:

1. QGIS User groups (UG) follow a 'do-ocracy' - everyone is able to do, the coordinators are just there to assist where possible - eg find funding, promote, ensure it is suitable
2. UG's don't need to be financial but if you do then you need to become a legal entity.
3. Being financial means you can steer QGIS development for your UG needs or run events - social or educational programs in schools etc. For some it is helpful to be so as companies are not allowed to give money to foreign organisations so this allows the money to be funnelled into one place and used to become a sustaining member of QGIS. 
4. This year, Sweden collected the money from the QGIS UG conference held there and used it to become a sustaining member to the QGIS project.
5. The UG shouldn't be a single company running it. It is not for promotion of company activities or anything similar. 
6. The UG Chair should be a position that is voted on each year
7. We are a nice community with different thoughts and backgrounds and it is intended that this idea be continued
8. The major issue is getting people to know about QGIS as once they are, they are more than likely to get involved (I don't think this applies in Australia - I think we have far more users that don't engage on the email list)
9. Education development can be part of what a UG does. Marco said it starts young. The Swiss took a story on the road Maya the Beekeeper and introduced it to ages 7-8.
10. Improving inclusivity is very much relevant atm

So I think we are continuing along nicely but very much at a low level of activity. I would urge you to run activities if you want and I can promote it through the channels and help get microgrants if you need to or are happy to. 

It would be wonderful for any of the companies on this list to think about organising something in their cities, particularly after QGIS training courses so the greater community can engage with those new ones. 

One of the things I really would love to do is organise a monthly blog entry on the webpage. For instance, I recently set up a QField for Disaster Relief Australia but I needed to do it for both Android and iOS and I could not find any resources that were a step by step guide.

Additionally, it is not for me to organise anything, I am here to facilitate, to connect you and encourage you to boost engagement. I am happy also for this role to be up for election each year as well if you would like to do that. 

Keen to hear your thoughts.

Kind regards

Em

Emma Hain — Product Manager/Senior GIS Analyst
em...@north-road.com

North Road Cartography • Development • Spatial Analysis north-road.com FOSS4G 2025 17-23 November, Auckland, New Zealand