Foundation/AGM20/Election to Board/Answers and manifestos/Willy Franck SOB

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ABOUT YOU:

Your OSM activities

For example:

  • What brought you to OSM and why are you still part of it now?
  • What is your OSM user name?
  • What mapping contributions have you made in the last year?
  • Are you/have you been a member of any OSMF working groups?
  • Do you participate with other OSM mappers, for example in a local chapter or in social meet ups?
  • Have you run anything yourself, such as an OSM-newbie event?
  • Have you written about OpenStreetMap in the past - for example, in a blog, or on mailing lists, or in a newspaper? Please provide links if you can.
  • Do you contribute as a software developer?
  • Have you attended board meetings as a guest?

What brought you to OSM and why are you still part of it now?
I came to OSM out of motivation, I'm staying here out of conviction.

What is your OSM user name?
Sobzeros

What mapping contributions have you made in the last year?
The most striking is the mapping of land use in Cameroon, the first and only country in Africa to have manually carried out this work by local actors in six months.

'Are you/have you been a member of any OSMF working groups?
 NO

Do you participate with other OSM mappers, for example in a local chapter or in social meet ups?
I am the president of OSM Cameroon association that I created in 2013.

Have you run anything yourself, such as an OSM-newbie event?
Every year we organize the SOTM Cameroon and I have also organized the Understanding Risk Cameroon 2019.

Have you written about OpenStreetMap in the past - for example, in a blog, or on mailing lists, or in a newspaper? Please provide links if you can.
Yes several reports indeed, but the publications are in scientific journals so the links are not always active.

Do you contribute as a software developer?
Yes I am a promoter of the OSM-based mapping platform: http://geosm.org . It is now available in 20 African countries and OpenStreetMap France has also recently adopted it. https://www.openstreetmap.fr/osmdata-le-portail-de-la-donnee-osm/

Have you attended board meetings as a guest?
YES

Why you want to be a board member?

  • What do you think you can achieve as a board member that you can't as a regular OSM(F) member?
  • What is the most pressing issue the OSMF board should address?

What do you think you can achieve as a board member that you can't as a regular OSM(F) member?

I can influence decisions through my experience in the project and participate in a greater outreach to the local community.

What is the most pressing issue the OSMF board should address?

It is the question of its representation with the local communities and the respect of the conditions of use of the OSM license.

Your time

If you are currently a member of a working group, do you plan to continue your role in that working group while on the board? Do you have enough time to commit to multiple roles?

I am not.

Do you have any previous relevant experience?

Please describe any experience you have that might help you be a board member. Here are some examples to help you:

  • Being a board member for OSMF often involves complex negotiation and discussions within the board, with working groups, and with the wider OSM community. Teamwork and the ability to make decisions, listen (truly listen) and hear a diverse set of opinions takes humility, time management, calm process planning, and community-building skills. Do you have an experience where you managed scenarios and conversations that you may not have agreed with and/or that challenged you.
  • Do you have experience of managing a project or a team of people? Do you have any experience of coaching others to lead (i.e. managing managers)? How long have you been doing these things?
  • Have you ever managed multiple stakeholders with different agendas? What was the situation? What did you do? What challenges did you face and how did you overcome them?

I created my first association at the age of 13! so very early I was immersed in the management of people and projects. Throughout my professional career, I have also been very often at the head of organizations where I had to lead negotiations with concrete results.

Transparency: Conflicts of interest

A. Is your main source of income related to mapping or GIS work in some way, (whether OSM-related or not)?

B. Are you an employee of, member of, or otherwise affiliated with (paid or non-paid) a company, government organization or non-profit that does work in the OSM ecosystem or might compete with it? Do you have any contracts (employment or otherwise) which would limit what you can say in public that are relevant to OSM? eg a non-disparagement clause with a company/org in the OSM ecosystem? Or an employment contract which commits you to "always work in the company's best interest"?

A. Is your main source of income related to mapping or GIS work in some way, (whether OSM-related or not)?
Yes

B. Are you an employee of, member of, or otherwise affiliated with (paid or non-paid) a company, government organization or non-profit that does work in the OSM ecosystem or might compete with it? Do you have any contracts (employment or otherwise) which would limit what you can say in public that are relevant to OSM? eg a non-disparagement clause with a company/org in the OSM ecosystem?
NO

Or an employment contract which commits you to "always work in the company's best interest"?
In the context of my activity I contribute to OSM and I also enrich my solutions thanks to OSM.it's almost a religion for us.

YOUR VIEW:

What to do with the face to face meeting in Corona times?

The Board has a tradition to do an expenses-paid two day face-to-face meeting soon after the election, with a focus on agenda-setting for the rest of the year. Since there will be many new members, it also offers a chance to get to know each other better. Do you think this is a good idea? Should this be rather replaced by a video conference, given the uncertainties for travelling in the next year?

I am aware that we will be able and we will find the tricks from a distance to get to know each other better although nothing replaces physical contact. We must rise to the challenge of COVID by reinventing new ways of working.

What's the use of the OSMF ?

From the point of view of a small contributor, how does the OSMF helps me and could improve my "work conditions" ?

Allowing active contributors to be OSMF members is a good thing. Now it will also be necessary to promote actions that highlight the communities.

What will you do to build a worldwide community of mappers?

It is necessary to promote local champions, then create synergies with other local actors and make OSM an essential tool for digital tranformation.

What will you do to encourage more women leaders in OSM working groups and governance?

in a more global way we need to have a strategy on this problem. A simple answer to a question will not be enough.

Should OSMF accept funding/donations by companies or organisations which do not want to be disclosed to the public?

Background links for context, added at the time of answers' publication:

It is preferable that OSMF remains transparent as long as possible. Transparency is the glue that binds trust.

Editing conflicts

The development of the iD editor has been classically contentious. Folks put a lot of the their time into development but made controversial tagging decisions. Do you think that they are right? What role should the OSMF and OSMF board have because it now pays an iD developer?

One of OSMF's missions must be to ensure the stability of the strategic tools that are essential to contributing to OSM. Although based on voluntary updates and contributions, it would be good to fund development for the transition from one version to another and according to the "commits" to motivate people who daily contribute their time and skills to enhance the platforms.

How many paid staff should the OSMF have and why?

Background links for context, added at the time of answers' publication:

It is difficult to answer this question, it all depends on the plan of action and the actions deemed strategic for the maintenance of the OSM infrastructure, which in my opinion is the central raison d'être of the foundation. The other needs will depend on the vision that can be validated at the General Assembly.

Your views on the use and control of AI (Artificial Intelligence) edit systems?

  • Do you have any familiarity with OSM AI systems? (e.g. Facebook AI-Assisted Road Tracing, RapiD)
  • Do you support the development of it?
  • If the use of AI systems causes damages on existing OSM geographical data (e.g. in Philippines) do you see any needed activity from OSMF side? If yes, which solution the OSMF should provide to control this and organised editing?
  • How is your general opinion about automated edits?

Do you have any familiarity with OSM AI systems? (e.g. Facebook AI-Assisted Road Tracing, RapiD)

Yes, I am familiar with it all.

Do you support the development of it?

I am in favor of its development as long as there is human control at the end of the chain before importing it into OSM. On the other hand, I am less favorable to massive imports in an automatic way. In any case, the control of the OSM database must be a permanent action...

If the use of AI systems causes damages on existing OSM geographical data (e.g. in Philippines) do you see any needed activity from OSMF side? If yes, which solution the OSMF should provide to control this and organised editing?

It is necessary to rely on existing coordination tools and train local actors in data validation, and if possible provide a small budget to motivate contributors. This would be appreciated when we know that behind its technologies often hide very large companies with the capacity to finance. Be careful not to replace the contributors with Robots, as this would kill the collaboration and communion behind OSM.

How is your general opinion about automated edits?

I am in favor of its development as long as there is human control at the end of the chain before importing it into OSM. On the other hand, I am less favorable to massive imports in an automatic way. In any case, the control of the OSM database must be a permanent action...

What is your opinion of the proposal for a software dispute resolution panel?

Background links for context, added at the time of answers' publication:

No answer.

Should we do anything about EU database rights?

The OSMF is incorporated in the UK. The UK completely leaves the European Union on 31 December 2020 and so EU database rights held by UK entities are impacted. Do you think that changes that keep our license clearly enforceable in the EU (e.g. moving the OSMF) are important? Would you give them high priority for your involvement in the OSMF board?

OSM is and must remain a free and participatory community project. So if for this reason we need to relocate the servers so that the community is preserved, then we will need to have the lucidity to do so. But after discussion, and negotiation if as a last resort it's the only option, then we'll have to relocate...

Manifesto

In the beginning was OpenStreetMap …

Adopting a new approach for an "efficient" mapping of my country; this is the challenge I took on when I was still a student in France! Very early on I had a clear vision: to progress, the mapping of African countries such as Cameroon would benefit from a new approach that would not be limited to the technical and economic perimeters alone. It then seems desirable to propose an alternative to "humanitarian" type cooperation schemes whose operationality is all too rarely part of a sustainable vision of development.

From the outset, I am convinced that the technological disruption introduced by the OpenStreetMap community project is one of the keys to a profound reform of the way geographic data is produced on a large scale; so it is a question of conceiving OSM as a "platform" capable of federating all local cartographic production initiatives. Even better, this project allows for the "recycling" of previous cartographic productions.

After graduating in August 2013, I'm going back to Cameroon and the "bet" is put to the test! Opening my geomatics design office in Yaoundé (capital of Cameroon) is not an end in itself. On the contrary, it is first of all a question of "making" an ecosystem where technology, transfer of skills and economic model would form three "dimensions" guaranteeing a qualitative knowledge of the territory. Also in 2013, I founded the OpenStreetMap-Cameroon association, whose main objective is to train students from all horizons in the practice of OSM while introducing its members to the diversity of geographic sciences. The success is immediate! Young and old alike are enthusiastic about the idea of participating in their own way in the mapping of the country while benefiting from free training in a few fundamental concepts of geomatics.

OPENSTREETMAP : from local impact to global added value !

To reinforce this dynamic by introducing international solidarity to complement geomatics, the association Topo Sans Frontières of my former school was mobilized in 2012 for missions to supervise practical field work in partnership with Cameroonian students. The goal is to carry out OSM mapping operations within municipalities in order to allow them to plan their resources more rationally.

Today I am absolutely convinced that OpenStreetMap will be at the heart of the transformation and innovation of our territories.

Please visit my page with a selected piece of achievements based on OpenStreetMap !

Français

Adopter une nouvelle approche pour une cartographie « efficace » de mon pays ; tel est le pari que je m’étais lancé alors même que j’étais encore étudiant en France ! très tôt j’ai une vision claire : pour progresser, la cartographie de pays africains tels que le Cameroun bénéficierait d’une nouvelle approche qui ne se limiterait pas aux seuls périmètres technique et économique. Il apparait alors souhaitable de proposer une alternative aux schémas de coopération de type « humanitaires » dont l’opérationnalité ne s’inscrit que trop rarement dans une vision pérenne de développement.

Dès le départ je suis convaincus que la disruption technologique introduite par le projet communautaire OpenStreetMap forme une des clés d’une réforme profonde du mode de production des données géographiques à grand échelle ; aussi s’agit-il de concevoir OSM comme une « plateforme » capable de fédérer toutes les initiatives locales de production cartographique. Mieux encore ce projet autorise le « recyclage » de productions cartographiques antérieures.

Mon diplôme obtenu en août 2013, je regagne le Cameroun et le « pari » est mis à l’épreuve !
Ouvrir mon bureau d’études géomatique à Yaoundé (capital du Cameroun) n’est pas une fin soi. Au contraire, il s’agit tout d’abord de « fabriquer » un écosystème où technologie, transfert de compétence et modèle économique formeraient trois « dimensions » garantes d’une connaissance qualitative du territoire. Toujours en 2013, je fonde l’association OpenStreetMap-Cameroun dont l’objet principal est prioritairement de former des étudiants de tout horizon à la pratique d’OSM tout en initiant ses membres à la diversité des sciences géographique. Le succès est immédiat ! Jeunes et moins jeunes s’enthousiasment à l’idée de participer à leur façon à la cartographie du pays tout en bénéficiant d’une formation gratuite à quelques concepts fondamentaux de géomatique.

Pour conforter cette dynamique par l’introduction de la solidarité internationale en complément de la géomatique, l’association Topo Sans Frontières de mon ancienne école a été mobilisée dès 2012 pour des missions d’encadrement de travaux pratiques de terrain en partenariat avec les étudiants camerounais. Le but étant de réaliser des opérations de cartographie OSM au sein des municipalités afin de leur permettre une planification plus rationnelle des ressources.

OPENSTREETMAP : de l'impact local à la valeur ajoutée globale !

Aujourd’hui je suis absolument convaincu qu’OpenStreetMap sera au cœur de la transformation et de l’innovation de nos territoires et apportera de la valeur ajoutée au-delà de nos pays.

Je vous prie de consulter ma page avec un morceau choisi de réalisations basées sur OpenStreetMap !

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