Connecting and Mobilizing with the Power of Location During COVID-19
To say that these are unusual times is an understatement. One way or another, everyone everywhere is witnessing the global crisis of COVID-19. In many ways, we are united in this fight for our health! I hope each one of you is hanging in there to the best of your ability – personally and professionally.
This global health crisis has highlighted three key observations for me: we are mobilizing our expert community, realizing that location is critical, and working to connect the world with location.
Diversity, as a topic, has frequently appeared on the agendas of industry events for years now. OGC is conscious that there is still much work to be done to increase diversity and inclusion, but, with last Sunday being International Women’s Day, we’re taking the opportunity to reflect upon and highlight some of the activities that OGC staff have been involved in with regard to the issues that women still face in the spatial and related industries - while also remaining aware that diversity is much more than just gender equality.
To this end, two “Ideathons” were organized to link the national ambitions with the local interest in successfully adapting their urban settings to changing demographics. The first Ideathon was held 3–4 October, 2019, in Chino City, Nagano Prefecture, Japan with more than 20 participants discussing requirements for, and uses of, the Urban Planning ADE.
Friday the 14th February 2020 was my last day with OGC as an employee, completing a transition plan that I initiated in March 2018 when I notified the OGC Board of Directors of my intent to retire. Going forward, I plan to provide my support to the Consortium on occasion as a consultant to address specific OGC mission topics. I will also remain connected with the geospatial community through my involvement in activities such as the US National Geospatial Advisory Committee. I am also looking forward to spending much more time with family and the pursuit of a few new opportunities - including helping build computers for the less forunate, as well as good amount of fishing and time spent enjoying the Atlantic coast.
A joint OGC / ESIP Coverage and Processing Analytics API development sprint was held on January 6-7, 2020. The Sprint was held in conjunction with the ESIP Winter Meeting. This sprint builds on the OGC API Hackathon in June 2019, and the OGC API Features and Catalogues Sprint in November 2019. The ESIP/OGC sprint focused on OGC API-Coverages, API-Processes, and API-Common as part of the overall development of OGC APIs.
On this #GeoPackageDay 2020 - the 6th anniversary of the format - Jeff Yutzler (GeoPackage SWG Chair) discusses some of the benefits of this portable, extensible, efficient, online/offline container format for geospatial information and maps.
As part of the GeoSmart India event in Hyderabad, India, last December, Dr. M.K. Munshi organised an OGC India Forum meeting. The forum theme centered around the integration of smart systems into national development and government goals through the use of open standards, innovation processes, and partnerships.
Luis Bermudez, our Executive Director of the Innovation Program, will be leaving OGC staff on December 31, 2019. After 10 years of fantastic service to the company, our members, and the wider geospatial community, Luis is moving to a leadership role with a respected OGC member.
From 18-12 November, 2019, around 180 OGC Members from across the globe attend our 113th Technical Committee (TC) Meeting at the Toulouse Evénements Centre de Congrès Pierre Baudis in Toulouse, France. 
