Notes from the 2016 Organizer Meeting
by Beth
On Saturday Feb. 13, Maptime Organizers got together via Google Hangout to talk about how things are going.
If you want to watch it in full (it’s about 90 minutes!) you can watch this video.
But if you want to just get the highlights (recommended!) read on.
2015 Maptime Summit - So Many Things and So Many Thanks!
by Beth
###A great big (belated) THANK YOU! to everyone who came to the 2015 Maptime Summit!
Wow. Wow wow wow.
Those are the only words I can use to describe the feelings after the Maptime Summit. Many thanks to everyone who made it out! We had representation from Amsterdam, Berlin, Madison, Vancouver, New York City, Boston, Lexington, Washington DC, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Bend, Cleveland, and Portland, as well as people interested in starting up in Taipei, Beijing, and Trento. To think that last year we were blown away by the 9 chapters who showed interest…we’ve gotten nearly six times bigger!
With this growth in mind, this year’s Summit took a bit of a different shape than last year’s. It’s not just about the excitement of getting people on board for learning. While that’s still the case, these days we’re all – and I mean HQ as well as chapter organizers, particularly the ones that have been going for a year or more – thinking about how to sustain ourselves. How do we deal with burnout? How do we deal with paying for spaces and snacks? How do we keep this wonderful rainbow aglow?
In the opening remarks, we talked about some important changes that will hopefully help with that. First, Lyzi will be stepping up as Executive Director, and while I’m stepping sideways and back into a role as President of the Board (we’ll talk more about organizational stuff in not-so-distant future blog post). The other important change is: it’s time to ask for dollars, even from attendees. The idea is not to turn Maptime into a commercial enterprise. However, it’s a lot to ask an organizer to pay for a space on top of everything else, particularly if they can’t find a sponsor. It’s much less of an ask to request a $5-10 donation from attendees. Even if someone has to pay a small amount at every Maptime, they are still only looking at $60-120/year, which is pretty competitive for geo education (especially in the US). Again, look for more blog posts about these operational topics in the not-so-distant future.
Countdown to the 2015 Maptime Summit!
###Wait seriously? It’s only two-and-a-half weeks until the Maptime Summit? WHOA.
Thanks to basically the whole OS geo community, we are inching towards being ready:
- CartoDB is helping us with pizza for lunch.
- Mapbox is helping us with printing and getting Camille to the event.
- Mapzen is helping with snacks.
- OSMF (which includes people from both Mapbox and Mapzen) busted their butts finding us a great space for the Summit. They are also on the hunt for an event photographer.
- Stamen is making it possible for Beth to get to NYC for the event.
- Maptimers from all over are showing up to volunteer!
How cool is that? Many thanks to everyone for your help! There is no way we could pull this off without you.
In this final countdown, we have some important announcements and calls for participation:
Calling all troops! Help HOT this week!
by Beth
###Calling all troops!
As many of you likely already know, a few days ago Nepal was hit with a magnitude 7.8 earthquake. The natural disaster has shattered temples and homes, and left thousands dead or injured.
What can you do to help? In addition to donating to your favorite relief effort, you can help Humanitarian Openstreetmap Team (HOT) to remap the area.
Maptime Summit!
June 8, 2015 // New York, NY // NYU Kimmel Center
9:30am – 4:30pm
Kimmel Center NYU Global Center for Academic & Spiritual Life
238 Thompson St 3rd Floor
UPDATES! due to space change from UN to the Kimmel Center, we’ve had to reduce the number of tickets available. We also have to be out of the room by 5pm (including clean-up). Please see schedule change below.
Calling all Maptime organizers, attendees, and enthusiasts! Maptime Summit is coming, and we want you to be there.
On Monday, June 8th (immediately following State of the Map US 2015), join us at the NYU Kimmel Center for a day full of learning, collaboration, and excitement as we get to know each other and strengthen the ties throughout our international Maptime landscape. During the Maptime Summit, you can expect to:
- Share your experiences and things you've made at Maptime
- Organize with other Maptimers around topics you're interested in (like Maptime for Kids!)
- Get insight on making your own tutorials and better using the ones available
- Learn how you can get involved with Maptime HQ
- Strengthen your chapter and your relationships with other chapters
- Have a TON of fun!
Registration is now open for this historic event. RSVP today and come join us in New York!
Schedule
| TIME | ACTIVITY |
|---|---|
| 9:30 | Sign-in |
| 10:00 | Welcoming announcements |
| 10:30 | Chapter Lightning Talks |
| 11:15 | BREAK! |
| 11:30 | Unconference Session 1 |
| 12:15 | Group photo! |
| 12:30 | LUNCH! |
| 1:30 | Tutorial & Educational Development Training |
| 2:15 | Unconference Session 2 |
| 3:00 | BREAK! |
| 4:15 | HQ Logistics Q+A / Github for Maptime Organizers |
| 4:00 | Closing remarks! Sign the big map! Hugs! |
The day will conclude with the closing State of the Map Party at Mapzen, in conjunction with GeoNYC! And yes, there will be karaoke.
Volunteers
Many thanks to our amazing volunteer team, who have us covered during the event. Bert Spaan, Katie Kowalsky, Shawn Goulet, and Dan Swick, you all rock!
Patronage
The Maptime Summit would not be possible without support from CartoDB, Mapbox, Mapzen, and Stamen Design. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your support!
See you in New York!
