There are exciting times. Opendata is everywhere! In the past couple of year we have seen a lot of very interesting data open up and as a result things have changed. Startups have popped up everywhere related to opendata and some very successfully.

OpenStreetMap celebrated it’s 10th birthday in 2014, it’s been around for ages when talking about opendata. A very relevant fact related to the topic of opendata is the fact that the project got started because of a lack of open geo data to experiment with. The question that then comes to mind is: Why would we need OpenStreetMap in a world where all (geo)data is open?

From an OpenStreetMap-community-member perspective the answer to this question is obvious; it’s the community, stupid!

In our session at the OpenBelgium conference in Namur we try to give you an inside view of our community and all of it’s different aspects and activities. We hope that those who attend our session will also consider our community as thé answer to the question of why the world needs OpenStreetMap in an open world.

OpenStreetMap is so much more than just an open geo database. If you are looking for new ideas related to geo, want to know more about OpenStreetMap or if you want to become part of our community make sure you don’t miss out and attend OpenBelgium!

Want to know more about the OpenStreetMap community? Come to the Open Belgium Conference OpenStreet Map session and find out what this community looks like and how members contribute. Or follow the Belgian OSM Community on Twitter or their website.